again with the optispark big question
http://www.saccitycorvette.com/LT1-SBC-IGNITION.html
Many optis, and many comments..... see if you can find your answer with a forum search.
I am new to the corvette forum and want to thank the so many motorheads posting stuff that has Helped me a lot in many cases to degree I joined now I have some time.
So, lets talk Optispark
Technology begins with Japans Mitsubishi mostly, then USA's Chrysler. A slotted/timed wheel between a Light beam and a photovoltaic cell - early 70s for japan.
Photovoltaic cells from Japan are harder and harder to find, unfortunately, ones made in China are not of the same quality.
No secret the GM version of this technology was short lived. Mostly due to the ill conceived location and application. Since I read most of this stuff from Corvette and other forums, everyone knows the main issues are behind the waterpump is an undesirable location to access, is behind the potential fluid losses of the waterpump, directly beneath the waterpump drive oil seal in the timing cover, and are subject to colliding with moisture driving when hot.
The above spell - water/coolant contamination, oil from leaking seal, heat, and too darn hard to get at.
1st gen Optispark are unventilated, are just NO good answer for you. Sealing them up (even vents at bottom) completely will just corrode from Ozone. YOU MUST get a vented aftermarket Optispark or Opti cap assembly, with the best bearing and photocell (preferably Japanese) possible if you want any longevity.
Second generation has no vents at bottom, positive ventilation from intake, bigger shaft and some better sealing features, but still not failsafe.
The reason the stock first Opti on a cars engine can last over 50,000 miles isn't just because its OEM, its because the engine and seals are new, by the time we finally change these, unless there IS 70-80,000, miles, it is because a oil or water/coolant issue occurred, now the situation is changed from fresh and dry
1st and 2nd gen
- BRAND -
I have installed quite few of these now, now most are no returns, due to early learning's. No matter what the make. HOW?
First - THE SEAL TO WATER PUMP DRIVE SHAFT, guy on Craigslist sells a $25 lip guide to get that pesky seal on RIGHT, it works, this eliminated my first issues .... oil ingration. Always replace all 3 seals on the timing cover... I use tiny bit of lube on the seal contact area to the shaft, some say don't, not sure i know why they say that, seals like an initial lube to their new shaft, but ultimately you want the front on that cover to remain Dry Dry Dry.
Clean those waterpump surfaces, nipples, good hoses, all dry as a bone, water can usually vent out but coolant vapors will "film" the photocells INOP bad as the oil films.
Then, both first and second design I additionally seal the crap out of them, especially the wires or harness plug entry thoroughly. I found even the MSD can eventually let oil weep in if you don't additionally seal them.
Always open new one and inspect lateral motion to trigger wheel (straighten it if its warped), and that the rotor bolts are tight!!! found quite a few that where not due to one I installed that grenaded, I now check them ALL.
Clean all your contacts to the Opti pigtail, to the coil, ignition module and grounds.
My preference - my 2 LT1s I have an ACCEL on my 95 TA 6 speed, 1.5 years now, just installed a MSD timing adjustable on my 92 Vette.... expensive - though I busted them with a loose rotor bolts inside, I really like the billet body and bearing size, it is vented so I made it like the 2nd designs positive ventilation. Live in western Washington so both have been subjected to some heavy rains and road wash (corvette my daily driver) so far so good.
Conclusion though are some brands I would not consider, if its real cheap well .... but mostly O'riely, Napa, Summit, and likely most of your upper end (though more money is not always better) WILL ALL WORK WELL - the trick is getting the environment back to a livable quarters for the Opti, seal em tight, and positive vent them.
Probably none of this you don't already know.. but just in case
However, it's also alot more durable than many give it credit for. The unfortunate thing is that whenever these engines have a hiccup, or a slight miss, the optispark is immediately replaced w/o further diagnosis. Mainly, I think because people don't really understand it. It makes me wonder how many perfectly good optis were sent to the landfill.
Yes, it was a short lived technology. Although I don't think that was due to any inherant shortcomings of the opti, but rather due to the development of the much more efficient coil on plug technology. There are many opti's still running strong out there with considerable miles on them. Mine has 160K and has survived a water pump failure, as well as an upper radiator hose burst. What i discovered from these events, were that the location of the opti is actually pretty well protected. The water pump mostly leaked on the serpentine belt, throwing coolant everywhere but on the opti, and the same for the hose bust. Mine is a '96, and I agree that venting is critical.
But yes, the things to look for are the mitsu opti, and a well constructed housing with good seals and solid bearings. Do not cheap out on this part. It is too much of a pain to get to, and too critical for performance of the engine. Just like if you were going build a 383 you wouldn't cheap out on your crankshaft. However, depending on the symptoms, often times a simple cap and rotor replacement is all you need. Considering some of the questionable product out there, the old saying, I might as well replace it while I'm in there could wind up causing more problems than it solves. The original part was about as good as you're gonna find.
I am new to the corvette forum and want to thank the so many motorheads posting stuff that has Helped me a lot in many cases to degree I joined now I have some time.
So, lets talk Optispark
Technology begins with Japans Mitsubishi mostly, then USA's Chrysler. A slotted/timed wheel between a Light beam and a photovoltaic cell - early 70s for japan.
Photovoltaic cells from Japan are harder and harder to find, unfortunately, ones made in China are not of the same quality.
No secret the GM version of this technology was short lived. Mostly due to the ill conceived location and application. Since I read most of this stuff from Corvette and other forums, everyone knows the main issues are behind the waterpump is an undesirable location to access, is behind the potential fluid losses of the waterpump, directly beneath the waterpump drive oil seal in the timing cover, and are subject to colliding with moisture driving when hot.
The above spell - water/coolant contamination, oil from leaking seal, heat, and too darn hard to get at.
1st gen Optispark are unventilated, are just NO good answer for you. Sealing them up (even vents at bottom) completely will just corrode from Ozone. YOU MUST get a vented aftermarket Optispark or Opti cap assembly, with the best bearing and photocell (preferably Japanese) possible if you want any longevity.
Second generation has no vents at bottom, positive ventilation from intake, bigger shaft and some better sealing features, but still not failsafe.
The reason the stock first Opti on a cars engine can last over 50,000 miles isn't just because its OEM, its because the engine and seals are new, by the time we finally change these, unless there IS 70-80,000, miles, it is because a oil or water/coolant issue occurred, now the situation is changed from fresh and dry
1st and 2nd gen
- BRAND -
I have installed quite few of these now, now most are no returns, due to early learning's. No matter what the make. HOW?
First - THE SEAL TO WATER PUMP DRIVE SHAFT, guy on Craigslist sells a $25 lip guide to get that pesky seal on RIGHT, it works, this eliminated my first issues .... oil ingration. Always replace all 3 seals on the timing cover... I use tiny bit of lube on the seal contact area to the shaft, some say don't, not sure i know why they say that, seals like an initial lube to their new shaft, but ultimately you want the front on that cover to remain Dry Dry Dry.
Clean those waterpump surfaces, nipples, good hoses, all dry as a bone, water can usually vent out but coolant vapors will "film" the photocells INOP bad as the oil films.
Then, both first and second design I additionally seal the crap out of them, especially the wires or harness plug entry thoroughly. I found even the MSD can eventually let oil weep in if you don't additionally seal them.
Always open new one and inspect lateral motion to trigger wheel (straighten it if its warped), and that the rotor bolts are tight!!! found quite a few that where not due to one I installed that grenaded, I now check them ALL.
Clean all your contacts to the Opti pigtail, to the coil, ignition module and grounds.
My preference - my 2 LT1s I have an ACCEL on my 95 TA 6 speed, 1.5 years now, just installed a MSD timing adjustable on my 92 Vette.... expensive - though I busted them with a loose rotor bolts inside, I really like the billet body and bearing size, it is vented so I made it like the 2nd designs positive ventilation. Live in western Washington so both have been subjected to some heavy rains and road wash (corvette my daily driver) so far so good.
Conclusion though are some brands I would not consider, if its real cheap well .... but mostly O'riely, Napa, Summit, and likely most of your upper end (though more money is not always better) WILL ALL WORK WELL - the trick is getting the environment back to a livable quarters for the Opti, seal em tight, and positive vent them.
Probably none of this you don't already know.. but just in case
another thing is that my fuel miledge is not the same. The more I drive around town the less and less I get I am at 15 miles per gal. Now if I go on a 300 mile trip I will get the 24-25 miles per gal and when I park it for a couple days and start town driving again it slowly will go down to 15 mpg again. now before I started having problems with this opti spark I was averaging 18-20 mpg around town not getting any help from dealer or the Corvette shops I have been dealing with for the past 15yrs. So now I am wondering if my fuel has something to do with the opti I am completly at a loss about this situation.
Any help out there is greatly appriciated.
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
another thing is that my fuel miledge is not the same. The more I drive around town the less and less I get I am at 15 miles per gal. Now if I go on a 300 mile trip I will get the 24-25 miles per gal and when I park it for a couple days and start town driving again it slowly will go down to 15 mpg again. now before I started having problems with this opti spark I was averaging 18-20 mpg around town not getting any help from dealer or the Corvette shops I have been dealing with for the past 15yrs. So now I am wondering if my fuel has something to do with the opti I am completly at a loss about this situation.
Any help out there is greatly appriciated.




Check out the PNW section of the forum there are quite a few of us between Seattle & Everett that are not affiliated with any club that get together for runs and grub
Just one example. I think I mentioned earlier that my opti has survived a radiator hose burst. One of the lingering effects of this was that apparently coolant had found it's way into the pigtail connector on the opti. Driving one day in the rain, the car started to stall, miss, and generally run bad. Code came up "low resolution" so I thought my opti was finally toast. (this was a good two years after the hose burst).
However, I wasn't sure. So I parked it for couple of days. Went to start it and it ran pretty well so I ruled the opti out. But I did replace the pigtail. When i looked down in the connector, there was a good amount of dried coolant that had started eating at the connector. Cleaned it all out with some brake cleaner and canned air, new pigtail, and it's perfect now. Point is, that most of the surrounding, supporting, and related parts will fail before the opti does under normal conditions.
The other problem we have is that when GM discontinued making these around '06, they sold the patents to other companies. These companies can now use whatever parts they want, and build them however they want. The trouble is that most care more about bottom line profitability, and not so much about durability.
For me, I think when the time comes, I will look into one of three solutions. The first is to make an attempt at searching for the holy grail, the NOS AC/Delco opti spark, the second is to find a good rebuild kit for the seals and bearings, clean the sensor, and fresh cap and rotor. The third is to convert to the aftermarket coil on plug systems if still available at that time.
The fourth option relates the the second above, if the other options are not doable. That is to buy the Chandler, MSD, or such, and use the sensor, and whatever else from my factory opti that is still in good condition. The opti is really a simple piece. The parts that experience actual wear are the cap, rotor, seals and bearings. The optical sensor and the slotted discs really don't have any stress put on them. The reason these fail are due to intrusion of fluids, oil, coolant, water. These will either cloud the optical sensor or short it, or clog the slots in the hi and low resolution discs making them unreadable. So, fix the intrusion issues, clean the discs and sensor (provided it's not shorted), install a good cap and rotor, and perhaps it's good for another 160K+?
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...Term=optispark
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/store...Term=optispark








