so as some of you know i blew my opti up at the track about a month ago. well hoping that the optical sensor didnt get damaged when the rotor exploded i put an MSD cap and rotor on and cranked it but it didnt start. so i pull it off and open the opti back up and notice that the rotor is rubbing on the top of the cap. the rotor screws were tight and everything so i know its not that. any suggestions? maybe the stock cap with the opti rotor? could i have an internal problem?

 

Is that a MSD 'CAP and 'ROTOR' that came in the same kit??? Double check the clearance by spinning it slowly with your hand, if its rubbing there may be an issue (missing a bushing or a simple tightening error) that is causing rubbing in the unit. If not, take apart the optical side of the unit. You have to be REALLY CAREFUL not to bend the optical aluminum disk cuz that will affect the ECU signal, but its a chance that it IS the problem. I bought an MSD cap and rotor kit before tearing into the unit far enough to realize that oil/coolant/water had been leaking in through the pigtail connector slot past the rubber gasket. It fouled up the optical reading side and I ended up buying an OEM replacement from 'thepartsladi' on EBAY. After that it ran like a dream.

Just my experience, but usually its quite obvious if the optical side has been damaged. The cap/rotor side is just like any other distributor setup and usually only fails after high mileage.

 

ok maybe i shouldve said that differently. i know the old optical sensor was bad, thats neither here nor there. my question is, why is the rotor hitting the cap? i assembles it with the o-rings where MSD said to put them.

 

Check the bearing. It went out on my stock one and threw everything in there out of alignment

 

old opti that it was rubbing on was sent back under warranty. could this be anything internal with the cam bearings or anything? i just want to make sure my problem is ONLY with the opti before i do something like an LS1 coil pack conversion

 

If you knew the optical side failed then why did you buy an MSD cap/rotor?? You should have just bought an entire OEM unit from 'thepartsladi'. And then seal all surfaces with black RTV silicone sealant to aid in preventing possible future failures. Although the MSD unit has upgraded features (such as the billet case and upgraded rotor retaining screws), YET in the end their benefits are minuscule over OEM systems and the requirements of common setups.

 

speaking on his behalf, that was already done. the rotor was destroyed on the oem unit. he went this way for the better rotor design.

 

sorry for the delayed responses, LS1tech has been screwy for me all morning. i purchased the MSD cap and rotor because of the better design hoping the optical sensor didnt go bad. put it on and it still would not run. when i removed the cap and rotor the second time i noticed that there were scratches on the aluminum disk where it made contact with the sensor so i purchased a new one online. i will still be using the MSD cap and rotor as it is a superior design because of the way that the metal piece is fastened to the rotor.

i contacted MSD about the problem and their assumption is that the bearings on the old opti went which is why the rotor hit one of the metal contacts. i assembled the MSD cap and rotor on the new opti and tightened it as if it were going in the car, spun it by hand and heard no rubbing. ill be calling thepartsladi to see if the bearing failed in the old opti since i sent it back (it had less then 100 miles on it)

 

Same for me!


I had mine apart at 70,000 miles, just for a cap/rotor replacement. A couple of weeks after I got it all back together, I noticed a "clicky" noise coming from the Opti. Car was running OK, but the following weekend, I pulled the Opti apart again, and found marks inside the cap, where the rotor was nicking it. Further inspection showed that the bearing had gone bad, and the rotor was wobbling around.