obdoc_brother

Well, driving to work today, stopped at a red light, the ole' Vette decides to die on me... and I mean COMPLETELY! No electrical power at all! No power seat, engine doesn't turn, no lights, nothing at all. The car is dead... With all the cars behind me honking (I can't put my hazards on) I push this big beast to the side of the road. I take a look under the hood and don't see anything out of the ordinary. I call a flat-bed tow truck and have it sent to a Chevy dealership by my place. I get a phone call say what went wrong. Apprently the water pump leaked fluids (I didn't notice some anti-freeze on the hood about a week ago) onto the distributor and ruined (something)spark... Can't remember what he said. Not only that, the serpentine belt has been used after old age and needs to be replaced. Well, belts, gaskets, fluid, new battery (old one), water pump, distributor, and labor comes out to $1800! :eek:

Does this sound right? What happened to me this morning, is this something that happens? and this is what needs to be replaced?

Another question, while they are tearing apart the car, should I have them replace the timing chain? it will add $750 to the price, replacing all the chain, gaskets, oil pan gasket..... The car has 73000 miles. Should this be done now to avoid the hassle and more $$$ later on?

Not a happy vette owner right now... :nonod: :cuss

Silver89

Mmm... Optispark :(

I'm not really familiar with them, but I'm sure you'll get a ton of responses. The opti is well known for dying due to moisture :cry

DarkHalo

Yup, standard problem with the optispark dying on you. Yeah, the more I hear of optispark the more I like HEI. Good luck with it dude...I think youll need it :(
:blueangel:


[Modified by DarkHalo, 2:52 PM 9/24/2002]

baddmann

Well, welcome to the "failed water pump/opti-spark" club... Seriously, because of the way it is designed, when the water pump fails it usually takes the optispark with it. Once that happens nothing works until it is repaired. On a brighter side, if you are any good at turning a wrench you can replace it yourself for a lot less (water pump about $200 and opti's are about $400) you just have to take your time.

I just replaced my waterpump before anything went wrong to avoid losing my opti...

obdoc_brother

I can turn a wrench, but I just don't have the time... :rolleyes:

obdoc_brother

reminde me again why I have a corvette? Eclipse NEVER left me on the side of the road... *sigh* :sad:

thrills

Cuz it's a VETTE!!!!!!
$1800 seems steep, I seem to remember some others having it done at dealers for a lot less, but if they're you're only option :(

RadPolo96

Ouch, optispark. My waterpump went out last year. There was a burnt out gasket in the pump that leaked. It leaked from the bottom so it dripped onto the belt. The belt sprayed it all over the underside of the hood. When I got it replaced they said a little got on the opti. I have the vented opti so I guess it just dried up. She started right up. Luckily I havent needed to replace it yet.(knock on wood) Best of luck :cheers: :seeya
The vette name means you gotta fork out the $. Something we all have to live with.


[Modified by RadPolo96, 6:27 PM 9/24/2002]

Frogday

That's about par for the course. Shortly after my water pump went out the Opti-spark was next to go. Opti-spark was around $750 (Chevrolet dealership), I don't remember what the water pump was, but it was less than the opti. They were both around 60k miles.

Something they do when adding up the price is to look in their book to see how many hours each operation takes and then give the price based on that. They tried to charge me full labor (according to their book) to put on a new belt while they had it all apart.

I never had the timing chain touched. Transmission was the next thing that went out. That was probably around 90k miles.
:cheers:

dtorc4

Yeah, that is a scam of sorts. Most mechanics (unless you are friends with one :D ) will charge "by the book". This means they will look up how much time it should take for a job and charge you for that amount of labor. Of course, a good mechanic will have the job done in less time, which means he will make more money for the day because he can get somebody else's car in there but still get the money for the full labor time on your ride.

And on the flipside, if the job takes him longer than the book says, he charges you for however long it actually takes. Kinda poopiety, huh? :boxing :cheers:

red-y

yes, yes, yes :mad :mad :mad

Nathan Plemons

HOLD YOUR HORSES GUYS!

Sure the opti may well be toast, but that will not cause a complete power failure of the car, this something different. I would go over to the dealership and make them show you that they can turn on your headlights and such. Otherwise they'll charge you a lot of damn money to replace your opti and it will still be completely dead.

Now something to look for. We used to own a 92 Astro van. That thing had a fusible link that somehow controlled the entire electrical system. When that would blow, EVERYTHING would shut down. They replaced that with a fuse, same deal. They finally replaced that with a self resetting circuit breaker. It got to the point where if you ran the A/C, had the radio on and turned on the windshield wipers it would trip that breaker. Wait a minute and it would reset. Ultimately we never could make the dealership FIX the problem, they just tried to dance around it. Something was pulling to much juice and they were too lazy to track it down. They blamed it on 100 things and never fixed it.

In your case they KNOW the opti is a problem spot, so instead of investigating they are banking on that fixing the problem and you not knowing any better. Go to the dealership, have them unplug the opti and show you that the electrical system returns to normal (it's only one 4 wire connector). If they plug it back in your problems should come back if they are correct. But it won't happen that way. They'll unplug the opti and nothing will work. They'll then say, well it has to be a complete circuit. Dare them to plug the new one in, it doesn't have to be attached to the car, and demand that they make your freaking hazard lights work!

I promise you they won't be able to do it. Your opti and water pump may well be A problem, but it will not cause the problems you are having. Hell the motor will crank without the optispark plugged up, it just won't fire. The dealership is trying to take you for a ride, don't let them do it. Refuse to pay for anything until they can show you that what they are doing actually fixes the problem.

obdoc_brother

you made a good point Nathan.... they did however also tell me the battery was leaking acid. So this would mean I just need a battery... but there was antifreeze on the hood. But this could be just a leaky hose and some got on the belt. So confused... going tomorrow and asking the service guy to explain to me further why the distributor can affect the electical system.

11yellowgscpe

You may want to check the battery terminals. Friend of mine has a 96 and the battery termian craked inside the battery. He was able to pull the terminal and rod out of the battery. It killed everything. :seeya

fsr402

Nathan is right on this one.... I had a truck that would drink the coolant ( a week after I bought the dang thing) the dealership told me that the radiator was leaking ( I never seen any leaks) I told them that it was the head gasket. They insisted that the radiator was bad so I told them not to replace it and when they were driving it out of the shop the head gasket went out completely and blow coolant every where... Jerks... They did fix it but still said the radiator was crap... I had the truck for 6 years and the radiator never gave me a problem... Make them prove to you that it will be fixed by changing the Opti....


[Modified by fsr402, 10:56 PM 9/24/2002]


[Modified by fsr402, 10:57 PM 9/24/2002]

Nathan Plemons

Ok fair enough. I would have them connect the new battery and prove that the electrical system works. In fact if they haven't taken anything apart yet you might want to have them try and start the car and see what happens, betcha it starts! Now if your water pump is leaking it is only a matter of time, but make sure they show you where it's leaking before you allow them to do anything.

Also after they prove that the battery will fix it, tell them to remove that one and go buy a real battery. A/C Delco batteries tend to fail every 3 years like clockwork.

Steel Blue 91

Same here. Positive post was cracked and then just fell out when I attached a test light :eek: . Make sure they check it all before replacing parts that might be bad. Remember, there is a reason why the people that sell durgs and car service have the same name - dealers!

CowboyNVette

Nathan is right....You probably have a bad battery and the water pump is going out if not out yet...

obdoc_brother

Frist, I want to thank everyones advice and knowledge on this subject matter.

OK, I went by the dealership (aka hell) and talked to the "corvette expert" that has been handling my case. WEll, Nathan (and my brother, obdoc) were right. The problem that caused the car to just die was due to a a leaky battery and acid getting on the terminals, etc..... So, when they put a new one in, the engine wouldn't start. It would turn and turn but just wouldn't start. At this time, this is when they noticed the water pump (not the hoses) spraying coolant all over the belt and the distributor. Cause the optispark to fail. So, they are working on it now and should have it done in pretty quick time. I did ask for the old parts just to see what happened and how screwed up they are. So that is the story so far and I HOPE when I pick it up (after a wallet breaking $1800) the car will start and run fine and I can enjoy the Vette for more than 2 weeks before something else wears out... :nonod:

I just want to be a happy vette owner again... :cheers:

The Rex

I would make them show you as well. If they replace an opti & find it was a fuse after all they will just replace the fuse and tell you the opti caused it. Not cool, but it happens. I agree if the pump was leaking on the opti it very well is probably damaged. Make them prove it for your peace of mind.