OK, I did the ebay garbage optisparks, 2 bad in a row. Should I buy a reman AC Delco or a new Delphi? for a 1994 Z-28.

 

Well you are having the dilemma that almost every LT1 owner has. Heres my story, it may be painful to read lol. So my 94 z overheated, I tore it apart to fix a blown head gasket, after replacement it fired right up...ran good for about 10 mins and I did a burnout and it started running like ****. Me being a dumbass somehow dropped a bolt in the motor, the bolt got stuck in a valve and bent it. So the motor is now getting rebuilt...I said there is absolutely no way I'm not replacing the opti right now. You have 3 options... Cheap, this said route you've already taken twice, I hope you wouldn't make the same mistake 3 times. Reliable, ACdelco, or GM Opti..and lastly Semi-reliable and affordable.. I bought my opti off summit. Has a mixture of reviews, but all in all I decided to get the summit one. GM and delco models would be the best, if you can afford it. Summit if you can't afford the best. I have no experience with the MSD models, but about 70% of the reviews are not good. Hope this was helpful

 

AC Delco or Delphi for the win. It's roulette buying and installing anything else. The MSD is said to be no better than stock and not really worthy of the higher price.

Good luck

 

My Dynaspark has been working fine for about five years now.

 

I bought a new Cardone unit from Advance auto for $250, and it runs great.

I guess I'm lucky........for now.

The cast marks are totally identical to the original GM unit that came off my car.

Kinda makes me think.

 

Care to share what seller or brand on eBay?

Just curious because I have been considering a lifetime warranty unit from chandlermotorsportsinc they sell for $149.00




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Yes, I bought them from Chandler Motor Sports, don't do it. First one lasted about a month and still works today, however, after about 5-10 minutes running the engine shuts off and will not restart for 5-6 hours. The replacement unit they sent me was installed and my car won't rev above 3000 RPM,stalls, at least the old unit worked. My thinking was the lifetime replacement would be a hassle for them, so it has got to work? wrong. I was treated very poorly the first time I called, in fact I was really hassled. I had to prove to them that their piece of crap was broken,just $200 down the drain, I should know better for as many years that I have worked on GM's, they just really have to have AC/Delco ignition parts.

 

Wow..Thanks for the info, I will definitely reconsider my options now..My car still has the original AC Delco unit and just over 90k on it now. I have purchased a bunch of tuneup parts and before I attack this project I figured I should at least get a new cap and rotor kit, if not a whole new opti,, while I'm at it.. I don't know if I am on borrowed time with the original or not, but thinking now of possibly just getting a vented MSD kit..
I live in a pretty warm and dry climate, who knows how long I can away with the original unit!!


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Honestly, this has been a nightmare for me. If the bearing in my OE unit had not went out(which went out at 113,000 miles, leaking water pump) I would still be using it.

 

I believe that, gonna keep an eye on this thread to see what's recommended most anymore..I wish that there was just one brand that didn't have a bunch of negative reviews... I would have no problem spending a bit to replace mine If the damn part was just known as something that is very reliable!! Unfortunately the Oem units don't even have that reputation!!


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I'll probably get flamed but I think the stock, pin drive Optispark from Delhi is just fine. mine has been on the car for 8 years ow and works perfectly. The changes they made going from the spline drive units to the pin drive...namely, venting the ozone and moisture, seems to have really improved the device. Keep coolant off of it, loctite the rotor screws and they seem to last for years.

You can upgrade the earlier spline drive systems with a vented cap from MSD and get most of the improvement. No distributor last forever so you'll have to perform maintenance sooner or later....

 

Was that purchased before or after Dynaspark changed hands?

 

Hmmm?? Not sure. Think I would have to pull it to check. If I remember correctly there was a difference in the way they were machined which would give it away.

 

I'm just thinking of Larry/popo's problems. The Dynaspark had a great reputation for years, and was a very reliable piece, but when the company changed hands it wasn't the same.

 

Yeah I remember that. They've rectified the problems since then haven't they? I thought I was having trouble with mine one day a couple years ago but it turned out to be an injector.