water pump/opti advice
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Joined: Sep 2021
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water pump/opti advice
I have a 94 corvette with around 75k miles on it and as far as I know it's still rocking the factory water pump, as a result, I've gotten somewhat nervous about the health of said water pump. I was thinking about going ahead and replacing it before it goes bad as to not risk destroying my opti, so I was hoping to get some advice on that, I'll compile a few questions I have below:
1. Are electric water pumps worth it? I looked at a Meziere water pumps briefly but saw that their expected lifespan was 2400-3000 hours which seems extraordinary low for daily driving use. Is there another brand which has a more reliable electric water pump for the lt1's when compared to the stock mechanical one?
2. What brand of mechanical water pump should I look for? I'm looking for one that isn't extremely expensive, but is still very well built and reliable for as many miles as possible.
3. I recall hearing of a way to modify the water pump housing to redirect leaks away from the opti altogether so the issue of the water pump ruining the opti when it goes bad is effectively avoided. Is this actually a thing or did I mishear/misinterpret what I did hear? If it is something that can be done, is there a video or another thread explaining how?
4. This is somewhat unrelated, but I believe I've heard that there's some way to retrofit a vented opti to LT's before 95. Is there a thread or video on how to do this? Would this be more worth it than to modify the water pump housing as mentioned in my previous question?
Thanks in advance.
1. Are electric water pumps worth it? I looked at a Meziere water pumps briefly but saw that their expected lifespan was 2400-3000 hours which seems extraordinary low for daily driving use. Is there another brand which has a more reliable electric water pump for the lt1's when compared to the stock mechanical one?
2. What brand of mechanical water pump should I look for? I'm looking for one that isn't extremely expensive, but is still very well built and reliable for as many miles as possible.
3. I recall hearing of a way to modify the water pump housing to redirect leaks away from the opti altogether so the issue of the water pump ruining the opti when it goes bad is effectively avoided. Is this actually a thing or did I mishear/misinterpret what I did hear? If it is something that can be done, is there a video or another thread explaining how?
4. This is somewhat unrelated, but I believe I've heard that there's some way to retrofit a vented opti to LT's before 95. Is there a thread or video on how to do this? Would this be more worth it than to modify the water pump housing as mentioned in my previous question?
Thanks in advance.
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2020
Posts: 1,355
Likes: 396
From: Northwest Ohio
I would definitely stick with the mechanical pump.
I just did this a couple of months ago.
ACDelco water pump
Petris Optispark (full replacement) with retrofit harness
You can order from petris just the cap, rotor with retrofit vacuum harness.
You can also build your own vacuum harness but you have to use restrictors/check valves etc as full engine vacuum will implode the cap.
I did add a barb and hose to the weep hole to redirect any future leaks.
I also bypassed the throttle body coolant hoses.
you can checkout my thread here:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...or-spring.html
I just did this a couple of months ago.
ACDelco water pump
Petris Optispark (full replacement) with retrofit harness
You can order from petris just the cap, rotor with retrofit vacuum harness.
You can also build your own vacuum harness but you have to use restrictors/check valves etc as full engine vacuum will implode the cap.
I did add a barb and hose to the weep hole to redirect any future leaks.
I also bypassed the throttle body coolant hoses.
you can checkout my thread here:
https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...or-spring.html
Last edited by pedricd; May 12, 2023 at 09:49 PM.