Injuneer

What happened and what you did is not clear. Are you saying the dowel pin was wedged into the slot on the back of the Opti so tight that the pin pulled right out of the nose of the cam when you pulled the Opti?

If so, did you check the dowel pin length before installing the Opti? If you are indicating that the stainless steel shutter wheel for the optical cam position sensor was rubbing on the sensor housing, sounds like the dowel pin may have been too long. Was there similar rubbing in the cap, where the rotor was being pushed into it.

No, it is not common for the rotor to explode above 6,000RPM. It sounds like yours was damaged because the dowel pin was too long, was not checked for length, and pushed the rotor forward into the cap, which would explain why it exploded.

I wouldn't blame the Opti for what appears to be an installation error.

You seem to have segued from the fuel system back to the Opti. MSD = NO; Accel = NO; DynaSpark = Maybe, if they have improved some customer service and quality problems they had a couple years ago; Cardone = NO (where did you get this list of dogs?). LTCC is not an Opti. It's a system that uses the optical cam position sensor in the Opti to feed their "black box", and drive 8 LS1 style coils. Very good system, but not necessary on a naturally aspirated engine.

You want a GM Opti - AC Delco or Delphi.

palehorse77

Fred - Thanks for hanging in there with me on these.

1. What happened - When I pulled the newly installed opti the dowel on the cam literally came off the camgear with the opti - just slid out of the hole. The dowel showed clear signs of consistent rubbing against the opti wheel like it was loose and hitting the dowel on both sides as it though it had been lightly polished or rubbed clean at two points on the dowel. The dowel length is a non-issue. The dowel worked fine with the previous opti for 5 years. This scenario fits into the mold of running really well for a period and then becoming dislodged or loose and running like complete poo as the opti wheel bounce back and forth within the range the dislodge dowel maintained.

2. What I did - Yes, I JB welded the SOB into the cam timing gear. When I need to remove the gear I may regret that. I'll deal with it at that point. It was a drop of jb on the tip of a screw.

3. The rotor exploded on the PREVIOUS opti (the AC delco unit installed in 2006)which is what started this entire mess. It is possible the rotor issue was from crystallization on the points in the opti. I mention the +6k RPM only because of several instances I've heard others express on this forum while researching the Delteq, Dynaspark and LTCC systems. So you weren't clear on what had happened but "it appears there was an installation error"? -there was no installation error. The pin came loose. Perhaps the gent that installed the dowel on the comp cam back in 08' did a shoddy job but it held for 5 years. I think it's a bit of a fluke but they happen all the time - such is life. I'm extremely **** on my installs. I understand the critical important of this piece (which is why the last one was an AC Delco unit) and literally nestle the SOB into place and no stresses are imposed on the housing when bolts are secured.

4. I fully understand LTCC is not an opti but uses the 2 channel opti signal. I'm not interested in going the 24x route due to current configuration and $ (I've eliminated the crank sensor for the roller chain some time ago). The delteq is dogged on consistently and likely for cause but I was unable to find any specifics on what actually failed aside from the actual circuit board?

Just ordered the Delphi unit. I'm taking the POS O'Reillys provided as GM OEM equipment back (yes I'm Scottish/Cheap I can't help it). Any suggestions on identifying the a Delphi unit? Do the Delphi's have the Mitsubishi optical sensor?

Injuneer

I still don't understand.... how can the dowel pin be loose and bouncing around on the "wheel" (do you mean the cylindrical part with the hole for the dowel pin, and the "extra" holes are located????) and still be pulled out of the cam nose?

You appear to have a 96 with a dowel pin drive, but then you indicated you used JB Weld to attach the dowel pin to the cam sprocket?

Guess it doesn't really matter... you appear to be fully confidant that you have correctly installed everything and have it totally uinder control, so there's not much more help that I can offer.

But just to make sure you know - Delteq disappeared at least 5 years ago, there are no spare parts available and no technical support of any kind. And it was pretty much a POS.... yes I know a couple of people have working units, but they appear to be in the minority.

Good luck.

palehorse77

Do the Delphi units also use Mitsubishi sensors like the AC Delco units?

bowtiedad_z28

Supposedly yes. Delphi made the Delco opti's for GM.