This MSD unit is pretty solid. Let's see how it holds up.
01-18-2012, 05:16 PM
#21
A LOT of "opti problems" are caused by incompetence on the part of the person diagnosing or installing them. The opti is BLINDLY bashed and any hiccup is seen as a complete failure.
It also is pretty badly neglected, nobody would ever think of leaving an HEI cap and rotor unchanged for 100K and if they did they wouldn't blame the HEI they would admit it just wore out.
A lot of the heavy hitters tried the MSD when it first came out and a LOT of them went back to stock because it is better, some of them might do things like pop rivet the rotor or something but at any rate you find a lot of stock optis on fast cars doing well and a lot of "failed" optis on cars like your's.
Stock opti is not perfect but it is a whole hell of a lot better than the newbs are lead to believe by the ignorant masses.
It also is pretty badly neglected, nobody would ever think of leaving an HEI cap and rotor unchanged for 100K and if they did they wouldn't blame the HEI they would admit it just wore out.
A lot of the heavy hitters tried the MSD when it first came out and a LOT of them went back to stock because it is better, some of them might do things like pop rivet the rotor or something but at any rate you find a lot of stock optis on fast cars doing well and a lot of "failed" optis on cars like your's.
Stock opti is not perfect but it is a whole hell of a lot better than the newbs are lead to believe by the ignorant masses.
01-18-2012, 05:34 PM
#22
I guess we'll be finding out. Runs good so far.
The brass terminals on the old opti were completely corroded as well. Never seen anything like it. The whole unit just died. All the codes pointed right to the opti. No injector pulse, no spark.
The brass terminals on the old opti were completely corroded as well. Never seen anything like it. The whole unit just died. All the codes pointed right to the opti. No injector pulse, no spark.
01-18-2012, 06:06 PM
#23
TECH Fanatic
When I got my car out of storage after 6-7 years, my opti was a mess. I'm pretty sure the water pump had been leaking on it a bit prior to the car having been put into storage.
I considered an MSD, but decided to just go with another AC/Delco.
01-18-2012, 06:14 PM
#24
i have an msd. its been on the car for over a year of daily driving. its had a few problems but nothing a little loctite would have prevented. the rotor screws backed out after a month. (i tried putting loctite on them before installing it but they were so tight from the factory, they were starting to strip) about a month ago, it started throwing a hi res code. i pulled it apart again to find out one of the cap screws back out and was missing causing a vacuum leak and not letting the dust out. sprayed it out with electronic parts cleaner, loctited ever screw, good as new.
01-18-2012, 06:36 PM
#25
TECH Apprentice
5 years and 25k on my MSD with no issues... not saying its better than stock but I would bet and blame most failures on install error.
Most important thing to is loctite the rotor screws. When I did my cam swap two years ago, they were a little loose.
Most important thing to is loctite the rotor screws. When I did my cam swap two years ago, they were a little loose.
01-18-2012, 09:00 PM
#26
I'm gonna thread jack for a minute because I don't want to start a new thread about Optis.
I'm about to swap cams. I have 123000 miles on the original opti. Would I be better off just changing the cap and rotor instead of taking a chance on a new one? Or should I buy a new (insert brand here) unit? The car runs fine but I've been told by other people it missfires in the high rpms but I cant hear or feel it in the car.
I'm about to swap cams. I have 123000 miles on the original opti. Would I be better off just changing the cap and rotor instead of taking a chance on a new one? Or should I buy a new (insert brand here) unit? The car runs fine but I've been told by other people it missfires in the high rpms but I cant hear or feel it in the car.
01-18-2012, 09:32 PM
#27
I'm gonna thread jack for a minute because I don't want to start a new thread about Optis.
I'm about to swap cams. I have 123000 miles on the original opti. Would I be better off just changing the cap and rotor instead of taking a chance on a new one? Or should I buy a new (insert brand here) unit? The car runs fine but I've been told by other people it missfires in the high rpms but I cant hear or feel it in the car.
I'm about to swap cams. I have 123000 miles on the original opti. Would I be better off just changing the cap and rotor instead of taking a chance on a new one? Or should I buy a new (insert brand here) unit? The car runs fine but I've been told by other people it missfires in the high rpms but I cant hear or feel it in the car.
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/1566572994-post1.html
01-19-2012, 12:24 AM
#28
I installed my first one right out of the box on a new motor. I had less than 300 miles on the motor, because I wanted to break in the motor before I put it on the dyno. During the 2nd run the rotor came off. I bought a cap and rotor kit, but for some reason the rotor came in contact with the cap. Finally I sent it back to MSD and told them to fix their junk. They told me it would be $120 to get it fixed. I asked them what did I paid the first $460 for? They covered it under warranty and I didn't have to pay them. I took the cap off when it came back and they did locktite it from their refurbishing factory. The other one I bought directly from them also had locktite on it. Since I don't trust it I put red locktite on it and haven't had any issues since.
Last edited by fex77k; 01-19-2012 at 06:29 AM.
01-19-2012, 01:25 AM
#29
TECH Apprentice
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That's definitely a problem -- nobody should have to fix a high-dollar component out of the box. Shitty that you had to argue with them, but I'm glad they owned up in the end. One would hope they've adopted the idea of using loctite on their new units being sold.
Like spudnick3119, I've been running the MSD for almost exactly 5 years / 12K miles with no issues -- but I did tear it open and loctite the rotor straight out of the box, and RTV'd the entire housing upon reassembly. Perhaps my experience with the MSD is not relevant, as my car isn't a daily driver. Time will tell.
Like spudnick3119, I've been running the MSD for almost exactly 5 years / 12K miles with no issues -- but I did tear it open and loctite the rotor straight out of the box, and RTV'd the entire housing upon reassembly. Perhaps my experience with the MSD is not relevant, as my car isn't a daily driver. Time will tell.
01-19-2012, 10:34 AM
#32
Definitely locktite the rotor screws. Mine has been great for 5k+ miles. I killed the almighty ac delco (ain't even delco anymore) in less than 3k miles. The warranty is decent on these too, especially if you go through summit. My friend's msd went bad and summit shipped him one free without him even removing the defect. Can't be that.
Opti's are fun for skeet shooting.
Ah skeet skeet skeet
Opti's are fun for skeet shooting.
Ah skeet skeet skeet
