ok well i found the cause of the problem. the second hose from the top(not the overflow, the one RIGHT below it) coming from the radiator has a pinhole sized hole in it and i saw it after i tossed the new coil and ICM on it tonight. i only noticed it because i was holding a light and looking in and saw the tinest mist of liquid. it happens to be right where it goes from being rubber to being metal. it also so happens to be located RIGHT above where the connector for the opti is.. so im guessing it got a little wet.

im also guessing this means my opti now has an expiration date and that it wasnt the coil/ICM. i guess seeing the symptoms flare again when i wiggled those wires just happened to be coincidence. that said, having put the new coil and ICM on.. it fires RIIIIGHT up very quickly.. takes half the time to fully engage the engine.

so i stuffed some towels around the area and by the time i closed the hood the spray had stopped and it was only slightly moistening that area. im not really sure what that hose is or what it does but im guessing its going to need replacing. do you guys think theres any kind of water sealing tape I could use in the meanwhile or maybe some rtv?

EDIT: its the steam/coolant crossover. the section where it is actually rubber before it becomes a metal pipe. the back of my intake gasket has an oil leak so Im going to just find some temporary solution and replace that crossover hose when i do the intake manifold gasket.

actually heres a thought. can i just cut that rubber section and replace it?

and one question. Could this potentially allow air into the cooling system?

 

last thing you want is coolant on the opti. if it only got on the harness and didnt drain down to the opti your opti should be ok. clean and dry the connector and put some electrical grease on it. the harness itself is a common fail point on these. http://www.summitracing.com/parts/ce...tAkaAgus8P8HAQ

 

well i got some silicone self fusing tape and wrapped up that pinhole in the rubber hose. seems to have worked for now. i double wrapped it in the silicone tape then wrapped all that in electrical tape and i havent had any issues at all. since the day of the original problem i cleared the codes and they havent returned and todays tuesday and it happened on friday so my fingers are crossed but it would appear that the opti didnt see any lasting damage. as soon as im done with my 98 engine swap and i get that running, im going to take my 93 off the road to do the intake manifold gasket and ill get a new coolant crossover while im in there.

i bought an ls1 fan shroud, ls1 radiator, failsafe 180 thermostat, and some of that pink water wetter stuff. my current radiator has the coolant level broken and filled with epoxy putty. i put the failsafe thermostat and the fan shroud in but i havent done the radiator yet. didnt have enough time on sunday so i thought id hold off for when i do actually have time. temps have been good so far and ive been double checking it with an infrared thermostat. ive been taking the temps from the front side face of the head as well as the valve covers and ive noticed the temperatures vary alot from the front to the back. im guessing this is normal right? like ill see 160-170s in the front but 180-190 in the back.. all the while my temp gage is sitting just under half way or so. is there a better location to take the temp at? i also took my compressor and cleaned the **** out of the radiator and ac condenser as they were seriously dirty with grass, dust, and dirt sticking out of them(mostly the ac condenser). i know the ac system still has a leak but i did this last weekend and ive gone 3 weeks now without needing a charge whereas it normally only lasts 1-2 weeks at most.

anyways, any of yall have experience with those failsafe thermostats? i figured for a few bucks more it was at least worth a shot and if worst comes to worst i still have my good regular thermostat in the trunk thats less than 3 months old.

 

have you blead the air out of the coolant system. https://camaroforums.com/forum/lt1-l...-system-66742/

 

yeah i bled it right the first time. i "get it" now when it comes to bleeding it. the problem i had the last time was that i never opened the bleeders before the first start up while refilling the system. this time i did.. and i could hear the air whistle out of them and a quick top off while running and ive been good to go. live and learn brother.. live and learn