water pump failed. need to replace distributor too?

[pitt]

opti spark dead after 18 months and less than 2000 miles, any warranty?

When I purchased the car I was attracted to the fact that it had a new opti spark and water pump. Now 18 moths and less than 2000 miles later it crapped out.Why doesn't GM warranty there faulty piece of crap distributor for longer than 1 year , or do they? Any help or warranty info would be greatly appreciated.
thanks mike

 

[compyelc4]

<<Anyway, I didn't even bother to ask how much labour time for the distributor.>>

Once the water pump is off the labor hrs. to install the opticrap is about 15 minutes if one is a pro or experienced motorhead (are there inexperienced motorheads?). This includes the time to walk to the parts shelf, grab the opti, slip it on, and connect 1 plug-in lead and 8 spark plug wires. Can't remember if the '94 has a manifold vacuum vent but if it does there are 2 vacuuum hoses to reinstall. Is this overkill for information?...........

Oh, and this: Those brave or ignorant souls who attempt to high-pressure wash their opti-crap engines are doing themselves a disservice. Like antifreeze leaks, a stream of wash/rinse water is not the opticrap's friend either. There are some on this site who have braved a pressure washing and been ok. I would not take that chance again, and I have the vented opti.

 

[RichNJshore]

I just had mine done. Distributor assembly went taking with it the rotor and opti. In addition to replacing the belt and belt tensioner I was in for 1400.00+, but labor was only 225 on the whole job so you are right that na experienced mechanic will have no problem. The Opti for me was 450.94 .

 

[lone73]

When I purchased the car I was attracted to the fact that it had a new opti spark and water pump. Now 18 moths and less than 2000 miles later it crapped out.Why doesn't GM warranty there faulty piece of crap distributor for longer than 1 year , or do they? Any help or warranty info would be greatly appreciated.
thanks mike

Uhhh... Because its a money losing proposition ?

I'll throw in my $0.02 since I've replaced mine a couple of times. It can be sealed and IMHO sealed so that it can be pressure washed if you don't spray it directly. I have about 70K on my current opti. When I replaced my last one I bought the required modified (or inverted) torx to disassemble the new unit. There is a rubber seal running around the perimeter that... sort of works...most of the time (actually I think there might be two seals w/3 major parts...been a while). If you take the time to run a bead of RTV around the mating surfaces, let it dry thoroughly and replace the rubber vac lines that attach to it (they get soft from engine heat and will not connect tightly after a few thousand miles) plus add some hose clamps as well I think you'll find that you can get more than just a few thousand miles out of it and you also don't need to upgrade to the redesigned ($$$) version.

Another argument against the more expensive aftermarket model mentioned above is that you can get the stock opti for around $220 from some place like Sam Taylor Buick -> http://www.samtaylor.com/en_US/ (I did).
At that rate I'd rather experience the warm fuzzy knowing that the whole thing is new, sealed thoroughly and should last... well, at least 70k

Happy vetting
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[John Robinson]

I hate to add to your expense but since you have the water pump off even if you dont replace the opti (I did not replace the opti when my water pump went out 3 years ago). Now would be the time to replace the plug wires, same logic as opti it's exposed and a lot easier to do.:confused

 

[fredk]

It's a little late now but don't ever buy parts up here in Canada as our prices are way too expensive. I purchase everythng from down south. You can buy a new opti for $400 or an MSD for $499.00, we are getting ripped for parts up here in Canada.

Fred

 

[davec0_17]

I hate to add to your expense but since you have the water pump off even if you dont replace the opti (I did not replace the opti when my water pump went out 3 years ago). Now would be the time to replace the plug wires, same logic as opti it's exposed and a lot easier to do.:confused

I did not replace my opti when I replaced the leaking water pump a couple months ago either. It starts and runs fine, just like it didnt before replacing the leaking pump.

 

[LT4man]

The Optispark distributor was designed by Mitsubishi to last at least 100,000 miles. GM figured that the labor to replace a cap & rotor or the whole distributor would be justified by the longevity of the parts.

I have close to 90,000 miles on mine. My water pump was replaced at about 50,000 miles.

I would not replace the Optispark just because the water pump is leaking.

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