Ive been having problems with my opti, and when it was taken off on friday, the opti was busted into pieces on the inside.

of course the guy at the shop just said, "it must have been brittle and just busted".

but ive done research and a lot of people seem to find that too long of a dowel pin will cause the opti to bust, so sure enough i went back to the shop and measured the cam pin length, and it was longer than it should be, about .7+", when it should be .68" max as people have been saying and that is pushing it.

Should any shop know to check the cam pin length? I don't want them pinning $300 on me when they didn't check everything out. I mean i never even saw the cam so of course i wouldn't have ever known to even look at anything like a cam pin to check for length.

To me the shop hasn't really done anything as performance as mine, but when i first went, the guy really knows how to get customers, but over time i realized they didn't know as much as they should and of course i was already 50% into the project. I don't feel the shop was competent enough to do this high performance of a setup.

what does it seem like to you guys, should it be the shop's fault that the cam pin length was too long and caused my opti to bust?

 

Comp Cams warns that dowel pins should be checked for proper length. Unless a shop is well versed in LT1s and their quirks, they aren't going to know squat. Measure it yourseld and grind it down to the proper length.

 

Problem with that is the shop said they could do it and would be able to set everything up and not have any problems doing it.

I have never seen a cam so i never even knew about the cam pin, plus i didn't order a comp cam or really do any research into it.

It was a custom grind by lloyd, and its an awesome cam. I just never knew of anything such as a cam pin, and ive never taken the distributor off myself.

The shop did take everything apart and put it back together, and they assured me they knew that they could do everything. Which is one reason i don't want to take a $300 hit.

i am going to make sure the pin gets grinded down to the proper length before a new opti goes on. But of course im going to tell the shop they need to replace it, and i know they are going to be against it.

 

I was using Comp Cams as an example (not knowing the source of your cam). Obviously, anyone assembling an LT1 should know what they are doing and make sure the dowel pin is the correct length for a vented optispark.

 

If they don't know LT1's they probably just threw the cam in without checking the dowel pin length. Go to the shop ask them if they checked the pin length and if they say the did ask them what the length was. If they checked or know LT1's they should be able to tell you right away.

This is straight from shoeboxs' site - Before you install the cam, it is a good idea to check the dowel pin length. Compare the new length to the old and make any adjustments if needed. If the dowel pin is too long, it can ruin a vented optispark in a short time (non-vented optisparks aren't driven by the dowel pin). GM specs indicate that the dowel should be .620" long (protrusion from the front face of the cam) for the vented optispark. Some people have said it is supposed to be .685". Mine was actually .650" and still was in no danger of bottoming out in the optispark drive (I'm thinking .685" might be the max it could be).

 

if they don't know lt1's, that should be their fault though right, especially if they tell me they can do everything and to not worry about it?

that info from shoebox's site i looked at yesterday which is another reason i went to the shop and measured the length. I even printed it out along with various other peoples' experiences of opti's busting because the pin length wasn't correct so i can show the shop tomorrow when i go in the morning.

 

They cannot use ignorance as an excuse, they should stand behind their work if they hope to keep any sort of reputation, it's ok to mess up once in a while, but you better fix it and learn from it in order to keep happy customers.

 

It should be there fault, the shop told you they knew what they were doing. Shops should that kind of important information on the work order to save there butts incase something like this happens.

 

It's an easy/honest mistake to make...you read about it here every week. If you supplied all the parts, then you're usually on your own. Best thing to do is ask them if they checked it and explain what you found out by reading here...depending on how interested they are in keeping your business, they may offer to cover it or pay 1/2, etc. No shop is an expert in all cars, and things happen. My experience is that the more you mod your car, the more you better be willing to do it yourself, because really good shops are few and far between.

 

as a sign of good will that shop should offer to replace your opti. it probably was an honest mistake, alot of the old shops are good ol boys that are used to workin on normal SBCs. they probably had no clue that the dowel pin could be too long.

i guess this is a good chance to see how respectable this shop is. if they deny any responsibility and refuse to replace it, then i would take your car else where. even if they don't want to accept the responsibility they should at least replace it anyway in the interest of keeping your business.