washed engine now it won't start
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2001
Posts: 1,683
Likes: 1
From: NY
Amen to this post. Could very well happen that way. If it goes south soon, do yourself a favor and replace with an aftermarket unit. OE opti = garbage. 
I don't mean to bust your bubble, but don't be too surprised if your car dies in the near future. Those darn opti's sure do hate getting wet and even though your car came back to life, it doesn't mean that damage wasn't done. I don't want to get you upset or anything. I'm just saying that if your car dies, it will probably be the opti as the culprit. As mentioned, you should never wash your engine with water. Use the hand, rag, rub method.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 306
Likes: 1
From: StLouis, 93 Vert LT1
Just An Idea?
I dont know if the 94 has the venting feature or not. But for the OPTI's that do..............Couldnt you rig the vent lines with some low pressure compessed air say, overnight to circulate through and hopefully dry up the moisture. I dont think this would be too difficult to do. Sure beats replacing it. After mine went out last summer and doing a little research and discovering that the later OPTI's are vented it seemed like it would be worth trying. I ended up replacing mine with an MSD (vented) and it runs fine.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 291
Likes: 13
From: South of Chicago Illinois
We're back to normal. Car is fine, once it acts up again I'll do the MSD vented distributor, the 94 is not vented, unfortunately. Next up changing the converter. Will be looking for advice soon.
Hey RetroTA
I have a BBC '77 TA---- lots of fun.
Hey RetroTA
I have a BBC '77 TA---- lots of fun.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 306
Likes: 1
From: StLouis, 93 Vert LT1
BBC? Black on Black.....C? I grew up in South Holland. Bought a 81 T/A that sat in a body shop in Calumet City since 1982. Was a theft recovery car that the shop owner got out of the auction and sat in his shop till 1997 when I bought it. Has 15,000 mis. very clean and perfect interior but needs a total resto due to sitting so long. Gonna start on it soon. Can you post some pics of yours? Glad to hear your up and running!
GO BEARS!
GO BEARS!
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 291
Likes: 13
From: South of Chicago Illinois
Big Block Chevy, actually a 461ci. 11.5 compression with turbo 400 and 3.73 gear. Anyway all my pics are non digital, I'll dig out the digital camera and try to figure out how to post a few. The car is all black, interior is good not perfect, bought it as a basket case back in '86 restored it all. Thinking about new paint soon. Good luck with yours.
Last edited by JRS 94; Jul 14, 2007 at 02:10 AM.
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Racer
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 306
Likes: 1
From: StLouis, 93 Vert LT1
I installed MSD over a year ago, It does have vacume circulation though. wash the engine regularly with. no problems . Id recomend it to anyone
Drifting
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,562
Likes: 1
From: "Drive like Hell, you'll get there faster." Tucson AZ
Definitely sounds like the opti to me. BTW, even disregarding the opti, I dunno why you're running the engine when you wash it even if you are spraying it with the hose. These engines run so hot that any water that hits it is gonna hit boiling point almost instantaneously, will spray off and lose its effectiveness to actually clean or wash the areas sprayed. The preferred method is always light hosing if you do any at all and hand wash/rag. Especially with opti engines. Older engines like L98s can be sprayed/hosed as long as the dist is covered up and avoided in the spray(of course cover the alt and battery), but like I said, spraying water while the engines running is just gonna make it that much more innefficient and messy as these cars can be running at over 220 degrees. Another reason why this "spray" especially on a hot running engine can be bad, is the water that sprays off potentially to the air filter. Getting that in your intake is the last thing you wanna do.
Race Director
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 11,672
Likes: 20
From: Lake Wylie SC
I always carry my AAA card and a cell phone. In your case, it might be a good idea for you to do the same at least until you upgrade your opti. I went with an electric coolant pump that won't dump all over the opti when it fails.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 281
Likes: 2
From: Mount Vernon Indiana
