well guys i shit my opti i pulled my t-stat housing and put in a 160 not thinking about the opti getting wet. started it up and back fire city shit. and what sucks its snowing here in germany and also this is a daliy driver. i got a guy who has a brand new opti hes gonna let me get for 100 bucks but it is a stock unit. do i have to remove the water pump and the crank pulley any thoughts thanks gurus. about how long does it normally take to swap this out.

Since you haven't done it before, figure 5 hours min.

I'll put something together here in a bit.

You may want to mod that opti to vent it but if you're in a hurry to get back on the road, you may not have time. There are kits available. 94-95s are vented from the factory.

If the water pump's old, it's a good idea to replace it.

If your friend's opti is a GM, you're OK. If it's from one of the internet dealers and isn't GM, run away. You can find threads here about guys who bought the inexpensive ones only to have them crap out in less than a year.

If you have the bucks, get a MSD.

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BillH wrote:
94-95s are vented from the factory.

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94s are not vented, the gen II opti was for 95-96s.
It is not a job you want to do more than once, so like Bill said stay away from the cheap junk optisparks.

If you know how to pull the water pump then you have almost all the know how you need. The only additional step is pulling the damper off the crank hub, which can be a bear.
It is also a good time to replace the plug wires if they are original.

Save your back, put the front of the car up on stands and pull both wheels.

Drain the coolant. If you have time, flush the system which includes removing the knock sensors in the block (there's a lot of crud behind them).

Pull the radiator hoses. Pull the waterpump (note: 6 bolts on the w/p).

Try and find a powersteering pump pulley puller/installer, this makes it easier than loosening the pump and lets you see the plug wire connections.

The harmonic balancer has to come off. It may be rusted to the crank hub. It's a good idea to use some rust penetrating oil front & back the nite before. Pull the 3 balancer bolts (if you have a 6 speed, put it in gear to break the bolts loose). One of the 3 holes in the balancer is offset so it only goes on one way.
If the balancer's tight, you have to get under the car with a long piece of wood or a long 1/2 inch extension. Put that up against the balancer as close to the crank hub as possible and give it a wack, go to the other side, wack, repeat. When reinstalling the balancer, use antisieze on the surfaces that contact the crank hub.

Rotate the crank with a ratchet until 2 of the bolt holes are at 10 & 2, this will allow the opti to get by the hub.
Pull the opti cap and mark the rotor position somewhere on the block. You'll need a torx (star) bit to remove the cap.
Remove the opti bolts.

Pull the opti off. NOTE: Important, the drive shaft is supposed to go in only one way, mark the end that goes into the cam.
AND: More important, the drive on a 92-93 is a splined shaft, one of the splines is twice the size of the others and this is how it is keyed to the cam and the rotor.

When you install the shaft in the new opti, that keyed spline has to be in the right location. Then put the rotor in the position that you marked on the block and slide the new opti in.
IF the new one slides in and stops witha about a 1/4 gap to the block, the splines are not lined up correctly. Do not force it in using the bolts. It should silde up tight against the block by hand.

If I think of anything else, I'll post it.

Also, a waterpump mod if you are using a GM opti. There's a weep hole on the bottom of the w/p. Epoxy a right angle fitting in that hole and run a small hose away from the opti. That way, if the pump leaks, it won't leak on the opti.

http://www.bandit-online.de/forum/thr ... 57180af122ee68188217499d9

If the vented unit fits the older model, you can't beat this price in Germany. €120.- shipped for a good used 1 year old Delco-Opti. I followed his troubleshooting and it turned out to be a different issue, that's why he's selling.

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Good price but won't work on a 92-93.

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Gen I and II opti are not interchangeable. Why GM had to do that is beyond me, it would have been nice if they both had the same drive coupling.

They fixed a number of other weaknesses with the Gen II opti - bearing size and sealing, just to name a couple.

You may be able to save the opti

since it just happened, take it apart and drain the fluid out, it's an optical unit after all. hopefully it hasn't corroded up yet.

I'd put a vented cap on it, and replace the rotor.

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Good advice. Take it apart, be careful and don't lose the little screws, and inspect it. The opti often gets a bad rap. It has some flaws, but it's not junk like the internet wants you to believe. An hour of your time could save lots of your money.

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I could show you one off a 92 that........er, never mind.

Thanks guys for all the help i let it sit all weekend i didnt mess with it i fired it up and i ran ok but after it warmed up and drove it a little bit it started messing up again not bad just every now and then im gonna get the opti from the guy i know i have a long weekend coming up so maybe if my gaskets and wires come in i will do it then but since the holiays who knows when ill get my stuff it normally takes a week during non holiday so we will see. ill keep you guys up to date. Dan

Once an opti starts to throw codes, it will continue to do so. It sounds heat related, so the optical pickup is failing. It sounds exactly like what has happened to my Dynaspark.

its not throwing any codes my service engine light is not on its just miss firing.

Ok... Opti 101.

If it is throwing codes, something is amiss with the electronics. Not a problem, just replace the unit. There are no diags here, except to be damned sure all contacts are clean and not corroded or filled with oil or water.

Now... miss... that's usually a cap/rotor related problem. As coolant or water get inside the opti, it leads to carbon tracing. As misses occur, the computer will try and compensate. This causes a wandering idle.

As the problem manifests, it will result in a high rpm miss, also, above 5000 RPM.

You must also check the coil wire. It is prone to chaffing against the waterpump, once that happens, the wire will short out to ground and you get spark issues.

One last fault point with the ignition is the coil/ICM assembly. The ICM - Ignition Control Module, for the lack of a better term - fits between the head and the coil. It can simply fail, the coil can fail; both leading to uncoded issues... or, the harnessing between the coil and ICM can fail, leading to all sorts of strange behaviours.

If your harness connectors are very dirty or just plain worn out looking, you need to consider cleaning them up and making sure they are snug. If not, a new harness end is in order. I think Ecklers sells a complete harness with tach filter. Otherwise, GM... If you need one, I will help track one down for you.

You're sig says you have MSD... does that mean an MSD Box? or just the coil? If you have an MSD Box, GET RID OF IT!!! Those damned things will kill the cap/rotor so fast... they weld them to death. They are also prone to failure.

Check that out... don't want to overload all at once.

hey bogus it seems to be working fine right now might have dried up. i got a brand new cap and rotor from this friend i know its a vented cap will this work. i am waiting on my water pump gaskets and wores to come in some time next week ill be doing all the work. yes i have a MSD 6AL and a MSD Blaster coil. i put it int the car with their harness so it was a plig and play very easy to install. i was driving the car yesterday and i didnt miss once so i think everything worked its self out but just incase im going to oull the cap and rotor and replace it. thanks for the help ill keep you guys posted. Dan

Dan, keep the MDS coil, I'm running one, but loose the box like Andy said.

Also, pull your codes off the dash.

And an opti can start to go but may not throw codes for a while (like months).

But, hopefully what you've done will take care of things.

My concern, and I will detail what Bill was alluding to, is that once coolant gets into the opti, a tragic series of events will occur, which will lead to bearing failure.

Now... honestly, if that is the only aspect failing, it could take a while.

As for the vented cap, if it is designed for the Gen 1 opti, it should fit fine. I don't think the Gen 2 cap will fit without modification. It might, though, so give it a try. You have nothing to lose. Also, if you caught the problem early, your current cap/rotor might be still be ok. Clean it up and make sure any carbon tracing has been filed off. If the metal has been eaten, then you have a problem and the part must be replaced.

Before you reassemble, seal the opti with some RTV gasket sealer. I recommend Copper RTV for this task.

Also, put a drain line on the water pumps weap hole, this will divert coolant away from the opti. A little plastic fitting and some rubber hose will do this with little hassle. You may need to epoxy or RTV the fitting to the water pump.

I would start saving money for a new opti. Either the MSD or Dynaspark units. Both have been engineered in such a way that the Gen 1 opti has most, if not all, of the benefits of the Gen 2 unit. I have the Dynaspark. It had an issue, and they took care of it promptly and at no charge to me. It was frustrating that is failed, but I am impressed with their customer service.

And please, get rid of the MSD box. It is a boat anchor! MSD = Multiple Spark Discharge. It will send 2 or 3 short hot zaps from the coil to the distributor instead of 1 long one. The process is potentially damaging to the cap/rotor, versus a more traditional spark system. And trust me, you don't want to get that good at replacing the cap on an opti. Besides, they ain't that cheap!