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Ok im finishing up my LT-4 long block and I have an MSD cap and rotor kit. The 2 shaft o-rings disintegrated but it looks like the kit includes them, thank goodness.
The problem is the optical rotor and housing is hosed in oil. What can I use to safely clean it? Ive searched the Google's but can't get any answers? WTF?
If it were me I would use electronic contact cleaner/degreaser or Mass Airflow Sensor safe cleaner. There are several brands out there. The only problem could be damaging the bearing because the degreaser could remove whatever lubricant is still in the bearing.
Last edited by grandspt; Sep 21, 2019 at 07:27 AM.
If it were me I would use electronic contact cleaner/degreaser or Mass Airflow Sensor safe cleaner. There are several brands out there. The only problem could be damaging the bearing because the degreaser could remove whatever lubricant is still in the bearing.
Yeah that's kinda what I was thinking as I already have a can of that ridiculously expensive MAF cleaner stuff.
I was just worried about melting the plastic sensor.
Is there an easy way to test these things before putting it back in the car? It's much easier to swap with the engine on the stand. Lol
why not return the cap and rotor and send it to the OptiDoctor for a rebuild ???? If you price out what you paid for the cap and rotor, you will see this is really reasonable
why not return the cap and rotor and send it to the OptiDoctor for a rebuild ???? If you price out what you paid for the cap and rotor, you will see this is really reasonable
Brad has a good rep with the folks here oh the forum
Im not doubting he's good. But there is nothing wrong with mine aside from being dirty. Im rebuilding the motor and on a very limited time schedule unfortunately...
If you are going to the trouble of rebuilding the engine, getting a new bearing put into the OptiSpark, along with blue loctiting the screws and sealing it up, all with a 2 day turnaround would seem to be in order. The Opti then becomes the weak link.
I went through this when my water pump blew. I opened the opti, cleaned it with electronic contact cleaner/degreaser. Replaced the cap, rotor, seals, with new ones from GM and put it back in the car. The car ran but I was having misfires uneven idle that lasted two years. This year I finally pulled it and replaced it with a Chris Petris opti (it had an original Mitsubishi optical sensor). I set my misfiring original on a bench with an oscilloscope and cordless drill to look at the pulses on both tracks of the wheel. The waveform was not very stable! It had a bad bearing and the pickup wheel was bent slightly which was hitting the sensor.
If we could get replacement bearings and sensors the opti is fairly easy to rebuild but good parts are not available any longer. I don't know what these rebuilders are doing with the replacement bearings.
I went through this when my water pump blew. I opened the opti, cleaned it with electronic contact cleaner/degreaser. Replaced the cap, rotor, seals, with new ones from GM and put it back in the car. The car ran but I was having misfires uneven idle that lasted two years. This year I finally pulled it and replaced it with a Chris Petris opti (it had an original Mitsubishi optical sensor). I set my misfiring original on a bench with an oscilloscope and cordless drill to look at the pulses on both tracks of the wheel. The waveform was not very stable! It had a bad bearing and the pickup wheel was bent slightly which was hitting the sensor.
If we could get replacement bearings and sensors the opti is fairly easy to rebuild but good parts are not available any longer. I don't know what these rebuilders are doing with the replacement bearings.
Unless the bearing is some really oddball size, you should be able to get one from a bearing manufacturer or hardware store. Is there any seals or o-rings involved with the shaft and housing?
Did you just hose down the thing with brake cleaner or did you physically rub the parts?
Unless the bearing is some really oddball size, you should be able to get one from a bearing manufacturer or hardware store. Is there any seals or o-rings involved with the shaft and housing?
Did you just hose down the thing with brake cleaner or did you physically rub the parts?
I sprayed everything with electronic contact cleaner/degreaser. Not Brake Cleaner! You have to use something that is not going to be harsh on plastic parts (optical sensor). I used compressed air to dry it out.
The bearing is special, try pressing it out and giving it a look. It has a upper and lower body so the diameter has two dimensions. I am sure you could machine the opti aluminum body and get a bearing to work but in the end it would be a lot of work. It is easier to buy a new one.
Last edited by grandspt; Sep 22, 2019 at 10:44 AM.
Brad (Optidoctor) worked out a solution for the bearing issue and built a jig to press it in correctly. He is an automotive engineer and did things the right way. He got into this because (IIRC) he had an LT1 transplant into (maybe a little pickup truck, something) and got tired of changing out Opti's. He lives a little over 100 miles from me, outside Columbus Oh. I have never met him but emailed back and forth a lot when I introduced him to the forum.
There is a bit of work to correctly rebuild an Optispark and test it for functioning after the rebuild.
(disclaimer, I have no interest what so ever with his business, I am a customer of his, I do know what he does, but am not at liberty to divulge his techniques, nor would I, it is his gig)
Brad (Optidoctor) worked out a solution for the bearing issue and built a jig to press it in correctly. He is an automotive engineer and did things the right way. He got into this because (IIRC) he had an LT1 transplant into (maybe a little pickup truck, something) and got tired of changing out Opti's. He lives a little over 100 miles from me, outside Columbus Oh. I have never met him but emailed back and forth a lot when I introduced him to the forum.
There is a bit of work to correctly rebuild an Optispark and test it for functioning after the rebuild.
(disclaimer, I have no interest what so ever with his business, I am a customer of his, I do know what he does, but am not at liberty to divulge his techniques, nor would I, it is his gig)
Good to know, I was curious how the Optidoctor guy got into rebuilding optis.
The opti is one of those things that I wouldn't mind experimenting with if it was not in such a pain in the **** place. At least the old traditional small block V8's distributors were easy to pull in and out. The opti is a project. I want to do it once and be done with it.
I've cleaned opti's numerous times....and posted about it on these here forums. I'm surprised that my posts didn't show in your search.
Anyway, I blasted the thing out w/brake cleaner, including through the sensor slot. Then drew a folded Kleenex through the slot to dry it/wipe it clean. Worked great every time.
I've cleaned opti's numerous times....and posted about it on these here forums. I'm surprised that my posts didn't show in your search.
Anyway, I blasted the thing out w/brake cleaner, including through the sensor slot. Then drew a folded Kleenex through the slot to dry it/wipe it clean. Worked great every time.
Awesome glad to hear. How much bearing wobble is normal?
My car is low mileage (only 56k) but the shaft is a bit wobbly. I've read where people have said that's normal and I've also read where they say that's the cause of the oil incursion, due to the bearing having a seal that fails?
I was just going to send it to the Ebay guy everyone Is recommending, as he said he would give me a discount for including the MSD stuff. Which would include a new bearing. But if it comes back wobbly as it is now, I'm wasting my money!
The bearing is a sealed ball bearing. The bearing's seal has nothing to do with the oil seal in the front cover, that IS responsible for oil sealing/leakage. While the bearing, when new, wouldn't have any slop, the purpose of a ball bearing is not to provide support in that direction, so a little slop is probably fine/expected of any used bearing. However, if the slop becomes too great, it could allow some shaft movement which could contribute to oil leaking through the front cover seal...especially if the seal were already bad/hard/worn out. SO...the bearing is not responsible for oil sealing or leakage, IMO.
If the bearing spins SMOOTHLY, with no grittiness or roughness at all, I'd probably grease it w/a quality synthetic grease and run it.
The rebuilt unit that I bought from Brad for my '96 has absolutely no slop in the bearing/shaft. It has extremely smooth rotational motion (as it should) but not perceptible wiggle or end play of the shaft.
The one that is in the car now has 22,000 on it. I am going to send it for reconditioning when I put this one in this fall/spring. Then the 2 of them should last a very long time, at least until
the car gets converted to electric sometime down the road after I give it to my daughter when we can no longer drive.
LT-4 Opti cleaning?
