Ok... so this weekend was a pain in my ***... I get to my car and we test the fuel injectors and they were getting a signal and I tried to crank it and it wouldnt crank... THEN my Dad took his tester and went to test the other side of the injector and the car fired right up... i let it run for about 10 minutes and killed it... shut the doors, locked them, unlocked them and got in and it started again.... we picked up our mess, closed the hatch and hood and took it down the road... I let Dad drive, and needless to say he was pretty impressed... He drives a 3/4 ton Dodge with a Cummins 6 speed and a chip and exhaust and all that jazz and he was pretty impressed at how the car pulls through every shift even if you're driving easy... i noticed a little "bucking" while we took it to a friend's house and didnt think much of it... drove it back to Dad's place and parked it... The only one thing we could find wrong was the battery was bad.. the alternator was putting out the juice and the battery wasn't taking it... I went to crank the car to take it to Autozone to get a battery and it did the same thing as last week, just spin and no fire... So then I commenced to taking the front of the motor apart... we weren't getting spark, so I took the coil out and tested it on a friend's truck and it fired over better than the one he had in his truck, so I knew it was good... which brought me down to the one thing I didnt want to replace... and before I do I want to make sure I've got my prognosis correct... I believe the Optispark is bad... I think letting it sit for so long let the condensation dry out of it so that it would start, but because its in the lower 40's as soon as i cranked the car and killed it it died because of the same reason... I dont believe I saw a vacuum hose connected anywhere once I got the water pump and plug wires out of the way... So NOW i get to track down WHY it didnt have the vacuum hose on it... from what I hear that takes away the water under the cap problem and keeps it from acting this way... So NEXT weekend Im going through the daunting task of taking the rest of the front of the motor apart to get the Optispark off and see if I need just a new cap and rotor or the whole dang thing... If ANY of this makes sense to y'all, let me know so I dont do something stupid for nothing... we checked the wires going to the optispark with a tester and they were getting power, so Im thinking thats the only thing that could go out and cause the issues Im having.... Just let me know what you think so I can sulk...

 

the only other thing i can think of is the ignition modual. i had one go that did something similar to what yours is doing now but it would run after setting for 15 or 20 min. if the vent hose is unhooked it lets moister get in there and we know what that does. i would replace the water pump if ur doing the opti and dont do the cap rotor thing its a roll of the dice on how long the improvement will last if theres a improvement at all. get a good opti like a gm performance not the china make.

 

Ok... So I pretty much made myself believe that its definately, without a doubt, the Opti... So I broke down and ordered myself a brand new Opti from Jegs and am looking up a water pump and want to go with a good "bang for your buck" water pump... should I go electric, or stick with what I had?? Also, I think I read somewhere that someone completely sealed their Opti with RTV, which sounds like the smartest way to keep it from doing what it did again... If I go that route, should I just put a good squirt of it in the vent tube, or go ahead and get a new piece of vacuum line and vent it the way it was supposed to be done? I see a vacuum line on the top of my motor that has a "plug" in it, so Im pretty sure its the one thats SUPPOSED to go to the Opti... Just give me a good idea as to what I should do, or what has worked best for y'all so I can get a list together and HOPEFULLY have this beast back on the road next weekend...

I appreciate all your help, too!!

 

vented opti is way better. mine has a hose to the vacumn and a hose to the intake. keep the stock style aluminum pump. very dependable.

 

You wouldn't, by chance, have pics of how it's supposed to be or a diagram of it, would you? A link or anything? Because there are no vacuum lines there now, I haven't the slightest clue as to how it's supposed to be ran... I'll look in all the posts, but if you come across one I'd be greatful of your help... Should be ordering the water pump tomorrow... Once I find one... I just know I don't want an iron one... I really appreciate the help!!

 

a 97 has a vented opti so u should have all the hookups. not sure where there at on a 97. the conversion i have on mine from the msd kit had a plastic fitting that pushes into the rubber elbow for one hose and the other goes to a vacumn hose on the driver side of the intake. they supply a little t fitting and the L fitting that goes into the elbow. its late and i didnt want to jack up the car to get a look under at the lower vent hose.

i have a aluminum elbow on mine now, i drilled and tapped for the brass fitting. this hose goes to the top vent fitting on the opti.


see the hose with the yellowed and black one way valve that goes to the white tee. that goes to the lower vent fitting on the opti. i think it has a adapter to go to a bigger hose to fit the lower fitting.

 

Ok... Im gonna go look at my car today, but I believe the top vent hose that you have picutred with the fitting in it (2nd pic) is the one that is capped off on my car... so I'll run a vacuum line from there with a 1 way valve to the opti, but are there supposed to be 2 vents off the opti, or only 1 with a "T" fitting and then 2 lines fromt the "T"... One to my "capped off" line and one to the intake? I'll take some pics when I get to my car after while and post them tonight... I just want to make sure that when I have all the parts together I put it BACK together correctly... Seems like the guy before me didn't pay as much attention to detail as I do...

 

yes there are two vent fittings on the opti. one at the top that comes out of the aluminum housing and one towards the bottom on the cap. the hose in the bottom picture goes to the bottom fitting on the cap on mine.

 

Ok... So now the picture you're painting is becoming more clear... I want to make sure Im 100% right before I go to the parts store today/tomorrow.. I have a stock intake, but it has an elbow in it... a piece of hose goes from that elbow to the cap, and a piece goes from the hose you have the 1-way valve to the top of the Opti aluminum housing? Im sure once I get the old opti off I'll have more of an idea of what youre talking about... or once mine FINALLY gets here today... I was under the impression that there was a "T" somewhere, but I cant figure out where there is a "T"... Just making sure.... You know that whole "measure twice, cut once" thing... Im glad you're not gettin pissed off from all the questions... Some people aren't very patient, and I greatly appreciate all the help and visual aids...

 

hay one of the guys posted this link. its got pictures of were the vent hoses go.
http://shbox.com/1/component_location_views.html