Optispark Lifespan

[Aeroman]

Hello,

Everything that I have seen about Optispark says it has
a limited lifespan of about 60,000 miles. Is this really true? :confused
What are the signs of it going bad, or does it go bad all at once
and just quit? Where is the cheapest place to get one?

Thanks

 

[Aeroman]

Hello,

Everything that I have seen about Optispark says it has
a limited lifespan of about 60,000 miles. Is this really true? :confused
What are the signs of it going bad, or does it go bad all at once
and just quit? Where is the cheapest place to get one?

Thanks

 

[Tuna]

I got over 90,000 out of my OptiSpark and it was still going when I had it replaced. Why? I was updating the motor to the latest LT4 standards and switched to the 96 style OptiSpark.

OptiSpark like seems to be dependent of how much moisture it lives in.

I'm in OK where the humidity stays pretty low and my car is a daily driver that gets throughly warmed up many days a week.

 

[Robertwav1]

70K here and still going. I really don't plan on doing anything with it till around 100K. Then I guess I'll replace it and the water pump for another 100K.

 

[George H. Williams III]

My understanding of the opti-spark is that they are different on the 92-94 than the 95-96; and are not interchangeable. The later ones have a vacum set up to reduce moisture. The earlier ones can be adapted to accomplish this.
George

 

[Tuna]

My understanding of the opti-spark is that they are different on the 92-94 than the 95-96; and are not interchangeable. The later ones have a vacum set up to reduce moisture. The earlier ones can be adapted to accomplish this.
George

True.
Or you can change the cam, timing cover, timing chain, and timing gears to pieces that are compatible with the 95/96 OptiSpark and then install the newest Opti and hook up the vent line.

 

[JRMaroon]

Where is the cheapest place to get one?

I don't know if this is the cheapest place but the last Mid America catalog I received has them on sale.

92-94 Unit $349
92-94 Cap Kit $199
95-96 Cap Kit $129

Symptoms?
My car began to miss badly under load. I've seen others list an immediate failure that caused the car not to start.

Jeff