HELP: thermostat change, collant in opti?
05-12-2009, 07:08 PM
#1
HELP: thermostat change, collant in opti? ok so...to make a long story short my swap from stock to 160* thermostat was a complete pain in the ***, a bolt snapped and now once its all back together the car wont fhcking start.....it just cranks and it jumped a few times like it wanted to start but wouldnt. i did manage to spill coolant and i know the opti is almost right under the water pump...my guess is i got some on the opti...anything else it could be? if so would i just need to replace the cap/rotor, or whole unit. ive no idea what the hell is going on but its pissing me off because im not starting my headers until this is taken care of...any tips/help anything is welcome, i need this fixed 
:b ang:
:b ang: 
05-12-2009, 08:28 PM
#2
If all you did was change the thermostat, then I would suspect that the opti got moisture inside. That sucks bro.
Did you test for spark at the coil?
If you opti has any decent mileage on it, you might as well change the whole thing instead of doing just the cap and rotor.
Did you test for spark at the coil?
If you opti has any decent mileage on it, you might as well change the whole thing instead of doing just the cap and rotor.
05-12-2009, 10:00 PM
#5
nah opti has about 2k miles on it...thats part of the reason i was so fcking pissed because i replaced it last year. i didnt bother testing for spark because i was so pissed i figured i should just walk away and leave it be before i kicked a dent into my car. went fishing for a bit so im in a better mood now. yeah i dont think theres anything else it could be, so if thats it id only need the cap and rotor?
05-12-2009, 10:25 PM
#6
i always seal every opti i put in with flowable silicone winshield and glass sealent. ive never had an issue with carwashes or heavy rain or cleaning the engine with waterhose and cleaner. so if you put a new cap on deff seal it up.
05-12-2009, 10:39 PM
#7
Check for spark first. Find an inductive timing light and check for spark before doing anything as drastic as changing out the opti.
Also, what year is your bird? Does it have the vented opti? They recover from water much easier than the early non-vented ones.
Also, what year is your bird? Does it have the vented opti? They recover from water much easier than the early non-vented ones.
Trending Topics
05-13-2009, 11:17 AM
#9
You might get lucky and it will dry out. Otherwise the terminals or the optical sensor could be corroded, you won't know which until you open it up. I'd remove it and look inside, if the optical wheel and sensor are clean, go ahead and get a new cap and rotor. If both are dirty, you might as well get a whole unit. You could clean it all up, put it back on, without putting the water pump back on and see if it fires. If it does, do a quick pull down the street, if it runs fine, then park it, shut it off, and bolt up the rest.
05-20-2009, 01:41 PM
#11
TECH Addict
iTrader: (17)
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 2,498
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
could be the ICM, i was changing my coil and had the ICM off the car over night. when i put it back on it went bad. It was only 6 months old at the time, they can be very touchy. and just replacing the thermo you dont leak that much water. I swap my 180 and 160 every winter
05-20-2009, 11:25 PM
#15
if it was the icm i guess i wouldnt be getting any spark, im going to check fuel pressure tomorow, talked to the guys at the shop and it would make sense...well..im guessing my engines probably flooded now from trying to start it over and over again.....so ill see if i can get it to start now knowing that.
