I'm haveing trouble with my lt-1 and i took it to the dealer and they recommended to replace the opti spark and i wanna do it myself to save money since they want 1700 dollars to do it and i was wondering if there is any site that desribes how to do it? How hard is it to do? I have done car work before but i'm unsure about newer vehicles. Is there any alternative to a new gm part? The dewaler said only use a gm new opti spark and they want 700 for one does anyone make a better replacement?

 

What's the dealer's name..... Ben Dover, or Mr. Greedwrench. I hope they offered to use vaseline with that screwing.

Depending on the year of your car, you can get a genuine GM Optispark for $240 (95-97) to $320 (93-94).

http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#Dal_and_Jason

Install will take you a short day, if you work very carefully and deliberately. You will need to remove the serpentine belt, the water pump and the harmonic damper (not the hub). There are "how tos" available.

I can't believe how bad some of these dealers want to screw people..... $1,700!!!!! It's criminal.

 

yeah they were gonna screw me on the labor i know but i beleived them on the part price. I'm gonna need a special tool to pull the balancer correct?

 

Some need a puller and some don't. When I take the 3 bolts off my balancer it comes off with a slight tap.

Some cars need a puller. You can either buy one for cheap or rent one at a local auto parts store.

Do not pay the dealer that ridiculous some of money.

 

****...for $1700 I'd pay for plane tickets and fly to wherever you are and change it.

 

Im in San Antonio I'll swap out your opti for 250 bucks if you provide the parts.

- Z28WannaB

 

i have a opti with less than 1000 miles on it for sale for 175

email me if interested

brook

 

if you wanta, go to auto zone and just get the opti for $170, and reuse your cap and rotor. It has a warranty on it just like GM's.

 

Before you jump into it and replace it..... do you really know that is the problem with your car.

What is the "trouble" you are trying to fix?

 

WOOOOOW

Never go there again. That is more than outrageous.

As Injuneer asked, what is your car doing? It's important to try to narrow the problem down as much as possible, especially before tackling an opti. You can do the work yourself and buy a brand new GM Opti from Dal or Jason and spend less than 1/6 of what that dealer wants to charge. You can rent a puller from Autozone with a deposit, which you get back when you bring the puller back. No cost on tools there. It's not a tough job, but be sure that the opti is what's causing the problem. If it's just a plug wire that's burnt, you will kick yourself for changing out a good opti...

 

the car has a slight miss all the time and misses at around 3-4000 rpm's sometimes and after about 8 miles it misses at every rpm and will barely run then it smells like gas really bad after. I've tried plugs but that didn't help. The computer the dealer used is showing nothing wrong with it. It also likes to go from 500 rpm's to about 900 and go back and forth when idleing sometimes.

 

With those symptoms, I would hope they did a fuel pressure test before blaming the Opti. A fuel pressure test would show a stuck open injector or faulty regulator which would also cause those problems. Did they explain how they came to the conclusion the opti is bad? People are quick to condemn the opti, but it isn't allways the problem.

 

Could also be related to the O2 sensors. If it runs better from a cold start (open loop), then starts to run rough after 8 minutes when it goes into closed loop, and smells of excess fuel, it could well be a problem with the O2 sensors. Could be a problem with the coolant temp sensor. How about a leaking EGR valve? How about the IC Module heating up excessively as the engine warms up?

Unfortunately, the problem you are having is very common, and often very difficult to track down. It may well be the Opti, but then it might not be.

Is there any way you can get a data log using some scan software?

You also need to add a "signature" showing the year of your car (not all LT1's are the same), tranny type, and any major modifications that might affectthe problem.

 

I've already had it on two diagnostic computers and both showed nothing so i was told it couldn't be any of that stuff. The car is totally stock as far as i know. It also seems like it has a serious loss of power at times it feels like a 4 cylinder. I've been told that the top of the injector makes a pulse feeling when youtouch the tops of them. I can feel strong pulses on all of them but one. I was wondering if that is a true way to tell if they are hitting or not?

 

WHAT YEAR is your car? OBDI, OBDII?