Another opti questin
Another opti questin What all is inside the Optispark distributor? I bought a msd cap and rotor but havent been able to take the old one apart yet due to the fact i cant find a socket small enough for the bolts. Is it the rotor and cap that go bad in these or something else???? I know my opti is bad for a fact now but I need to know if i need something other than the cap and rotor. Thanks in advance.
just took mine apart... and the parts inside it are- the cap, rotor, that other lid that came with the msd unit, a shim for the rotor that goes on the bottom side of the rotor, the optical eye with the wheel that it reads, and the backside... and to get my old rotor screws out of mine, i had to go to auto zone and they opened up a package of tiny *** torx wrenches, and luckily they got it out for me... but i think thats all i had in mine if i remember right... oh yeah, also there is a cover between the optical eye and that second lid that is metal
also, by learning the hard way (worked on the damn car for 30 hours fri-sun last week), make sure and mark your **** lol... i dunno what year your car is... or your brothers... i think i saw a post you had earlier... but make sure if you plan to take the whole opti off to clean the internals, mark where your shaft is at both going into the camshaft and into the distributor... my car still isnt running because its out of timing because of that shaft...
but if you dont want to clean it or dont feel it needs it, leave the opti on and just remove the screws for the cover and replace it that way, just to make sure your rotor doesn't get out of its original place and screw up your timing... lol from experience i now know
also, by learning the hard way (worked on the damn car for 30 hours fri-sun last week), make sure and mark your **** lol... i dunno what year your car is... or your brothers... i think i saw a post you had earlier... but make sure if you plan to take the whole opti off to clean the internals, mark where your shaft is at both going into the camshaft and into the distributor... my car still isnt running because its out of timing because of that shaft...
but if you dont want to clean it or dont feel it needs it, leave the opti on and just remove the screws for the cover and replace it that way, just to make sure your rotor doesn't get out of its original place and screw up your timing... lol from experience i now know
Uh oh...i didnt think it could get out of time....i already took it off so it looks like i'm in for my first opti lesson...lol. How can you figure out how to put it back in the right spot once you remove it?
Edit: I just looked at my opti's splines and it has a flat spot in the splines so i dont think the timing can get messed up...but maybe i'm wrong.
Edit: I just looked at my opti's splines and it has a flat spot in the splines so i dont think the timing can get messed up...but maybe i'm wrong.
well yeah that flat spot is the index... and it tells you where the shaft goes in regards to the camshaft and the distributor... but its really easy to get it off a tooth or so, and right now i think i am only one tooth off on the distributor, and that makes it off so far that it doesnt even want to run unless i have the gas in lol..
lol we thought we couldn't get it out of time because of that fact too, but it still slides in the wrong way very easily... lol we have taken the whole thing apart for the fifth time now, and its still off badly... so hopefully this weekend we will get it taken care of, but its not fun if you dont get it the first time lol
just make sure when putting it back together that first of all, you take your time and dont just rush to throw it together, and secondly, make sure to put the harmonic balancer back on... and we put the belt on also... along with the MAF and the other necessary electrical connections and try to start it... but dont put the water pump back on... and make sure it runs alright... obviously dont run it for a long time, but just a couple seconds or so to make sure it is running alright, and then throw it back together... no need to waste that expensive coolant if you would put it all back together and have to drain it again...
lol we thought we couldn't get it out of time because of that fact too, but it still slides in the wrong way very easily... lol we have taken the whole thing apart for the fifth time now, and its still off badly... so hopefully this weekend we will get it taken care of, but its not fun if you dont get it the first time lol
just make sure when putting it back together that first of all, you take your time and dont just rush to throw it together, and secondly, make sure to put the harmonic balancer back on... and we put the belt on also... along with the MAF and the other necessary electrical connections and try to start it... but dont put the water pump back on... and make sure it runs alright... obviously dont run it for a long time, but just a couple seconds or so to make sure it is running alright, and then throw it back together... no need to waste that expensive coolant if you would put it all back together and have to drain it again...
