nada1

I have a 1995 with 41k on it and the water pump has a small leak. I know many people, when they have the optispark go bad, they go on and replace the water pump, guess I am backwards. Question is, since I need to be in there, do I go ahead and replace the opti, even if it looks good? (no rust, water etc)

Thanks in advance

94ZR1

If the opti is still good and dry I would just leave it alone
If it aint broke......
Better hurry though

VenkmanP

By "looks good" do you mean you opened it up and it is rust-free? If so, then if the cap and rotor are unworn (impossible at 41k) then just reuse it.

If the optical part and bearing are unrusted but the cap and rotor are worn then I'd consider replacing the whole thing since the cost of the cap and rotor is pretty high compared to the whole thing (for you vented guys, that is).

theadmiral94

nada1,

with Vis Croceus,

The good news is that you have the better Optispark (vented, better sealed, and better drive seal/shaft).

If your going to do it yourself, judge the work effort to get the water pump off, and if you don't mind doing it again in 30k - 50k miles, then leave it alone. Otherwise, replace the whole Optispark (with OEM), and also consider doing the spark plug wires at the same time (as they are very difficult to do when everything it together). Reason to replace the Optispark is whereas it has an state-of-the-art optical component, it is still a good ol' distributor, so the spark jumping around inside still causes wear and tear and will eventually require replacement of its cap/rotor at least.

Biggus Blockus

Most water pump failures happen closer to 70,000 miles, and when they go they puke on the opti, so you replace both.

In your case, I would just do the water pump since you have the better (vented) opti.

Your opti should be good to 100,000 miles.

Greg Gore

I'd recommend taking it apart for inspection and cleaning. Will require a special socket though; inverted torx.

wtn

1995 57K - If it works , Dont mess with it. I have read horror stories with the new OEM replacement that failed.

VenkmanP

Do you go 100k on cap/rotor changes on your '65 as well?

Jonnymac

I've got 102k on my stock pump and opti, good so far.

corvette1989bham

If you your opti is working you do NOT need to replace it with water pump replacement. If you opti goes out ALWAYS replace water pump with opti.

Greg Gore

I replaced mine at 110K even though it was running perfectly. I did it for preventive maintenance and because of obvious signs it had been tinkered with (plier marks due to probably not having the special socket and one missing through bolt). The previous owner told me he had replaced the waterpump and Opti but I determined he really just installed a rebuilt waterpump and cleaned the original Opti. Since it had signs of tinkering, was missing a bolt and was obviously the original and there were oil leaks I stripped the engine down to a block with heads and replaced everything with factory new GM parts mainly because I wouldn't have been happy doing it any other way. I did disassemble the old one to see what all the fuss was about and while it was not rusty there was a waterline inside the housing where it had been allowed to get wet and stay wet for a while. You would not have to go as far as I did of course, I did only because I love to make things nice again to enjoy.