I replaced my Water Pump today with a Factory GM one. I did a little extra mod. Most of us know that when they are about to go, they start pissing out of that little hole in the bottom of it. When it does this, it conveniently leaks all over the OPTI. I kinda fixed that problem for next time it goes, or starts leaking.


I made this out of some Aluminum flashing. It goes all the way to the back, and will catch all of the dripping when it starts. It is angled, you can't really see it in the pic, but it will all come out the front. A little 5 min mod that can save $400.

 

Neat idea...

Sorry to be the pessimist though but, what if your doing like 70MPH on the highway when it goes? hehe... maybe getting a little rubber hose that you could run down past the opti or something would work... Oh well...

 

Umm, it would still catch it, its not exactly taking the full brunt of the air

 

Many of the b-body guys tap it for a hose barb and run a hose like hyperzone said. less fabrication and truely keeps the coolant away from the opti. That is besides the opti/coolant issues being overblown in the first place. Due to heater hose issues mine has gotten a few dexcool baths and was always fine once it dried out.

 

I would do this whenever I have to change mine. I know about the holes they drill in it, but will it only leak out of the hole once it starts to go? What if you block it off, like weld something on it. Would it just leak somewhere else then?

 

Coolent only leaks out of there when the seals go which is usually only because the bearings have gotten sloppy. Seal it and things will get very bad before you have any clue it is going bad like complete bearing failure which I would worry could damage the drive.

 

Not a bad idea

 

Yea, it is not a good idea to block that hole, that lets you know it is going out. I tested the wind factor, that is a pretty small area there, not alot of wind blows in there, it will still drain out if it happens. I got lucky, I caught it before it got bad, no OPTI damage at all. That's why you check your ****..
I think that is what was causing my sputtering at high RPM. I got new AC Delco Plugs to go in, gapped them for high compression so that will help.

 

dwayne, a lot of guys use grease zerk fittings with the middle drilled out of them. Makes for a nice little thing to attache a piece of hose to

 

We need to find a way to totally protect the Opti. Can we encase it in silicone somehow lol

 

Mine works for me, and very easy to see if I have a problem.

 

The design, the idea behind it and the way it works is wicked cool, but the placement is the killer. If it was in a different spot, then it would be flawless. That is the only downfall, where it is placed.

 

^^ I believe some nissans used a similiar distributor to the optispark. I believe the downfall for them on that particular engine was also where it was placed; I Forget where but it was someplace where oil got to them

 

Needs a prophylactic cover like some 5.0's come with. Then it could leak all over it and be fine yet. LOL.

 

the_merv can you make me one? or do you have to have the waterpump off to make one.

 

You can have it on to make one. That's the cool thing about it, you just take the Intake off, and the 2 bottom bolts out of the Pump, bolt that cover on and that's it.
I have to find my old Water Pump and use that as a templete.

 

Nice Idea!

 

the tapping the hole for a hose it a great idea also! I may just do this!

 

Either way, both will work. All that matters is that the Coolant stays off of the OPTI.