twcblackhand6970

I just bought a new opti from the parts lady and was wondering what I can do to make an unvented opti more reliable. I have never held a opti so your going to have to use some detail please.

henryz28

Only thing I did was remove the cap and rotor then put some high strength lock tight on the rotor screws. The rotor is known for coming loose.

twcblackhand6970

Do I just take the cap off and the rotor screws are right there in from of me?
Is there any know loose screws or anything I should tighten? And could I put some silicone around the cap to keep water from getting under?

twcblackhand6970

Anything else you can do to a unvented opti to protect it.

96capricemgr

Why did you buy a whole opti???

Probably the best thing you can do to improve an unvented opti is use the MSD cap and rotor which add a vent too it. IMO most "bad optis" just needed a fresh cap and rotor but people don't seem to grasp maintenance.

While you are working on the car throw the Granatelli right in the garbage, best case it is harder to tune, worst case it causes problems.
Get a real torque converter.
Long as the 357 is built to take 6800rpms or so the 306 should be OK but I would encourage you to rethink your choice in tuner too especially with that MAF they both tend to cause the same lean problem. Stacking up multiple lean problems could cost you a motor.

twcblackhand6970

The opti on the car now has been soaked in powersteering fluid multiple times by a rack leak and has needed to be flushed by a air compressor to start running. By the looks of it, it may be the original, just replacing for insurance while all the parts are off. The torque converter was purchased on budget and the car came with a the MAF sensor and hasn't caused a lean condition yet.

I'm just wondering if maybe covering the 3 holes could help the opti since they are supposed to let moisture out, but tend to let it in also.

Injuneer

The high voltage in the cap/rotor section creates ozone. Ozone appears to cause the rust the eventually blinds the optical sensor. I wouldn't seal it up completely.... that will just insure maximum ozone concentration in the housing. GM added the "vent" system to remove the ozone, not moisture.

Find the article on the Corvette website that shows how to add a "vent" to the unvented Opti.

n2ceptor

After putting mine back together, I used alittle bit of clear silicone on the seam where the housing and cap met.. Not on the gasket... Guess it helped some...

96capricemgr

The Granatelli tries to trick the stock overly rich programming into leaning out a little at WOT, if the car is programmed right and you use a MAF that under reports AFGS then it will go lean. If you inform a good tuner of it they will try to compensate by making the tune richer than they would have otherwise. PITA for them and I have never seen a reputable tuner say anything good about them, tuners will often choose to not tell customers about the mistakes they are making though because people don't want to hear that, they want to here "you are a genius" .

twcblackhand6970

okay, I'll look into that article injuneer. And I told the guy at PCMforLess about my Granatelli and he was supposed to tune it. I got the unlimited email tunes for 6months, so I can just do logs and get a retune until he gets it good.

petie

I may be missing something but what does this have to do with protecting an optispark?

twcblackhand6970

off topic "help" I guess. on a note, where can I get those inverted torx bits for the cap of the opti?

a4z28

There is a writeup on i belive lt1tech that shows you how to make the torx bolt remover from a previous bolt, and wing nut for 50 cents or so.

97sscamaross

It's an E4 socket, they only cost a few bucks

bowtiedad_z28

Sears carries the sockets. You can also use a bolt from the throttle body cover if you have a extra one or are careful with one you take out.