OK, every time I get an older vehicle with a few miles on it, I clean the engine. I like clean engines, call me weird. Well, apparently, from what I have been reading, the LT1 does not like to be cleaned. I did not know this obviously before I cleaned it. I used a whole can of engine degreaser, being sure to really coat the area I thought was just the water pump area because there is an oil leak in there somewhere and I'm trying to find it. Oh, and I was sure to hit that area real good with a garden hose set on jet blast...well, she did start after I did this and was doing some spitting sputtering, missing sometimes, but at least she started. Today, she will not start. Turns over and over, but no start. my question is did I do permanent damage to the optispark thingy? Should i just let it sit for a few days and try again? I have changed the plugs and pulled the wires off the optispark and sprayed the connections with contact cleaner. I just don't see how it could be anything else but something getting wet because she ran fine before this bonehead move of mine. If water got inside the optispark, is it ruined? I have read that the earlier versions (mines a 94) were not sealed that well. Advise, personal experiences? (besides not washing the engine again).

 

I personally have had bad luck with optis and yes Optisparks are senstive to water. A small leak from a water pump has been known to ruin them so a good soking from a water hose cant be good. My guess is that the seals behind it in timing cover are where your oil leak is change them if you remove it. You can try letting it sit for a day or so but its probably cooked. I'd def go with a name brand opti i learned the hard way trying the chepos.

 

There is a lot of hardware and circuitry inside the opti that does not like to get wet. You can try to remove the distributor cap and blow the moisture out with a hair drier, and it may be OK for a while, if you are lucky. No matter what engine you are dealing with, getting the ignition wet is a good way to cause trouble.

 

Yep, optis do not like to get wet. +1 on the oil leaking from the seals on the timing cover. It is a fairly common problem and easy to fix.

Do you know if it is the original opti in the car? It is possible, as the originals have been reported to last over 100,000 miles. I replaced mine a couple years ago, right after I bought my car and it had almost 83,000 miles on it (original plugs and wires also).

Chandler Motorsports sells an opti that some guys here have used and I haven't read anything bad about them. They are a lot cheaper than a factory unit. I used a Delphi opti when I replaced mine, and it cost a couple hundred bucks.

Be wary of the cheap optis on eBay. I haven't heard many good reviews of them.

If you do determine that the opti is toast, go ahead and replace the plugs, wires and ICM as well (and for sake of your sanity, replace the waterpump also). If everything is still original, then it is well past time to give it a tuneup. If the stuff was replaced by the previous owner, you just don't know what they used. Could have been cheap eBay stuff, or possibly good stuff that you ruined with the engine bath. Either way, by replacing it all, you will know what you have and it will give you are good baseline for future troubleshooting.

 

Thanks guys. I just confirmed I have no spark at the plugs. D@mn they bury the optispark don't they? Gotta take half the frickin engine apart to get to it...lol

 

But...i don't have a spark from the coil either..maybe I shorted the coil...

 

take as many connectors lose as you can find and dry them and reconnect. look at number 2 here https://camaroforums.com/forum/93-02...62/#post557634

 

Da Nile is a river in Africa

you killed the optispark

I've used GM versions but should my opti go bad again I'd try a Chinese one that Chandler resells. Heck, for $100 why not give it a shot. You may as well replace the seals while you are there. You need to get a timing cover gasket kit and the seals come with it.

 

Thanks man, bit the bullet, new water pump, timing cover gasket, coil, and optispark. (paid $250), not the most expensive, but not the cheapest either. Got it all apart, turned the optispark over and water poured out of it. Going to pick up the new one now (o'reillys had to order it from the warehouse). I'll post results after I get it all back together, but the thing being full of water is a good (bad) sign that that is the problem. Jeesh....all I wanted was a clean engine...lol...very expensive lesson learned...

 

lol. man you really washed that sucker. take the cap and rotor off the new one before installing and put some thread lock on the screws for the rotor. also add some rtv on the o ring of the cap and put some on the area where the wires go in the opti. if you have a plug at the opit you may want to seal up around the area.