Not sure where to look, but I thought maybe someone would be able to tell me who knows 4th gens. I'm having trouble with an optispark, and I need more information. I'm trying to find out how to test it, or what the symtoms of a bad one are. I think I have a bad one, but need help.

 

I replaced one on my 94. The car died and wouldn't start the last time it acted up. Before that it would just act crazy at high RPM's. 4500 or so it would cut out on me. It was a pretty easy job to do. I heard it was bad. Don't believe the scary stories. Just have to remove the water pump and the intake ducting.

 

not sure you can test the optispark unit. is the unit on the car or off? if it's off your better off replacing it and not having to worry about it. if your short on funds you can take it apart and clean/snad the reluctor wheel. it tends to get dirty/rusty not allowing the optical receptor to properly "read" the disc.

it could also be like in my case, the rotor had a hole in it and was faling apart.


this link takes you to a vented model(95+). the non vented model is very simliar it just uses a different method to drive the distributor. i myself upgraded to the vented model.

Optispark Disection


best of luck

 

Here is the thread that I posted on an f-body site last year.

http://www.kyfbodies.org/vb/showthre...t+an+optispark

 

Had to help a friend put a new one on his '93 Trans Am. Fundamentally, it's an easy job but my friend is a moron and made it a heck of a lot more complicated than it had to be. His symptom was a serious lack of power -- he couldn't even break the tires loose from a dead stop. I think the biggest problem with replacing that thing is the way GM routed the plug wires... literally a half-inch away from various pullies and belts. We installed 8.5mm MSD wires at the same time and I had to get real creative in routing the wires since the stock wire holders were too small. Oh, and the first OptiSpark he bought was bad. Found that out the hard way (installed everything, car would crank but not start). Then he decides that he's gonna install the second replacement Opti by himself. Develops these weird cooling problems. Replaced all the coolant sensors, checked fan operation, etc. Ultimately, it turns out that he never installed the little collar that attaches the water pump to the timing chain. Make sure you do that .

 

I have had the pleasure of changing one before, I just want to make sure before I do it again(different car this time). No ses light, and if you leave to car alone for awhile it runs ok. But when you put it in gear, it hesitates, chokes, pops, and backfires like its firing at all the wrong times. After a few minutes of this, it won't start at all, and sometimes stops abruptly while cranking like when the timing is too far advanced. All the while no ses light. Put on a new fuel filter, and checked pressure, and is ok. This car is a 93 which is supposed to be the worst years for opticrap. Thanks for the input guys, it's stuff like this that makes love my 3rd gen!!!!!

 

Would it be safe to say that it's not a good idea to steam clean these engines?

 

Why do you ask? Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to steam clean ANY engine. A friend I know had that done to his engine and it developed this awful hesitation/spark issue. Turns out that an entire spark plug chamber (FWD, inline four cylinder) was full of water and was shorting out. Ouch.

 

Because this year of optispark(93-94) had exposed weep holes instead of vents like the later years. I was told a theory that as the opti warmed with the engine, that it actually draws in moisture, which was a big reason these years had the most trouble.

 

Uh oh opti hell!!!! I'm there myself....not too hard to replace..just need about $300 for parts ..airtools help a lot.. here is a good helper...http://www.houston-f-body.org/tech/optispark/

Good luck! Set aside a full day for this..here is another link on testing!
https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=170981

 

Hey 'Riley' how did that go?

I remember you said the one off E-Bay was a bust...

Once is enough for me

I think I remember the hardest part was doing the plug wires...(Aaaagain Vette knowledge ) I had to remove the power steering pump pulley, to remove the power steering pump to get the yada yada. It was a turd.
I think the hardest of the opti job was, what the balancer/pulley.
No biggie, just remember where to put back on, cause it's not keyed...

Ron

 

Well Ron, It took me 40 min to get the POS I bought off...at least the car would start with that one , so it pretty much confirmed an opti problem...But..I just spent $1800 on my 400sb for the 89, so now the 94 is waiting for payday...such is life!!! Im for sure buying new this time! (remanufactured anyway)

 

Well at least if you buy the reman (which I did) you can get you money back...

I know what you mean about the funds. I have a set of wheels sitting in my basement waiting for the funds to get tires.
My old lady kept asking if I was going to hang them on the wall or make bar stools.





Ron

 

I opt for the bar stools.. ..there is a little arrow on mine .(balancer) and the balancer bolted onto a hub on the crank..kinda hard to mess up as long as you remember where the arrow was pointing... I had to use a universal 3 arm puller to get the balancer off the hub..and some penetrating oil..( Vaders advice). Thanks to the Mid-West rust effect!

 

BTW Keep all moisture away from the front of the LT1....you will be sorry if you dont...

 

Ron

 

excellent choice..and great craftsmanship!!!!:sillylol:

 

Talk to the guys over in the LT1 section at cz28.com. They will be able to answer all your questions.

 

Naaaa - We know what were doing...

 

Thats exactly what my Opti-spark on my 2.8 looked like!!