I do not believe this. I live here on coast in Mississippi and was just going to the store after this storm came thru this morning and was easing thru this high water when this redneck in a pickup truck decieded to go 4-wheeling. The wave from his piece of crap came all the way over the hood. Needless to say within 5 miles I am running ruff and missing. I have no doubt it took out the opti. There is a one chance in a 100 it will dry out. What I need to know is what parts I will need so I can get them on order...I know I will need new opti, water pump, water pump gaskets, not sure to upgrade opti or just get a 94 opti and if I do decide to upgrade can the dealer get the kit and which one should I get..Everyone say a prayer but to be realistic looks like I am about to learn how to change out the opti. Also should I change out any motor seals while I am there. I also priced parts from Auto advanced and they have a rebuilt opti for $175 , new cap and rotor for $131 and new water pump for $131. Has anyone used thes parts. Do not want to do this job twice. Local chevy dealer gave me a price of opti $432, cap and rotor $235 and water pump $150. Also since first time doing this how much time should it take? .Just need a little help here... thanks ... terry


[Modified by tbmoore, 10:05 PM 8/5/2002]


[Modified by tbmoore, 10:16 PM 8/5/2002]

 

One last question...If there is a chance of this drying out how long should it take I have had the car on idle now for two-three hrs...still miss when I first hit the gas but at least I got it started.

 

I'm interested in this as well, as mine is at 86,000 and who knows how long it has. You prob already knew this, but there is some decent info in the tech tips section for opti's

 

You didn't mention how many miles on it, but if it's less than about 60K and if it was only water, it will probably dry. I'd run it for a while before spending any money.

I'm inferring you have a 94. If you have more than 60~ you might as well start stocking up to change your opti and water pump. The problem with the opti is that the seals get hot, hard and brittle over time and stop doing their job.

I just went through this exercise and did up a step-by-step write-up of what I did, if you're interested IM your e-mail address and I'll send it to you (it's about 1 page of text). it's not a real tough job, I'd give a 4 out of 10 for difficulty. I just bought a brand new Opti for $270 + ~$5 S&H. If you're interested I'll dig up the phone number.

You might consider an electric water pump. A Meziere (HD) is about $220. It results in about 8-12HP gain. It's easy to install.

No experience with a refurbished Opti or the WP from Advanced.

Next time the water gets that deep, take a boat. The bottom of the opti is only about 10" above ground.

 

If you have full coverage, turn it into your insurance. Let them foot the bill. That is what you pay the premiums for.

Ron

 

IF you have to replace the opti and pump. I would strongly suggest you stick with OEM ..at least with the opti. You might check with Jeff Kopp @ Superior Chevy for a price check. He has been great on most OEM parts. (he beat the local dlr by 50% on my last buy). Mention you are a forum member to get the discount...and no, I don't get a kick back. :lol:

 

I just bought an Opti for my '94 from Jeff Kopp. I think it was $330 shipped or somewhere close to that. I did not upgrade to the '95-'96 opti due to the amount of labor involved and additional cost. I did not want to remove/change the timing cover or balancer hub.

Get ready, it is a PITA to change. Replace the water pump too, but you already know that. I didn't, mine went out at a bad time. $$$ :(

I also suggest sticking with OEM and leave Auto Zone/Advance alone for the important stuff.

 

Oh yeah. It is up to you, but it will be a cold day in Hell when I put an electric water pump on my car. There is waaaaaaay too much potential for failure. I'm not risking my motor for 8-12 HP.

When I feel 8-12 more HP will satisfy me, I'll just get a Tornado and an Air Foil. That should do it. :D

 

When I take into consideration the low mean time between failure of the stock LT1 H2O pump and the amount of work to replace it, an electric H2O pump doesn't look so bad.

Eric
Tired of replacing Opti sparks and H2O pumps