Smokeysvette

I was checking the weep hole on my original water pump on my '92 and saw just a small drip of antifreeze so I'm changing the water pump out.
The car has had no running issues at all (no oil leaks) and is running great at 52,000 and the Opti was dry. I was thinking that if I got this far why not change out the Opti. But the other though was "If it ain't broke don't fix it"
OK...What would you guys do? Change it while I'm at this point or leave well enough alone?
I have heard many of you at 100K mark and still running the original Opti with no issues and then others that once they've changed it, it starts the changing it again and again syndrome.

Thanks in advance for any help getting off the fence.

LTxDave

My 95 had 220k on the original and my 96 is up to 120k.

black-93-coupe

1993 with 101,156 and counting.

kimmer

My 92 had 126,000 before it went.

LT4 F45

My 96 is at 42K and still work well

GreyGhost

1993 with 121,00 on mine

RollaMo-LT4

Just over 123k on my '96 with the factory original Opti.
And I wash the engine with soap and water 2 or 3 times a year.

VET 350

The water pump on my '92 when 4 days ago and took the opti with it. (43K miles) Now, it's sitting at the Chevy dealer with them saying it has no coolant in it. I guess it leaked out from the crapped out water pump.

Hopefully, I didn't overheat it.
I'm going get it tomorrow, fill it with coolant and drive it back to my house.
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Smokeysvette

Thanks guy's for your answers so far. Ya gotta love this forum.
For now it looks like I'm falling on the side of "If it ain't broke don't fix it"
Keep the answers coming. I won't be getting out to the shop to put it back together until tomorrow or the next night.

Phat98

Just over 123K on my '96 LT4 also...but something is amiss....

mazdaverx7

mine lasted 102k miles. it went because the previous owner had the water pump changed and the mechanic that changed the water pump allowed it to drain into the opti.. it lasted for a few thousand miles before it let loose. i bought the car with a bad opti. replaced the opti, coil, ICM, plugs, and wires and all has been well.

davewhtt

That is clean! How the hell do you do it? Im always afraid to get water any where near the front of the engine on my 93. Dave

QCVette

I have had several LT1's.
I listed the mileage when I sold the car (except one was stolen) below:

25k '94 Corvette
56k '96 Z28
94k '96 Impala SS
115k '96 Impala SS
126k '95 9C1
145k '94 Corvette

None of them had opti problems. The Z28 even had a water pump dump on the opti and still no problems.

shakedown067

60,000 on the original, 40,000 on 2nd a/c delco (water pump failure), 30,000 on MSD, So I'm now on my fourth. And no, I don't wash the motor...at least not with pouring water.

ssdan

185K I'm a bit worried

don hall

You might want to rethink your decision. Changing out the opti is quite simple, once you have removed the water pump. Call it preventive maintenance.

Water is not the immediate opti-killer, it is the resulting oxidation (rust) that kills the opti.

Why risk the labor involved by hoping the opti is OK? When you are involved with labor intensive repairs, replace all 'wear' items while you are in the process.

Greg Gore

I replaced the waterpump and opti on my 96 at 110K as preventive maintenance and took the original apart afterwards to inspect the condition and did not find anything wrong. Nice knowing there is a new one in there though.

Greg Gore

Sweet!!

mmercer

Looks smokin!!! ....

Vetteblack-96

Geez, RollaMo! I bet it didn't come from the factory that clean! How long does it take to do that? I keep my car in a garage (apartment complex) and it gets dirty from the dirt and dust blowing in under the door. I could never keep mine that clean. You are to be commended! ps: My Opti has only 38,000 miles on it (it was a northern car stored winters) so I hope I have a few years to go before trouble.