food nd cars

As many of you know, my 355 le2 was finished up a couple weeks ago and I have been breaking in the engine and clutch before getting a dyno tune and racing it. My tune is scheduled for tomorrow. and was supposed to head to Hot august nights in Reno this sat... Well tonight i went out after I changed the oil to mobil 1 synthetic and head out to the back roads and went to WOT and the car stuttered bad at mid RPMs and died i pulled over popped the hood. Restarted the car mid RPM miss went away. Go for another WOT run and bam at 5k RPM its like the car is hitting the rev limiter. All is normal now except once it reaches the 5k rpm range.. The opti was replaced (says the previous owner). ICM and coil were cleaned and re greased with artic silver 5.

Am I finally getting pwned by the optispark ??

Wires and plugs are new, with heat sleeves over the wires. And even when the tune was fresh (mail order tune) I was still able to pull up to 6500 rpm with no stutters.

I am looking at chandlers optisparks right now. Does anyone have any experience with these? What are some things I can try?

speed_demon24

iTrader: (6)

So you did a heads/cam swap but didn't spend 10 minutes to pull the opti apart since it was off the car anyway to check its condition and to loctite the rotor screws in?

food nd cars

It was really clean! I know I fudged up on not putting some locktite on it.. But i was going with the motto if it is broke dont fix it. It was running strong with bolt ons and even for a few weeks after the rebuild so trust me if there were ANY opti symptoms i would have replaced it while it was out...

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

I'd say Opti also.

Sorry dude, I'm with Speed on this one, you shoulda at least cracked it open to have a peek.

When it comes to the Opti, the rule of thumb is if it ain't broke, it's about to break.

SS RRR

iTrader: (2)

So is this one:

95mysticta

iTrader: (4)

Sucks about yourluck im in the same boat i just got my motor finished up this year and it ran mint for a week or two then the fuel pump ****. Then i wire under the dash chafed and would start shorting out causing a wack of problems. Was fine after that for a couple weeks now im getting heat soak symptoms so i have to start checking and diagnosing if my coil or icm might be going and change them out aswell do the icm/coil cooling mod to avoid it again. Just never seems to end with these cars. Im getting very tired of all the bullshit ive gone through with this money pit and ready to either do the 24x or part my ride and go to the dark side. Always non running conditions that leave me stranged none of the normal breakdown issues that are bound to go bad.

Paul Bell

iTrader: (9)

That's what I went through with my '94.

Strange how the '99 has way more miles on it and I can almost weld the hood shut.

Gojira94

iTrader: (4)

Hate to hear that. My rebuild I used the 64k mile opti and put an MSD cap & rotor on it. unbeknownst to me, the shaft bearing started coming apart on the dyno. So within a few miles of my dyno tune that probably left a couple of HP on the table I was doing a new opti (Delphi). Fun Fun Fun...

qc97z

iTrader: (9)

I'm not going to hate on them (not this time anyway), I'll just say this: Be careful. Lots of DOA units, lots of "It's only got 300 miles on it" bad units. But there have been some with good luck on them.
With opti's (and I don't think anyone will argue with this), you get what you pay for. At this point in time, Delco/Delphi is the best way to go.

Mystery Bird

iTrader: (7)

Did you verify fuel pressure at WOT? I had a fuel pump that was on its way out once that did the same as you're describing.

great421

iTrader: (1)

Like stated above - it could be a fuel pump / fuel filter issue; however, if you do decide to replace the Opti (which really sounds like the issue), then FYI the Chandlers unit on my car has lasted longer than one GM unit I had on it and one Summit brand unit. (I've replaced my Opti 6 times!)

Folks here talk about the unit's screws coming loose, but for my car, the issue has always been terminal rust / internal corrosion due to water pump seepage. I took the last Opti apart and placed a thin film of silicone on the rubber gasket then reassembled it prior to the install, you might want to try that too.

Good luck!

food nd cars

got one from a local dealer for a steal! only $500

How long does it typically take you guys to replace em? I took the motor and tranny out before so at least this job isn't as labor intensive.. Should I remove the fans to access it?

Mystery Bird

iTrader: (7)

Getting the fans out of the way would make the job eaiser.

food nd cars

1hr to get the water pump off on gravel and jack stands.. oh and don't forget 100* weather!!! WTF

I think the car keeps on breaking because it just wants me to touch it. Horny Bitch!

also I am being helped by my friends corona and lime.