explicit.muscle

iTrader: (1)

One of my freinds has a 96 t/a auto, bone stock, and it seems I have to keep replacing his opti 2-4 times a year, more frequently lately. Does any1 know why he keeps burning them out? There is no oil on the thing, and no rust inside. These are the stock re-man opti's from advance auto. And the last time I replaced it, we only did the distributor, and put the old cap and rotor back on, and now his car wont even start. And I changed it 2 days prior to the non-running.

Thanx guys

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

There's your answer. Pony up the dough and buy a real AC Delco or Delphi opti. You can get one from "thepartsladi" on Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/95-96...mZ350164091245

LM97Z

iTrader: (4)

+1. Just get the AC Delco & be done, i'll NEVER buy one from say AZ/O"Reilly/Advance ect., MAYBE Napa, but only if its a genuine AC Delco.

explicit.muscle

iTrader: (1)

I bought one for him, ac delco, and it fried within 5 months. Had a year warranty on it, so Iexchanged it, and put the new one on, and that one only lasted 4 months. I had the same problem on mine, and I said screw it, and bought the msd pro billit dist. I've never had a problem with the MSD, but he doesn't have 550 to pony up for it.

BruceBufferTA

iTrader: (1)

The MSD's can be hit or miss from what I hear.

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

There is no advantage to using a MSD over a AC Delco/Delphi. What do you mean by it fried in X months exactly? What happened? Something broke? Rotor detached?
With any new opti, regardless of the brand, you should remove the cap and thread lock the rotor screws. That goes for your MSD as well, it has and does happen to them too.

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

How much did you pay for that AC Delco that you say you bought him? If you paid anything less than ~250, it wasn't OEM. Buy the opti I linked you, thread lock the rotor screws, and it should last 100k miles. Assuming the WP doesn't explode on it or he doesn't take it for a drive in a lake anywhere.

explicit.muscle

iTrader: (1)

the car will start sputtering and popping, and within a week of that, it wont start at all. If you change the opti, it will start right up, and be running with no problem for 3-4 months. After 3-4 months, the sputtering and popping starts up, and repeats the cycle all over again. All the vaccuum lines are hooked on correctly, so I dont think its moisture. I even siliconed 1 around all the edges, and it lasted the longest, about 7 months.

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

Sounds like it could be the rotor coming loose, or one of the pointer rivets breaking. You could remove the vent tubes and make sure that there are no holes and check to see that the check valves are still functioning properly. Otherwise just do as I said in my last post and he should be problem free for a while.

explicit.muscle

iTrader: (1)

yeah, he paid over 400 for the ac delco, and it came completely assembled. I'll go ahead and put that thread lock on there, and hopefully that helps, cuz im tired of changing that damn opti!!!!!!!!!!!

ss.slp.ls1

iTrader: (36)

That sucks man. For peace of mind, get these as well:

Vent hoses
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

Opti harness
http://store.summitracing.com/partde...5&autoview=sku

97LT1

iTrader: (3)

Ok from my experience the Gm opti has a factory thread lock on the 2 rotor bolts. (you can put more if you desire, or if you have doubts) You have to ask yourself, what you think is going wrong in the opti itself. Is it the cap and rotor portion, or the optical sensor?

Usually upon disassembly, you should be able to see the rotor and contacts and see if they are corroded or worn. If not then it is the optical portion. I believe that the optical sensor is what varies from gm opti to the aftermarket opti. This sensor is made by Mitsubishi, and used in other vehicles.

Ed Wright

iTrader: (1)

I have changed several. Always new Delco units. Have never seen thread locker on the rotor screws. Never found the screws tight either. As already mentioned, avoid parts store remans like the plague.

97LT1

iTrader: (3)

My unit is a delco unit from factory. It had red powdery substance on threads of screws along with some that flaked off of the threads in this pic. I am 99.9 percent sure that was thread locker on the threads. My screws were pretty snug. My opti is at least 5 or 6 years old.

aboatguy

The Parts ladi GM OPTI has been on my car for a couple of years and I run my LT1 hard every chance I get look at the RPM on this data log from a drive to work.