I drove my 94 to the drive thru, hoping to impress the counter girls etc. and it died, had to be pushed out. Amazing because it started in the garage just fine. Then I stopped for gas and it was still fine. Suddenly it wasn't...and not when starting it but while it was already running.

Background: I bought it in May 2011...it had 47K miles on it and I've added 10K to that since. I have nothing in the way of service records from its past and it's 100% stock, base. Other than new tires and an oil change, it seemed to run fine. Once or twice I managed to run the battery down by not quite latching a door (not my daily driver so it sat a week that way), but a jump start and I was back in business.

That morning it seemed to be running fine. I pulled up to get my order and without much of a grumble or warning, it died. Cranking again, it would kind of catch but it would not run, leading me to think it was probably something related to the fuel system not delivering gas to keep it going. After multiple tries I noticed I was down around 10V, probably due to repeated attempts to start it. They gave me the push of shame to a parking space across the street.

When I tried jumping it, cables hooked up, the gauge registered 12V and it was the same story. The engine seemed to catch but then it quickly stopped, like it had burned whatever was in the cylinders but lacked fuel to keep going. So I had it towed to the Chevy dealer.

Their appraisal: it needs a distributor cap, roto, ignition coil, plugs, wires, water pump, coolant flash, drive belt. Cost: $2900 (includes tow). I went to a local mom and pop that has a good reputation and ASC certified mechanics. They quoted me $1800 for that same list of repairs. BTW if anybody's interested, I can break mom and pop's down into itemized, labor/parts etc.

I'm looking for some guidance on this. Obviously a couple thousand is a lot of money and if that's the cost of owning a Corvette I guess that's that. But I don't want to throw money at it and miss the problem, either.

I don't know much about cars really, except in theory and a lot of that is wobbly so please be gentle. I looked around the forum at threads and I see the mention of the Optispark often being a culprit, especially if it gets wet (?). FTR it was a dry day when this happened and as I said, it had already started fine twice that day.

Any thoughts, advice, caveats, etc. greatly appreciated!

 

First thing you need to do is take a paperclip and retrieve the codes. Your syptoms sound like a simple ICM replacement. Then technically speaking the LT1 does not have a standard distributor, but an optispark, which is blamed for about anything including a flat tire.

 

I appreciate the response! The car is at the dealer's and I'm not sure where the ICM is and how to remove (?) then check it. Is it an OBD, essentially, to be taken to autozone?

I wondered about the distributor...

 

First mistake was to take it to a dealer. Find a corvette shop in your area and take it there, because you're about to get screwed where its at.

 

So it would appear.

 

The second mistake was to take the shopping list to the second mechanic. You should have had him diagnose the problem, then compared notes and prices. Sounds like these guys are throwing the kitchen sink at you. Not sure why a water pump would keep a car from starting.

 

Get it out of there before you get hosed..while it is a big job and you sound like you won't be able to do it a dealer will always charge more. $1800.00 is more like it as thats about a grand in parts alone...you also have to be careful about the optispark as there are many crap ones out there...problem is if you buy one and they put it in they probably won't warranty the work..make sure it is a real Delco..I used a Petris one which is a real one with an updated vented cap and venting system..a small shop like you described might be OK with you buying the part, or at least you recommending it..post up what happens but get it out of there!

 

They are both ripping you off. No way you need all that work.

(Rant ON)
They are just throwing parts at it and making money.
You need to get the car diagnosed by a technician who is HONEST.
Not some schmuck that is shooting the parts cannon at it.
I swear I'm the only honest mechanic left around. I call it straight for what it is and recommend only what will fix the customers issue is. If I notice overdue maintenance items I might recommend those as well but as maintenance not a "fix" to the customers original problem.

In your case, I see this as a cranks but won't start. Do I have fuel pressure? Injector pulse? Spark at plugs? Codes? Etc...

Lets say the problem IS the opti-spark, why do you need wires/plugs? Only as maintenance maybe if they are original and old. Mine are original on my 93 and work just fine. No reason to fix it if it ain't broke. Unless, you want too. Why a new water pump, is the one on there leaking? Maybe you might want to if its the original one but again not a FIX, that would be preventative maintenance of sorts. See my point?

It could be as simple as the rotor came off inside the cap!!! Get a pinpoint diagnose of what will FIX the issue. Then if you want to add other "while your in there items," ok then.

Make whom ever works on the car diagnose the issue first instead of throwing money/parts at the problem!!! Any jack*** can throw parts on a car. (Rant off)

Say it with me now: DIAGNOSIS, DIAGNOSIS, DIAGNOSIS!!!!
By the way, being honest as a mechanic means your poor. Kinda sucks. No one will pay me to be honest and work on cars. Really sucks...this world sucks. I'm waiting on the next one ....Amen.

 

Thanks for the reply.

On that score, I wanted to see how overpriced the dealer was. But also, I wasn't really sure if the second mechanic typically did these sorts of repairs. It's not a Jiffy Lube but it isn't a spacious garage with tools everywhere and a large staff, either.

As far as the water pump goes, I took on faith for the moment that it's about to go out. Were I to go with the Chevy dealer for the repair, I'd be grilling him about why it was needed. I've been keeping an eye on the temp as it does seem to run hot.

So for me the benefit of the approach was to verify that the Chevy guys wanted to rip me off. But the plan at the moment is to take it to the mom and pop place and say, "So what do *you* really think it needs?" As luck would have it, I talked to the guy who changed my oil last time and it turns out he used to have a 94 like mine so hopefully he has more insight than average.

 

I agree with all the above..when I did mine (myself) I changed everything because it was all apart anyway and I had no idea how old everything was..runs awesome now...funny thing is after I changed everything but the ICM..it wouldn't start...changed it and it started right up..original problem..ICM..but the opti was looking pretty shot when I opened it up so it was just a matter of time...

 

Thanks for the reply. I thought a lot of it smelled a little funny (like the water pump) but it's my first Corvette so I suspended disbelief.

In all fairness to the mom and pop guy, he was just quoting for me. The car is at the Chevy dealer and not drivable at the moment so he didn't look at it. I was just comparing apples to apples, price-wise. *Assuming* that's what the car needs for repair, it's cheaper to go through him.

Agreed that there may be some things about to go wrong---the first seventeen years of its life, it wasn't my car. But, very low mileage (47K) when I bought it and very few troubles with it till just then.

 

Thanks for the reply!

Mom and Pop's estimate came back $849 parts, $861 labor. As I posted in another reply, one of the mechanics there had a 1994 so hopefully he'll be aware of the issues.

 

I just got it back from "Pop."

Short form---$1924. Chevy was willing to come down to $2675 so he was still $750 better. He ended up doing all of the above plus he put on a new thermostat. And, he washed the car before getting it back to me.

Long form---I think he really did the minimal repairs necessary to get the job done, i.e. he didn't waste my money. He showed me the old Opti, how it had rusted on the inside, said it needed replacing. That changed, he got it running but said there was no acceleration. Turns out the water pump was leaking, dripping down, and there's your rust in the Opti. So besides replacing that he added silicone to seal it better.

He showed me the old plugs, wires, etc. without prompting from me, explained the workings...very honest and straightforward IMO. So while I'm not thrilled to drop $2K on repairs, at least the money wasn't wasted.

He did say it needed a new radiator but hadn't looked it up for price. I said that I knew these cars run hotter (but I have seen it getting close to the danger zone on the dial when stuck in traffic on 100F days). 18 year old car, original radiator, the diagnosis doesn't seem outlandish. Testing it on the way home: 25 minutes, 100F, mixed city/hwy, the temp was above middle.

But he said that it should be fine for a long road trip I have coming up. Just 1) watch the temp, and 2) avoid the rain.

Thanks to all who posted. Opinions about the radiator welcome.

 

Glad it worked out and that you're back on the road.

 

Thanks! Forgot to mention: acceleration does seem slightly improved, though I've never really tested it.

 

Glad it worked out , but you really should think about getting a factory service manual, you will need it in the future, it will save you some $$$

 

...I need to open a C4 repair shop

 

Did I read that right?

Front end teardown to replace the OptiSpark, patching it in silicone, and leave a dripping waterpump in place?
Or did he replace the waterpump too?

 

No, once he found the problem with the water pump he replaced that as well.

 

I did all that to my '93 recently and spent less than $500. The pump, wires and plugs were changed because I had everthing apart anyway. I'm no Corvette mechanic but if you get an FSM and use it you can save a ton of money.