Lt1 engine clean

[lt1_man]

I just picked up my first lt1 engine and Iam a little worried about cleaning it. I have heard with the opti spark if you get any cleaner around there it can really mess it up. I have CD2 cleaner which is awsome and it says just to spray every where but I dont want to mess up my engine. Any suggestions or advice would be awsome.
-Brandon

[gbackus]

My second car was a 94 Z28, and if there's one thing I can tell you, DON'T WET THE OPTISPARK! I've had problems with it driving through mild puddles, causing a need for replacement. You must cover it off VERY well, and you may consider getting one of the newer sealed cases(MSD and some other company whose name I can't remember) if you ever need to replace it.

[lt1_man]

Thanks that is what I was worried about. Iam not going to sprays it down with water just the CD2 cleaner. Should I just put tape around the opti spark? I dont really know what else I can do.
Thanks Brandon

[Accumulator]

I've done OK with the Opti by wrapping it with aluminum foil. Then just try to *not* direct anything right at it. Never had a problem and I've had a few LT1s. Some other people claim that it's OK to get them wet and just let them dry out but I'm not gonna experiment myself Better safe than sorry IMO and I've heard the other side of the argument (e.g., what happened to gbackus) too.

[lt1_man]

Cool I think I will give it a try and see what happens.
-Brandon

[TH0001]

I think in '95 they redesigned the optispark and sealed it, so it depends on the year.

[gbackus]

Originally posted by TH0001
I think in '95 they redesigned the optispark and sealed it, so it depends on the year.

The 95+ opti upgrade was actually a venting, not a sealing. Opti-spark's just plain **** sometimes.

[freddy_caprice]

Ive soked and clean my engine 4 times and didnt cover the opti and never had problems, my car has over 130,000 miles.

[93ZF6]

Don't wet it!

No need to wet the opti, my 93 Vette has the original
with no problems...but there's no way I'll chance a several Hundred Dollar bill and potential downtime that wetting could give. You can't really see the opti, even from below where you need to be to replace it of you have a bad o ring and get it wet enough. Best bet is to wipe the visible areas down with your favorite APC and dress with a dampened MF.

If you want more detail hit corvetteforum.com and do a search.

Good luck