Never Ever Go Aftermarket for a optispark you will.just be replacing it 5k later or less. Clean the Oem up New Cap & Rotor.No better opti Made than the Oem Mitsubisi optical laser.
@@jamesflames9930 absolutely. Hence why it wouldn't fit without stuffing around... But who knows what some of these people believe when they go to do these jobs, it isn't service manuals that's for sure... using imperial sockets on metric fasteners, assembling hoses and leads on the bench, pulling intake manifold for no apparent reason, no sealant on the waterpump bolts, no torque wrench anywhere to be seen.... This will almost certainly leak within a few months.
@@CaseTheCorvetteMan Who cares how what sockets he used to get fasteners off. He said they were doing valve cover and intake gaskets. If a bolt goes into a blind hole, it doesn't need sealant. The guy in the video doing the work looks like he knows what he's doing. Maybe that's all he could afford for the opti.
@@geneyus6411 the holes the water pump bolts go into are NOT blind, they go straight into the water jackets. If you do not use sealant, they may leak. Looked a bit like he was winging it to me, wrong sockets can round bolt heads, bolts need to be re-used, common sense says USE THE CORRECT SOCKET. Whether he can afford a different distributor or not, you'd be pretty stupid to throw a cheap Chinese one in there and then do the job again in a couple months, obviously isn't going to work out cheaper for long is it. But hey, what would i know eh, only been doing these for 30 years ;)
Theres no need to set the crank at tdc #1 when installing the distributor. The sensor disc inside of the opti has 8 notches, one for each cylinder. Each notch is a different size so the sensor recognizes each notch and then knows what cylinder to fire. Just line up the drive spline and slide it on. Crank position does not matter
From one old wrench twister to another, very well done. Very. My project is a '93 that the devoted wife's nineteen year old son bought. I ordered the Hanes manual. I'm doing wires, plugs, Opti, coil, cooling flush, coolent, oil & filter for him. Your excellent video brought to mind a quote from Lucille Ball, "Jiggle it a little it'll open." Try saying that three times fast. Best!
The BEST video on the internet for replacing the opti spark. I have to do mine on my 94 now. I have two C4’s so I have been putting it off and driving my 95. Going to tear into it next week. Waiting on wires and plugs.
@@HomeownerRepair Thank you for doing that. There are a lot of videos on the C4’s on the internet but yours is by far the best. Well spoken and easy to follow for the novice and the experienced
I soaked my H B with pb blaster for 2 days & hit the balancer from behind with a 2 x4 board towel wraped at the end of the board & rubber mallet into the board theres no room for a puller for the harmonic balancer cleaned up the oem opti and used MSD vented conversion cap for a 94.I had to manully rotate the HB when i smacked it off didnt hit it to hard never removed the alternator or TB just WP & HB.
@@tonyhammer3588 even though he didn't really follow the manual and hasn't done a few critical things correctly, it won't be long before that leaks through the waterpump bolts. There is a very good reason to seal those and the manual gives torque specs for bolts.
We did a lot of work on this car which involved other things. So videoed some of the basic steps that may need to be taken while tackling this stupid Opti Spark
The video was great took the 93 out got the coolant flushed and AC system flushed. Air compressor the leaves out away from radiator. Filled up with Shell instead of Mobile drove highway & City 4 hour fun radiator temperature never went more than 180. I had convertible down because my smile & head was TOO Big.
I think Joe Dirt owned it at one point. Doing a little at a time to iron out all the bugs in it. Steve and I will keep posting videos for you guys as we tackle more issues with it.
@@HomeownerRepair I'm always amused by the negative comments. One guy saying you didn't show coating the waterpump boltz with sealant or use a torque wrench.
you guys are awesome like your program I'm doing my 1993 anniversary 40 th and you helped me very much thank you for showing this unit process I'm doing my anniversary one now thank you
@HomeOwnerRepair 30 for water pump bolts and 60 for the damper bolts. Tha KS for this video. Just started today and already have my spark plug wires out. So next is to put those in and put back together. Driver side was a real pain to take out. My work will be cut out for me tomorrow I'm sure with those
To align the optispark shaft with the engine cover, I understand that I have to turn the optispark shaft by hand in the new optispark. It is true? so that it is aligned or in the same position that the old optispark shaft had. Thank you.
If you are just doing the Optispark you do not need to remove the intake. We were doing a lot of work to this car. I pulled the intake and valve covers because the gaskets were leaking really bad so we replaced those too.
@@HomeownerRepair thank you, that's what I thought but wanted to be sure. For a qualified mechanic, not counting additional work you're doing, how long should this take if everything goes well?
Here is a link to them on Amazon. I have had pretty good luck with Cardone products in general, with that said everything seems to be a crap shoot with parts these days. Hope this helps you out: amzn.to/42eei3w
How many miles were on the vette when all of the maintenance was performed? I have a 94 with 69,000 and pump is starting to leak. I also have some oil leaking somewhere on the top of motor. I will probably be doing everything that you've done and mentioned in your video. Thank you for making this, I will definitely be following along to get through it.
My vette has 89,000 on it. The water pump was leaking along with the valve covers and intake gasket. Kinda just went through the engine with Steve to make it streetable again. Little preventative maintenance goes a long way.
Oh my god !!!! I’m in the middle of an optispark install on my 92. I pulled out my phone because it was giving me trouble to install. My optispark doesn’t fit either. I had to file it too. I know one Zone I won’t get into anytime soon . 😡
How much would you charge someone for this job. My mechanic is worried about doing this for me because he says if one thing isn't put back together right it can cause other issues that he wouldn't wanna be responsible for.. ive been getting estimates from other mechanics and im just wondering if at this point should i just take it to the dealership or pay a street mechanic or a local mechanic shop but idk what price is matching to the labor. I have the new optispark, but how much would say a job like this is at a reasonable price?
It is not that hard of a job, I forget exactly how long it took us to replace the optispark distributor on my Corvette because we were doing a lot of other work. It is probably around a 4 hour job if I remember right...I'm actually trying to forget this one..lol
I just started doing my 94 Corvette. This video was a big help, to remove everything was about 2 hours. While your doing it make sure to switch out your spark plug cables too. Im switching them out and the water pump.
Thanks for watching. It took forever to create this video, it's long but I wanted to show exactly what was involved with the repair. Hope it helped you out. Tony
GOOD MORNING MY NAME IS JAVIER I HAVE A 1992 LT1 CORVETTE, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW THE OPTISPARK CARDONE 84-1832 IS GOING HOW MANY MILES HAVE YOU DONE ALREADY WITH YOUR 92 CORVETTE. THANKS A LOT. I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR ADVICE FOR THE FUTURE PURCHASE.
Great video and very informative 👍🏻... I have 95 c4 corvette has rough idel and makes a pinging popping sound... I have changed 02 SENSORS, EGR, TPS, IAC, MAP SENSOR and the sensor that screws into the front of the waterpump... but it still runs the same.... any ideas? Please don't say it's the Optispark... Lol
I wish I could find the engineer who dreamed up the "Optispark" I would force them to bend into the engine bay and kick them in the nuts once a minute til he fixed it and then ask for the $1200 it took to replace mine on my 94 Corvette
Putting an electrical component below a water source is so ignorant especially the design of the water pump weep hole! The Optispark is a result of poor design without proper track record of function. Most of the Optisparks are made of flexible resins mounted to a 3/16" metal frame. Rotor buttons tend to rub on the flexible housings. Just a horrible piece of crap with a high failure rate, placed in an area of very difficult replacement!!!
I’ve always wanted to now why the changed the Real estate area to relocate a distributor. worked for 60 years before it why did the engineers switch it all. Unbelievable 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
Hi Jessica, This is my Vette in the video. Steve and I had to do a intake gasket, spark plugs, wires, valve cover gaskets and just a lot of maintenance stuff in general. When doing just the opti spark if the spark plug wires and spark plugs are old it is a good time to tackle those too while you are in there. Hope this helps out. Tony :)
Buy replacement distributor: amzn.to/3blxXGH
Never Ever Go Aftermarket for a optispark you will.just be replacing it 5k later or less. Clean the Oem up New Cap & Rotor.No better opti Made than the Oem Mitsubisi optical laser.
@@jamesflames9930 absolutely. Hence why it wouldn't fit without stuffing around... But who knows what some of these people believe when they go to do these jobs, it isn't service manuals that's for sure... using imperial sockets on metric fasteners, assembling hoses and leads on the bench, pulling intake manifold for no apparent reason, no sealant on the waterpump bolts, no torque wrench anywhere to be seen....
This will almost certainly leak within a few months.
@@CaseTheCorvetteMan Who cares how what sockets he used to get fasteners off. He said they were doing valve cover and intake gaskets.
If a bolt goes into a blind hole, it doesn't need sealant. The guy in the video doing the work looks like he knows what he's doing. Maybe that's all he could afford for the opti.
@@geneyus6411 the holes the water pump bolts go into are NOT blind, they go straight into the water jackets. If you do not use sealant, they may leak.
Looked a bit like he was winging it to me, wrong sockets can round bolt heads, bolts need to be re-used, common sense says USE THE CORRECT SOCKET.
Whether he can afford a different distributor or not, you'd be pretty stupid to throw a cheap Chinese one in there and then do the job again in a couple months, obviously isn't going to work out cheaper for long is it.
But hey, what would i know eh, only been doing these for 30 years ;)
🤣🤣🤣🤣@@CaseTheCorvetteMan
Theres no need to set the crank at tdc #1 when installing the distributor. The sensor disc inside of the opti has 8 notches, one for each cylinder. Each notch is a different size so the sensor recognizes each notch and then knows what cylinder to fire. Just line up the drive spline and slide it on. Crank position does not matter
Yeah we realized this while putting it back together. Thanks for the added tip.
Also no need to remove the alternator
From one old wrench twister to another, very well done. Very. My project is a '93 that the devoted wife's nineteen year old son bought. I ordered the Hanes manual. I'm doing wires, plugs, Opti, coil, cooling flush, coolent, oil & filter for him.
Your excellent video brought to mind a quote from Lucille Ball, "Jiggle it a little it'll open." Try saying that three times fast.
Best!
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to sub the channel to for more videos like this!
Where did you buy the Optispark at ?
@@tryjames1ify Rock Auto
The BEST video on the internet for replacing the opti spark. I have to do mine on my 94 now. I have two C4’s so I have been putting it off and driving my 95. Going to tear into it next week. Waiting on wires and plugs.
This thing was a pain to replace, Steve and I wanted to create a great video for the C4 community.
@@HomeownerRepair Thank you for doing that. There are a lot of videos on the C4’s on the internet but yours is by far the best. Well spoken and easy to follow for the novice and the experienced
I soaked my H B with pb blaster for 2 days & hit the balancer from behind with a 2 x4 board towel wraped at the end of the board & rubber mallet into the board theres no room for a puller for the harmonic balancer cleaned up the oem opti and used MSD vented conversion cap for a 94.I had to manully rotate the HB when i smacked it off didnt hit it to hard never removed the alternator or TB just WP & HB.
@@tonyhammer3588 even though he didn't really follow the manual and hasn't done a few critical things correctly, it won't be long before that leaks through the waterpump bolts. There is a very good reason to seal those and the manual gives torque specs for bolts.
@@CaseTheCorvetteMan How do you know he didn’t put sealer on the threads of the bolts? How many years have you been a mechanic? Honest years.
Man, this guy is racking up hours on this job.
I'm no expert but I didn't need to remove alternator or manifold
We did a lot of work on this car which involved other things. So videoed some of the basic steps that may need to be taken while tackling this stupid Opti Spark
@@HomeownerRepair great video! I'm thinking about put a full msd ignition upgrade on my 95 c4 probably going to order a Haynes shop manual
Excellent video. Very informative.
Glad it was helpful!
Very useful video series that ive been applying too my newly purchased 94' I appreciate the detail🙏🏼
Thanks for watching! Don't forget to subscribe!
The video was great took the 93 out got the coolant flushed and AC system flushed. Air compressor the leaves out away from radiator. Filled up with Shell instead of Mobile drove highway & City 4 hour fun radiator temperature never went more than 180. I had convertible down because my smile & head was TOO Big.
Wow! Some serious neglect going from previous owners. Kudos to you guys for bringing it back. Lots of crust, definitely not a garage queen.
I think Joe Dirt owned it at one point. Doing a little at a time to iron out all the bugs in it. Steve and I will keep posting videos for you guys as we tackle more issues with it.
@@HomeownerRepair I'm always amused by the negative comments. One guy saying you didn't show coating the waterpump boltz with sealant or use a torque wrench.
you guys are awesome like your program I'm doing my 1993 anniversary 40 th and you helped me very much thank you for showing this unit process I'm doing my anniversary one now thank you
Thanks for watching! Don't forget to subscribe!
Thanks, I haven't done this lately and a squirrel ate my coil wire down to the boot. What a PITA!
Ugh..Critters cause so much damage. Here is a link to them on Amazon. amzn.to/42eei3w
Great video on how to do this. I hope I don't ever have to. I own a 92 just like the one in your video.
It is a little involved but not impossible.
Thanks for your video. I installed my Optispark
Nice!. Hope the video helped out.
@@HomeownerRepair it did. I’m just summoning up courage to replace intake manifold gasket lol
Great video it was alot easier to do with your video. Thanks
Thank you for watching our auto repair video that shows you how to replace the Opti Spark distributor on a C4 Corvette. Have a great day!
Did you use thread sealant on the pump bolts? I think they actually inter into the water jacket.
Not that I remember. I has been fine though, hasn't leaked at all.
I did on every bolt. I used specific water pump sealant from permatex
So I'm about to go through this. I'm nervous about tightening the gaskets down for water pump. What should they be spec to or just get em tight?
Also the balencer! What spec to tighten to
I currently do not have the torque specs for the water pump you might be able to find them online. We snugged the bolts up by hand and they were fine.
@HomeOwnerRepair 30 for water pump bolts and 60 for the damper bolts. Tha KS for this video. Just started today and already have my spark plug wires out. So next is to put those in and put back together. Driver side was a real pain to take out. My work will be cut out for me tomorrow I'm sure with those
What was the reason for removing the intake manifold?
Putting a new Camshaft in? I would
It was leaking a lot of oil...was pretty bad
Any advice on how to prevent having to replace a water pump and Opti again?
Just keep the fluids and maintenance up to date on your Corvette and that is 1/2 the battel.
I have a 1993 C4 in very good condition. And I am looking for information to change the distributor.
Hope this video helps you out.
Did you install new seals and oring?
I believe that we did.
@@HomeownerRepair even on the driveshaft for the Optispark ?
Nice job. the car was neglected before you got it
Yeah it kind of was. We you able to replace your Optispark?
I replaced mine had no spark before I replaced now I have spark out coil going into new opti but none coming out of optispark to plugs? Any ideas?
Possibly a bad Optispark distributor?
Thank you 🙏
Thanks for watching. Don't forget to sub the channel to receive all of our latest uploads.
To align the optispark shaft with the engine cover, I understand that I have to turn the optispark shaft by hand in the new optispark. It is true?
so that it is aligned or in the same position that the old optispark shaft had. Thank you.
The Optispark will only go on one way.
well, i was wanting a C4 but not now... did they ever quit using the opti spark?
Fun car but..MONEY PIT! They are not easy to work on either.
You pulled the intake but didn't cover that. Is it necessary to pull the intake. I know it would make the working easier but is that really necessary?
If you are just doing the Optispark you do not need to remove the intake. We were doing a lot of work to this car. I pulled the intake and valve covers because the gaskets were leaking really bad so we replaced those too.
@@HomeownerRepair thank you, that's what I thought but wanted to be sure. For a qualified mechanic, not counting additional work you're doing, how long should this take if everything goes well?
On a 1992 corvette do you have too set the timing with the optispark ?Because it only goes on one way
No it only goes on one way.
Hi
How are u man?
I have cuestión for u, this engine 5.7 v8 have ckp sensor?
Not sure what you mean
What brand opti was used for replacement?
I believe I had used an aftermarket one. You may want to buy an AC Delco one.
Where did you buy the Optispark at ? Need help
Here is a link to them on Amazon. I have had pretty good luck with Cardone products in general, with that said everything seems to be a crap shoot with parts these days. Hope this helps you out: amzn.to/42eei3w
If my harmonic balancer turned the engine while removing bolts. How do u set my timing back?
If you install the
Optispark correctly the timing is set, it only goes in one way.
Yeah, it only goes on one way...we noticed this too.
How many miles were on the vette when all of the maintenance was performed? I have a 94 with 69,000 and pump is starting to leak. I also have some oil leaking somewhere on the top of motor. I will probably be doing everything that you've done and mentioned in your video. Thank you for making this, I will definitely be following along to get through it.
My vette has 89,000 on it. The water pump was leaking along with the valve covers and intake gasket. Kinda just went through the engine with Steve to make it streetable again. Little preventative maintenance goes a long way.
Oh my god !!!! I’m in the middle of an optispark install on my 92. I pulled out my phone because it was giving me trouble to install. My optispark doesn’t fit either. I had to file it too. I know one Zone I won’t get into anytime soon . 😡
Thanks for watching. Hope we got you out of a jamb..Tony
I have to do the same, thanks for the video,
No problem 👍
How much would you charge someone for this job. My mechanic is worried about doing this for me because he says if one thing isn't put back together right it can cause other issues that he wouldn't wanna be responsible for.. ive been getting estimates from other mechanics and im just wondering if at this point should i just take it to the dealership or pay a street mechanic or a local mechanic shop but idk what price is matching to the labor. I have the new optispark, but how much would say a job like this is at a reasonable price?
It is not that hard of a job, I forget exactly how long it took us to replace the optispark distributor on my Corvette because we were doing a lot of other work. It is probably around a 4 hour job if I remember right...I'm actually trying to forget this one..lol
I just started doing my 94 Corvette. This video was a big help, to remove everything was about 2 hours. While your doing it make sure to switch out your spark plug cables too. Im switching them out and the water pump.
Great video !
Thanks for watching. It took forever to create this video, it's long but I wanted to show exactly what was involved with the repair. Hope it helped you out. Tony
GOOD MORNING MY NAME IS JAVIER I HAVE A 1992 LT1 CORVETTE, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW HOW THE OPTISPARK CARDONE 84-1832 IS GOING HOW MANY MILES HAVE YOU DONE ALREADY WITH YOUR 92 CORVETTE.
THANKS A LOT. I WOULD APPRECIATE YOUR ADVICE FOR THE FUTURE PURCHASE.
Mine has 89,000 on it
@@HomeownerRepair how many miles had it when you change optispark
Or the serious question, how many miles have you done with the new optispark?
Amazing, people always have something to say. If you're here watching this video it's because you have questions and need help. Or am I wrong?
Arm chair mechanics...lol
Hope your putting a new coil in
Yes, the coil was replaced with a new one if you watch the video we show this
WOW great info.,, AAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++ again great video I liked it a lot ,keep up the great work.
Thanks, will do!
Great video and very informative 👍🏻... I have 95 c4 corvette has rough idel and makes a pinging popping sound... I have changed 02 SENSORS, EGR, TPS, IAC, MAP SENSOR and the sensor that screws into the front of the waterpump... but it still runs the same.... any ideas? Please don't say it's the Optispark... Lol
Did you try changing the spark plugs?
@Homeowner Repair it was the Optispark and yes new plugs and wires and waterpump
Nice job. No swear words!
I was wondering how you got the harmonic balancer bolts loose without the engine turning over! Did not mention this.
DID you watch the video???🤔
We tried...lol Off camera we have a vocabulary like Ozzy...lol
you're going about this the hard way. why not dig in on the side with no accessories?
We were doing a lot of other work on this Vette when we shot this video.
There is no need to remove the alternator to get access to the optispark
We were doing a lot of work to this car at the time of the Opti spark replacement.
I wish I could find the engineer who dreamed up the "Optispark"
I would force them to bend into the engine bay and kick them in the nuts once a minute til he fixed it and then ask for the $1200 it took to replace mine on my 94 Corvette
It's a ridiculous design. It is also in a bad location.
Putting an electrical component below a water source is so ignorant especially the design of the water pump weep hole! The Optispark is a result of poor design without proper track record of function. Most of the Optisparks are made of flexible resins mounted to a 3/16" metal frame. Rotor buttons tend to rub on the flexible housings. Just a horrible piece of crap with a high failure rate, placed in an area of very difficult replacement!!!
I’ve always wanted to now why the changed the Real estate area to relocate a distributor. worked for 60 years before it why did the engineers switch it all. Unbelievable 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄
It's a complete pain in the butt in this location. I miss the days of a cap and rotor swap..UGH!
The opti spark has a much higher degree of accuracy.
What are you doing you are taking way too much off the poor customer got ripped on that bill
Hi Jessica, This is my Vette in the video. Steve and I had to do a intake gasket, spark plugs, wires, valve cover gaskets and just a lot of maintenance stuff in general. When doing just the opti spark if the spark plug wires and spark plugs are old it is a good time to tackle those too while you are in there. Hope this helps out. Tony :)
Did you even watch or listen to to the whole video??🤔
What stupid system...
Thank you for watching our auto repair video that show you how to replace the Optispark distributor on a C4 Corvette. Have a great day!