The thing that sucks is you can grab a decent junk yard 5.3l and ecu for less than most of this crap to fix the Opti.
The thing that sucks is you can grab a decent junk yard 5.3l and ecu for less than most of this crap to fix the Opti.
My buddy Walt has a 95 TA and he is still running his original Opti on it, so I know they are not super reliable, but they will last for a bit. I guess how much work you want to do on this also depends on how many projects you have on your plate right now. Personally, I would just get another opti, because I have WAY too many projects on my plate that I am not working on. Maybe if you bought a reman from like Napa or somewhere respectable you could get a three year warranty at least?
It's not the lazy way out, you just get to spend more time actually enjoying it.
-Geoff
2023 Camaro Convertible 2SS
That is is my hang-up with doing an Opti delete. I might just go for an LT1 delete lol.Originally Posted by ultradriver10000
I think that is the plan for the immediate future; its not lazy, it's pretty sensible. Ill put the new AIP sensor in, reinstall the opti and hopefully it will last a while. All of the optis (MSD, Accel, Cardone, Duralast, even AC Delco remans) are having quality issues on top of the normal opti issues.
Eventually I will probably LS swap it but I have a ton of projects happening all at the same time so the Vette has been on the backburner.
Last edited by mustangmike6996; 02-03-2023 at 04:14 PM.
I just picked up a 1994 Roadmaster, super mint. I had to put an Opti in it, but if it goes bad again... its getting a nice 5.3/6.0L with an LSA on it lol.
I just installed the replacement Opti sensor and it's dead... No spark. Followed the factory manual again as a sanity check. It's completely missing the low resolution signal. It actually looks worse than the one I pulled off viewed on an oscilloscope. Waiting to hear back from the company about a replacement. I didn't install the water pump specifically for this reason. I wanted to install the opti, fire it up and make sure it ran first. So that's kinda good.
I was price shopping 5.3s a couple days ago. Then it got me thinking about swapping some 6.0 or 6.2s in the boat. I spiraled down a rabbit hole of considering a bulk purchase for 3 LSs lol. Damn hobbies
I just picked up an aluminum 5.3L ($200)... I'm going to toss bearings in it, toss a cam and some nice heads... get it ready to toss in the boat.
That's a pretty good score for $200. Most of the LSs Ive seen are $1200-1800 depending. I havent really actively been searching that hard though.
On a side note, I have been actively looking up 24x conversions. The Torqhead kit is for 1994 and newer (I have a 1993). I emailed them to see what the difference is and if there is any way to use it on the 1993.
I was really considering the EFI Connection 24x system (cheaper than the Torquehead kit but its a little more work to piece together). The EFI 24x setup breaks down to this:
24x Cam/crank sensor kit $450
LS PCM plus tune $200 from a different company, that is surprisingly less than I thought itd be
LS Coils $35 each (new) or about $80 for a junkyard set, Im sure I could find them even cheaper
LS Coil bracket adapter for LT1 valve covers with coils is $575 (way too expensive, Id probably make my own bracket)
Coil wire set $50 (estimate)
Conversion harness- Unsure, I might be able to repin my LT1 harness to the LS1 connectors and retrofit to skip an adapter harness, if an adapter harness is even available. Standalone LS harness is $650 (if most likely make my own conversion harness)
1996 timing cover w/CKP Sensor provision (super rare and expensive) EFI 24x has a new cover for $385
They also call for a single row timing chain, Im not sure if that means I can keep stock or have to swap that too.
So roughly, the cheapest 24x kit would be $1350 plus whatever incidentals I run into. Ill round up and say $1600 without a wiring harness.
This! I started having issues with the opti in my Firebird and when I saw the cost of the LS coil setup I decided to just do the whole swap. Ended up selling my LT1 for more than the 5.3 cost me. had an iron block for a while and last spring found an aluminum 5.3 for $600 and put that in.
If you come across a cobra in the wild, wipe it off and apologize.
I sold a low mileage LT1 2 years ago for $1500, which shocked me... but yeah if you look around, I snagged a junk yard 6.0L with 2wd 4L80e and ecu and hardness for $400... high miles, but shoot, rebuilding it yourself and doing some performance and for say $1500 you'll have a great set up.
My Roadmaster has 70K miles on it... I might just sell the rig, but if I keep it around I'll sell the LT1 and just swap an LSx in it.
Where are you finding these lower priced LSs? I dont mind having to rebuild. A complete dropout engine/harness would be preferred.
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