RIP DISTRIBUTOR
 

*sigh*

Any suggestions before I make it official??

This is for the Z, btw.

And any suggestions on a new one? (i.e. Jegs, MSD..?)

MSD

Ahh, the opti bit you....

Stick with a new AC-Delco opti. They seem to be the most reliable. Look around, or do a search here. People have mentioned places that sell them pretty cheap before.

- Justin

i put a jegs in my 93 z when i had it and i started having some issues with it like 2 months after i installed it. but hey if you need a hand with the replacement let me know i had it down pretty good when i did mine

by the way i would look into getting a water pump also because you have to pull it off anyway

ac delco new. waterpump and gaskets. maybe do plugs/wires while in there if they look older. enjoy

gmpartsdirect.com has some good prices

When did you get a 94? And if you have money msd or ac delco if your broke scavenge the various forums online/craigslist.

I have no complaints with the MSD unit. I had used a summit one prior and their warranty saved my ass when one of their units failed.

Just get an OEM one. MSD and OEM both have bad track records, but the OEM one is a lot cheaper and adjusting timing is kinda useless on the engine anyway. thepartsladi on ebay has really good deals on genuine AC delco units. And you have a 94? You may wanna try to do the vented opti conversion but thats a bit of work. Other than that, do spark plug wires, coil and water pump gaskets. Ask mr bmxer, he did his the other day..... lol

Double check all you connections for any corrosion before you get into an opti swap. A corroded coil wire or waring harness can cause problems and throw a code.

The Whole Story
 

Yeah let me just break it down for you... And tell me what you guys think...

I did the wires and plugs last monday. It took 4 1/2 hours, complements of aftermarket SLP headers.

Started her up, it ran great, better than before! Went to my house about 40 blocks away, turned her off. Then a few hours later drove her 15 miles to rt. 22 Best Buy. She ran good the whole way there, but coolant may have leaked earlier before leaving, IDK but I had to stop to buy coolant cuz I had none in the system so I will assume since it's not magic coolant or invisible coolant that it most likely leaked.

SO after I filled that in I continued to Best Buy, parked in the lot STILL RUNNING GOOD, and went into the store for like 40 min.

Came out and started her, and she was barely running so my first thought was I shoulda let it warm up but it wasn't cold so that's not it. I parked it about 30ft from the original spot and had to be towed home.

Then I let it sit 2 days, it started up strong, moved it to a real parking spot nstead of a meter, and there it has stayed because when I tried starting it to bring it to my mechanic friends, it didn't work. I turned it on and it was strong, but turned off like 5sec later and then it went back to just cranking and cranking and not turning on.

What do you guys think?

Opti?

when it shut off on its own what happened? anything?

Check the position of the wires, make sure they aren't arching and touching a header first. Make sure you put the wires underneath the rails along the block.

No really, what do you mean? Like the last time I started it it started like new, but it was like an oh? oh! ohhh =( kinda thing, get it?

I mean does it backfire when it stalls? revs do anything funny? or does the car kind of just shut off on you?

nope it just turns off as if i killed it

Starting/stall isn't normally an opti problem. If it's running that poorly it would probably throw a code for the low RES side. If the EMC isn't getting a signal it will not advance the timing properly, so the car may idle but will stall/sputter under load, but tipically won't cause the car the stall out at idle.

Is the coil wire clipped all the way in? Actually happened to a friend when he changed wires and two weeks later the car died, towed it home and found the coil wire was clipped all the way in.

That said, before digging into the opti I would suggest looking at the ign module/coil or even fuel.

But it also sounds like you have a pretty serious coolant leak?

Coolant leak is a negative, the clip slid off of the hose connecting the radiator and overflow tank. And as for the other thing, gonna check it today. Thanks for the tips.

i would pressure test the cooling system to make sure you aren't weeping coolant onto the opti. the coolant could dry up after sitting some and the car could start then die as coolant leaked all over it again. i would also check for codes

She says water pump is leaking.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j4...tor2551518.jpg

If you can find a OEM one for cheap go for it. Unforutely non-vented ones are more $$$. And just BTW ....

This seal disappeared ......

http://home.comcast.net/%7Etstrella/96ta/waterpump1.jpg

and leaked coolant all over opti like so ....

http://home.comcast.net/%7Etstrella/96ta/waterpump2.jpg

and it still works 1,000's of miles later. :)

I have the MSD one in my car and its been fine. Just do the water pump at the same time. Along with wires and plugs. Ur gunna pay $$$ for the MSD but I say its worth it. Are u sure its the opti? Hows the ICM?

deadtrend, looks like it ran over the cap and missed leaking into the distributor where it would most likely ****ed your opti sensors. LUCKY!

yeah i am fairly sure... like i sed i had no coolant in the car... had to go somewhere...

In the engine is always a place too.