Opti spark procedure

[Frank K.]

Does the DC power have to be removed from the vehicle prior to removal of distrubotor. If so how would you boot up system? Can a 9 volt power supply be used after battery disconnect?

[Joe R.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

No, but it's a good idea.

And no you don't have to do anything to reboot the system after removing the +12 from the system.

Just as a side note the Opti Spark can be purchased on E-bay for considerably less than Delco sells and it's the same distributor. Less than $100.00 shipped and it's guaranteed for life.

JR

[Frank K.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

Which one on e-bay is equal to a gm with life replacement?

[Keith B.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

From what I read on here Delco has not made a Opti unit in years. I think most are rebuilt by Cardone I have been through three car quest branded ones. Replaced two of them under there guarantee. Chose wisely

[Frank K.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

I am going with MSD,After looking at the internals of others nothing is locked down with loctite. Caps are not sealed not vented! Attaching a vent tube to the water pump weep hole seems to be over looked, this would direct water away from the opti, something no one discusses.

[Keith B.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

95-97 LT-1 engines have the vented opti. you can retro fit them into the early models.

[Joe L.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

95-97 LT-1 engines have the vented opti. you can retro fit them into the early models.

Keith------


Yes, that can be done. However, it requires other part changes including the engine front cover. The front cover for 95-96 applications is no longer available from GM.

If one decides they want to try a vacuum ventilation system, a better plan might be to retrofit a such a system to the 92-94 style OptiSpark. Kits are available for this.

[Joe R.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

Keith------


Yes, that can be done. However, it requires other part changes including the engine front cover. The front cover for 95-96 applications is no longer available from GM.

If one decides they want to try a vacuum ventilation system, a better plan might be to retrofit a such a system to the 92-94 style OptiSpark. Kits are available for this.

And don't forget that the 96 LT-1 has the Rev Counter and the 95 LT-1 does not. That's in the timing chain cover as a magnetic pickup.

JR

[Joe L.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

And don't forget that the 96 LT-1 has the Rev Counter and the 95 LT-1 does not. That's in the timing chain cover as a magnetic pickup.

JR

JR------


Yes, the 1995 and 1996 covers were different. Neither is currently available from GM.

[Frank K.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

MSD is the only one for the 1992 and 1993 cars that i am given positive reviews on . The rest are not holding up well except the replacement gm with the vented bottom! Try to find one. I have a Gm cap and rotor i bought in 1993 as a spare but they never could hook me up with an original bottom vented opti. They were being replaced as fast as they were in a rain storm or they washed the engine. I do not recall any letters from GM about the problem!

[Joe L.]

Re: Opti spark prodedure

MSD is the only one for the 1992 and 1993 cars that i am given positive reviews on . The rest are not holding up well except the replacement gm with the vented bottom! Try to find one. I have a Gm cap and rotor i bought in 1993 as a spare but they never could hook me up with an original bottom vented opti. They were being replaced as fast as they were in a rain storm or they washed the engine. I do not recall any letters from GM about the problem!

Frank------


There were only 2 versions I know of for the 1992-94 OptiSpark. The very early 1992 version, which may have been GM #10457158, had no vent holes in the bottom. These failed very rapidly and the 92's with this distributor were recalled. My early 1992 OptiSpark failed the day the car turned 3,000 miles. Assuming one could find one of these, forget about using it.

The second design OptiSpark had the 3 vent holes on the bottom of the cast aluminum body. These were retrofitted to early 1992 Corvettes and used for the remainder of 1992-94. The first part number was GM #10457702. I believe this was actually a kit which included the distributor and a few other parts needed for early 1992 retrofit applications. The second part number was GM #1103947. I believe this was just the distributor with no included parts. Both are long-since GM-discontinued. There is presently a GM "remanufactured" unit on the market under GM #19212299. This unit sells for about $500.

The 1995-96 OptiSparks used a vacuum ventilation system. These cannot be retrofitted to 92-94 models without other engine modifications. However, there is a kit available to convert 1992-94 OptiSparks to vacuum ventilation. Whether it's actually worth doing, I don't know.