I covered the pcm the intake most of the electrical and was careful where I washed and I did not use very much water but now my car idles at 1700 rpm and breaks up at 4000rpm. What did i do?

 

Hate to be the first to say it but.... Opti. That is the obvious answer.

The front of the motor can't get wet.

 

It has acted like this before then dried out and ran fine. is it shot?

If i have to replace it what is the best way to go? I do not want to spend too much on this car I am just trying to get it running good. What are benefits of switching to vented style? How much money am I looking at?

 

It'll be fine when it dries out probably.

 

Its been 2 days now.

 

I think the opti is damaged; first thing I learned as a lt1 owner is to never spray the engine down. Look for arcing wires in the dark if not the I would say the opti is your problem.

 

non vented (94) opti chances of drying out aren't as good as an OBD2, but I guess I have no experience with the 94 optis?

 

I would pull the coil wire off,clean the coil terminal(I like fine sandpaper)and look inside the coil wire for white cruddy stuff.My02.Do the cheap stuff first.Hope this helps.

 

Also check both ends of the short Opti harness for damage or corrosion of the connectors - the one that runs from the bracket on the passenger side of the intake manifold to the Opti.

Conversion to a vented Opti is very expensive and labor intensive because you need a new timing cover, new timing set, new cam, the Opti, the Opti vacuum harness and a new short electrical harness.

The MSD replacement cap is "vented", but it's not the same as a real vented Opti.

 

Are you 100% on that? Because the 94 should have the old style opti like the 93 and they do sell a vented OE version of it. I just got mine replaced. Its not "legit" vented like u said but it has the vent tube to help drain if anything gets in it. Its a cheaper way to go for a somewhat vented distributor.

 

If you want to put a "real" OEM 95-97 vented Opti in a 93 or a 94, you have to do EXACTLY what I said you need to do. I have an OEM vented Opti on my 94, and I bought all those parts. If you just want a "vent", there's a Corvette website that has a "how to" for adding a vent to the OEM cap. But again, that's not the same as a vented Opti.

If you feel a "drain" is "vented", then yours is vented. But GM added the vent NOT to drain the casing, but to remove the corrosive ozone that forms due to the high voltage discharge. Engine vacuum pulls clean, MAF measured air through the Opti casing, with one connection on the cap, and the other on the base, using engine vacuum. The air needs to have come through the MAF, because is ends up in the combustion chamber.

MSD sells a vented cap with two connections, but again, its not pulling air through the back 1/2 of the case. They also sell a fully vented replacement complete Opti for the 93/94 cars.

 

Ya i guess it would just be a "drain" like u say. My 95 has the full vacuum but my brothers firebird has just a "drain" with out the vacuum lines on it. I get what ur trying to say now.

 

How is the quality of the MSD? Is it worth it to do the msd vented conversion? Im confused what the benefit is

 

anyone have part numbers for any of these? what is the best brand to replace with? are the aftermarkets ok?

 

what is a decent opti?