damn optis

i replaced my old opti because it was done for when the water pump decided to leak on it....and i replaced it with the accel performance replacement unit and it died 2000 miles and 3 months later....by the way i put a new water pump on it....so now it sits in my garage wating for the good old NW pennsylvania winter to end sometime in may .....so is there any way i can better protect the opti from future failure....by the way its a 9c1 with the lt1 350...retired sheriffs car....if anybody can help....that would be great....till spring...all i have is workin on the car and:popcorn:

1. Don't use a "performance" cap & rotor (especially Accel, who USED TO make good components). The factory design rotor and cap are more than adequate for sustained 6,300 RPM operation;

2. Make sure the distributor vent hose, check valve, and supply tube are clear and connected correctly. Likely, one of them is a problem by now, and may be the primary reason you experienced an early failure;

3. Verify the ignition wire (spark plug and coil) boots seal properly to the distributor cap;

4. Make sure the power supply and signal WeatherPack connectors on the main body of the distributor have clean seals, are lightly lubricated with silicone grease, and are not otherwise damaged, such as having broken retainer clips, cracked bodies, etcetera;

5. Stay out of standing water, clean the engine carefully, and make sure the water pump doesn't leak.

This could be you:

http://72.19.213.157/files/OptiSparkCap.jpg

The stock opti is a very good unti, think many have been killed by neglect and may have been replaced when all they needed was a cap and rotor just like any other distributor.

I am using an MSD cap and rotor kit on a 80K mile stock base unit and occasionally spin the thing around 1000rpms higher than your stock rpm limiter, never had a failure with a stock cap and rotor though did have one need replacement due to very high milage wear.

Biggest "problem" is optis do not get new caps and rotors during routine tuneups the way most other distributors do because people do not want to spend the money. This is an OWNER problem not a component one.

The Accel opti is pretty much a POS and the MSD complete opti is trouble prone, as is the Dynaspark, and the two "opti eliminator" kits both need a functional base they just deal with the actual spark differently.