I have a 1994 camaro z28 6speed and it needs a new engine. The replacement engine has 80k miles and we will put it in in a week or so. I got a new water pump to put in it because I don't want to replace the water pump after I get it in. Should I replace the optispark? I heard they go out a lot and I don't want to not be able to rip the camaro Thoughts?

 

how old is the one you have?

 

Not sure.

 

are you replacing the rear main seal? How about the front seals, oil pan gasket, head gaskets, intake gasket?

Optisparks do like to be replaced. If you look at them wrong they will go bad. OK, maybe it's not that bad but they don't last long and that includes if you can find a GM/Delphi one.

Parts quality these days has gone down dramatically. I had 2 replacement clutch master cylinders fail in the same spot on one of my cars. A bolt broke and fluid leaked. It took me 3 replacements to get a good one

 

a quality opti can last from 60k to 100k miles. cheap china chit is a crab shoot and i would say last anywhere from 0 to 60k miles. might try taking the cap off and see what the inside looks like. \ theres more than just a cap and rotor to these and more often than not its the optic reader that degrades and fails.

 

^^^ agree i would replace seals, gaskets and oil pump, i used a high pressure with standard volume one.

 

If you're that far in, I'd replace it. No it's not cheap, but it's a lot easier doing it while the engine is out then with it in. Agreed that your basic seals should be replaced. The last thing you want is to put that in and have oil seeping out of a seal. It's frustrating...especially if the seal is new.

GM/Delphi or MSD opti. If you can't afford either, and want one from a parts store, go new, not reman'd.

 

I have an GM, optispark about 1k miles on it, and working strong. i would reccomend that because if u get it from the dealership they will give you a warranty on it as long as you ask nicely!111

 

This is always the big question, “how far to go when installing a used motor”. This runs through my mind every time I install a used motor. There are so many factors. It is easy to say just do seals and gaskets, well if the oil pan and heads are off why not spend $150 and 2 more hours you could do rings and bearings, might as well spend another $60 and do the timing chain, got do the oil pump ($80) oh another $200 to get a Cam, maybe send the block for Cam Bearings. And so on and so on.

What I like to do is to have the motor in front of me and pull the valve covers, see how the engine was maintained. If there is sludge in it pull the intake/oil pan so you can clean it out. Inspect it for oil leaks and seepage (staining from slow leaks). If it still has oil in it send the oil out to be analyzed, I think it only cost $30. They will not only send you results but they will help you with what those results mean. If the oil contains trace amounts of antifreeze then you should do the heads and intake.

Of course age is a factor, on a 20+ year old motor I would be more worried about the soft parts then I would on an 8 year old motor. IMO I would replace everything on the bottom gasket and seal wise so you don’t have to pull the motor again. Normally I would say just hold off you can do the head gaskets later but these engines are so tuff to work on once they are installed I would be very tempted to do head gaskets and timing chain cover with the motor out. For an inexperienced guy removing the opti and the heads can cause issues as the valve will need adjusted and the Opti has to go together right.

Like I said there is a lot of factor, Condition of the motor, how long do you need it to last, Budget, your skill level, how good is the rest of the car. In mechanic school they teach a big part of engine replacement is verifying the condition and valve of the car before offering the customer a replacement engine. I am just saying the if this a 180,000 miles car and its still mostly original are you going to do a rolling restoration over the next few years or are you just going to drive it until you can get another one. When these cars hit 250K miles you have either put a ton of money into non-engine parts or you going to need to. I am not talking about brakes and tires. I am talking everything else.

 

I deleted everything else and left the most salient point from Gorn and it's why you will see 4th gen people say the same thing.

Accessibility is a huge issue with 4th gens and if I have an 80k mile engine in front of me (how many of those miles are city btw) then you bet your bippy it's getting gaskets and seals while it's there in front of me and easy to do