Anyone ever have an MSD opti bearing go out?!

[carboncamaro]

Well.... Here's how it went down. Just swapped the heads, cam, intake for LE2 setup, and Solomon tune. It ran like a champ for a few days until I finally decided to hit high RPMs. When it hit around 6000 RPM it died and wouldn't start back up on its own. I checked fuel pressure and everything dealing with the ignition. Everything checked out but I decided to pull the distributor anyways since it's not that big of a deal anymore. It turned out that the bearing was obviously shot and let oil onto the optical sensor disc. The cheap bastard that I am, rebuilt the distributor using a brand new bearing from a local "alternator and starter shop" near by instead of buying a brand new distributor. I just hope that my experience might shed some light on someone else's issues regarding the MSD optis. From what I can tell the MSD is a lot easier to rebuild than the stock AC Delco unit. If anyone has any questions I might be able to answer so feel free to ask.

[mpe331lx]

When you did the cam swap did you replace the opti seal on the timing cover? Also when you installed the opti, was the seal and the surface of the opti shaft (where it meets the seal) clean and dry?

The bearing/seal on the opti should keep water and any contaminants out, but the seal on your timing cover SHOULD (key word!) keep the engine oil from even coming in contact with the opti bearing.

[joelster]

I had a stock bearing let go on my opti. The car worked fine until around 6k then it would miss pretty badly. When we took it apart the bearing had corroded. It must have gotten some water inside at some point. It was 6 or 7 years old though so no complaints. There were little pieces inside of the cap and the rotor could wiggle a little bit.

[carboncamaro]

When you did the cam swap did you replace the opti seal on the timing cover? Also when you installed the opti, was the seal and the surface of the opti shaft (where it meets the seal) clean and dry?

The bearing/seal on the opti should keep water and any contaminants out, but the seal on your timing cover SHOULD (key word!) keep the engine oil from even coming in contact with the opti bearing.

I installed new seals in the timing cover before putting it back on and was very careful throughout the entire process. The timing cover seal looked perfectly fine but I could tell right away that the bearing had play. I guess the bearing just decided to go and let oil creep in. After replacing the opti bearing and orings($5 worth of parts) it runs like a champ!

[Driftunit]

What do you mean removing the opti isnt that big of deal anymore? what kind of setup do you have? my opti is in the process of dying, my car threw a code 16 (low resolution pulse failure) and it threw a code 36 (high resolution pulse failure) ive decided to go with the msd opti. is there any kind of obvious gains over the stock or ac delco unit?

[casey20000007]

@driftunit I have an msd pro billet opti and I can tell you my car runs a hell of a lot stronger before I started having other problems with the engine the opti is a very good investment just make sure you get the one for your year 96 &97 had the vented style 95 and older had none vented

[carboncamaro]

What do you mean removing the opti isnt that big of deal anymore? what kind of setup do you have? my opti is in the process of dying, my car threw a code 16 (low resolution pulse failure) and it threw a code 36 (high resolution pulse failure) ive decided to go with the msd opti. is there any kind of obvious gains over the stock or ac delco unit?

I didn't know there were any more replies, sorry. I just meant that changing the opti gets a lot easier every time. You can even change it without wasting much coolant if you're good! The MSD seems to be a very well made piece and is so much easier to rebuild.