Well I just installed a cam and right away I got the dredded opti oil leak. I'm pretty sure that it is the opti and not the H20 pump. My question is, will the opti be able to be cleaned or will it even be worth putting back on? It is brand new and has 0 miles on it! How should I atempt to clean it when I get it off tomorrow? Thanks for your help!

 

If it's brand new I'd clean it up and re-install it. But then if you've been on this site long or owned your car long enough you just never know with these stupid opti's...

 

The "dreaded" opti oil seal leak? I hardly evey hear of one leaking.

 

there is a dreaded intake leak which is an easy fix... what you don't want to leak is the waterpump seal... that is a PITA

 

Finally, the silence is being broken. There IS a "dreaded" optispark seal leak!!!

Long story made short. After my cam swap I noticed an oil leak coming from the front timing cover. NOT the intake manifold or the timing cover gasket, but from the FRONT of the timing cover. Now there are three(3) seals in the front cover, the water pump seal, the opti seal and the crank seal. From searching various posts on this, and other, boards, I ASSUMED that the leak was coming from the water pump seal, so I replaced it, THREE SEPARATE TIMES!!! The leak NEVER went away, (or even slowed down for that matter). While replacing the water pump seal for the third time(!), I put clean paper towling around both the water pump and optispark seals before re-installing the water pump, (because it's VERY hard to wrap those seals with paper towel while the water pump is still on). The result of this little "experiment" is that I now KNOW that it was the optispark seal that was leaking ALL the time!

Now the bad(?) news, I have since replaced the opti seal two(2) times now and while the leak totally stops for about 4-5,000 miles of driving, it has always returned. The next time I replace that Optispark seal, I WILL USE ONLY AN ORIGINAL GM SEAL!!!! I have used both Fel-Pro and Rol optispark seals and they just DON'T last. Searches on this subject have now convinced me to pony up the $14+ dollars GM charges for that *@#^%$#%optispark seal, and be done with it!!!

Now for the good news. Each of the two previous times I've had my opti off to replace the seal after it's been leaking, I've taken the cap off and there has NEVER been ANY oil within the opti itself. The leak is obviously between the opti shaft/bearing and the seal itself, so the oil just runs downs the front cover of the engine.

Stop the madness, report optispark seal leaks now!!!

Hope this info helps.

 

You mean ~$4, right? That's what I bought mine for. I replaced mine just as a maintenance item when doing a cam swap, but the original was not leaking. New one's not leaking either.

Proper installation is the key. If you bend or tweak the metal of the seal when installing it, you might as well throw it away, 'cause it's gonna leak.

 

Ahhhhhhhh..... shoebox, $4 for an original GM optispark seal, I wish!!! No I really meant $14 plus.

Another long story made short. Like you did, when I did my cam swap, I replaced ALL of the seals I could find when the engine was dis-assembled, (wheather or not they were leaking, (and NONE were leaking at the time), because the vehicle did have around 51,000 miles on it and I wanted all NEW seals on it). When it came time to buy the replacement seals and gasket for the timing cover, I got the following (approximate) quotes from two(2) local Chevy dealers: Water pump seal $7, Crank seal $11, Optispark seal $14, and Timing cover gasket $4, for an approximate total of around $36 bucks. I then went to my local Murray's Auto and found out that Rol sold a "kit" for the timing cover for around $11 that included all of the seals/gaskets EXCEPT the water pump seal. So I bought the Rol $11 "kit" and the original GM water pump seal for $7 and did the install.

The second time around, somone on this board recommended the Fel-Pro "kit" for the timing cover, and I got that at a different auto parts store, (not Murray's), for around $13. It also had all the seals, EXCEPT the water pump seal.

Like I said earlier, I have learned my lesson and will ONLY use an original equiptment GM seal for that @#$%^$@@ optispark, but, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE tell me where I can get one for $4.

TIA