Need a quick education from you Opti guys
 

I have a friend with a 95 vette that has the good old Opti system. I've never worked on one but I told him I'd tune the car up, including changing the cap, rotor, and wires. I took a quick look at it and I'm not looking forward to it.

To change the cap and rotor do I have to remove the water pump? It sure looked like it :?

Does anything else have to be removed like the balancer or anything else up front? For a skilled mechanic, how long do you think the process might take? This is why I like working on old cars!

Re: Need a quick education from you Opti guys
 

Change the entire opti, DON'T just try to do a cap and rotor on it. You'll only end up wasting money. If you insist on changing just the cap and rotor, you're going to need a set of reverse torx bits.

The water pump has to come off.

The crank pulley has to come off. Use a three jaw puller on it.

The radiator fans will need to come out. Simple enough, just unplug the wiring harness and lift them up until the mounting tabs clear the slots, then drop down and out from the bottom of the car.

To change an opti, once you've done it a few times (like I have) you should be able to have it completely done in 2 1/2 to 3 hours tops. That's from car on the ground to car on the ground. Spark plugs and wires on the other hand, you better set aside the rest of the day.

What the hell are reverse torx bits? Do you mean the sockets that have the star pattern cut into them....like the female version of a torx? If so I have a set.

Why do you call it a waste to do just the cap and rotor? The plugs and wires on the Vette look fairly easy actually...I guess since the whole front clip opens on them it's easier access to the sides of the engine.

The opti distributor is considered very fragile - do the cap and rotor, and you're likely to have to replace the opti in a few months anyway, and you'll have to pull everything apart again.....

- Justin

Ok am I better off then doing the whole unit or just letting it go until it dies? It hasn't been running bad according to him but with 75k we figured it was due.

I'll still do the plugs and wires either way.

Might as well replace the waterpump too. Once that starts leaking out the weephole, the antifreeze will work it's way inside the Optispark and wreck it. Gotta love the great design by GM!

Haha I'm so glad I got myself involved in this tune up...really.

Maybe I should just do the plugs and wires? Can I do the wires without removing the water pump? I saw that the cap is kind of offset to one side of the engine making one sides wires easy and the other side more difficult probably.

i think i was able to 6 or 7 wires/plugs done on my 94 formy...never changed the opti but it sounds/looks like a bitch to do...good luck paul :)

it's really not that hard...took my retarded ass 5-6 hours to do in my driveway with a k-mart socket set :lol:

btw if/when you do it DEFINATELY toss a new water pump on it and rtv the **** out of the opti where it contacts the block

If the Opti isn't malfunctioning, then I wouldn't replace it. When it goes, then you can do that and the waterpump. For now I would just do plugs and wires. BTW, I highly recommend the Taylor wires from thunderracing. They are a little thick so they don't fit in the little plastic holders but they work great.