is ac delco really so good?

i recently replaced my ac compressor on my 94 rmw with a brand new ac delco
compressor and it disintegrated internally in less than 800 miles.

so now i am replacing my optispark and i read so many forum members say not to
replace the optispark with anything other than ac delco. after my compressor experience
i am not so convinced i should. i can get a cardone brand for $200 with a lifetime gaurantee from o'reillys. sure, it will not likely last a long time but it is not so hard to replace one once you've done it before. delco offers a 90 day warranty. so my question is this: with a cheaper brand optispark, do they not perform well
when they are operating, or do they perform okay, but just die earlier?

if they are going to cause a host of poor performance issues then i would stay away from one.

thanks for any input here,
anthony

AC Delco parts meet GM spec. Of that you can be sure. There are some times when this is critical. Beyond that.... .

I would use an aftermarket opti without even thinking twice.

I know a guy who spent huge dollars on a totally bitchin motor that put down over 430 to the WHEELS, and ran it for years on an ebay opti that cost less than a hundy.

For your a/c compressor. keep in mind many older model "new" Delco compressors are actually re-tagged models made by Four Seasons. Four Seasons is an "authorized builder" for Delco. When I ordered Four Seasons compressors we always added oil to them on the bench and turned them by hand a few times before mounting, even when they were supposed to contain oil already. Without doing that the piston walls could score on initial use and the compressors often shelled out in less than a year (my shop gave a year warranty). Saw that on a lot of Four Season/Delco R4's and V5's.

As for the OptiSpark, I'm watching this thread to see what people say as well. I know I'm going to have to do this sooner or later myseld. I won't buy a $50 China Special off Ebay, but I've had pretty good luck with Cardone brand parts. Seems like that would be the way to go.

-Mike

Guys, an optispark is no magic box. It's a plastic cap and rotor like any other distributor, plus a disc with slots and a little reader module. Sure the bolts are a little funky, but get the right tools, open it up and see for yourself. The only unique aspect is the ventilation situation which is straightforward - make sure it gets fresh air, make sure the engine vacuum is sucking through the other half of the harness, and you're set.

Opti problems happen in one of a few ways:
1. The cap and rotor get worn OR the rotor screws come loose (you can loctite them yourself before you install it).
2. The 4-pin harness to the optical reader gets loose or dirty. Clean it.
3. The optical reader module goes bad. This is pretty rare especially on the OEM ones. You will get PCM trouble codes which will point this out immediately.
4. The seal degrades due to coolant exposure. Then because the opti has a slight vacuum in it, it sucks in oil and coolant and whatever else lands on it. Keep coolant off the optispark.
5. Moisture gets into one of the high voltage terminals and corrodes it just like the coil terminal is vulnerable. Correctly use dielectric grease around the rim to seal between the boot and the opti.

There's no reason you couldn't collect a few junkyard optis and build a good one out of them... or, when you buy and install an aftermarket opti, disassemble your original one, put the sensor in the new opti, and keep going. There's some talk that the optical sensors aren't as long-lived as the original Mitsubishi ones; how true that is, I don't know.

Bottom line, don't be afraid to disassemble and fix your opti.

roadsurfer wrote:

i recently replaced my ac compressor on my 94 rmw with a brand new ac delco
compressor and it disintegrated internally in less than 800 miles.

so now i am replacing my optispark and i read so many forum members say not to
replace the optispark with anything other than ac delco. after my compressor experience
i am not so convinced i should. i can get a cardone brand for $200 with a lifetime gaurantee from o'reillys. sure, it will not likely last a long time but it is not so hard to replace one once you've done it before. delco offers a 90 day warranty. so my question is this: with a cheaper brand optispark, do they not perform well
when they are operating, or do they perform okay, but just die earlier?

As others have said AC-Delco is made to GM spec. I also like them because I know for a few dollars more than a chinese part, I'm getting a name brand quality part. I use Delco whenever I can in my car and it hasn't hurt me yet. Also, I wouldn't base one bad a/c compressor on your opinion of a company. If more than one breaks in the same manner, or you've had other Delco parts go bad, I can understand. But, Like any mechanical thing they break, sometimes before they should. Who knows, maybe you're replacement will outlast the car.

sherlock9c1 wrote:

Bottom line, don't be afraid to disassemble and fix your opti.

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On my LT1s all I have ever done to the opti is take them apart and put a new delco cap and rotor on them and go with it. I have done 2 so far, both ran perfectly but had a lot of oil inside them due to a failed seal. Cleaned up and continued to work with the new cap and rotor. I bought one of the aftermarket ones off the ISSF a while back and had to swap it out within a few miles. It developed a tick to it when warm. I also noticed that those do not hold a vacuum and appear to leak around the drive shaft. Both my Delco ones hold a strong vacuum with the new cap and rotor installed. Just my $.02.

Here is my experience with opti's:

Original one threw a code at 94K and I decided to replace the whole thing with a Cardone part. 4 months later, it ALSO threw the same code (low voltage). Replaced under lifetime warranty and 4 days later..... had to do it again. This time I rented a car and ordered a Delphi unit been over 2 years trouble free.

YMMV

my OEM went at 135K and I figured for that kind of performance, I'd ante up and got a Delco Cap and rotor. the rest is OE. 197K + and runs like a raped ape.

Some things it's definitely worth having the name brand. I won't buy an off-brand ignition module (Duraspark II for my Torino) because the original one is still kicking after 35 years. But I'll buy the bargain basement cap and rotor in a heartbeat. For an AC compressor, there are many companies making replacements and many reputable shops that use them.

Like Mike said, a little preventive maintenance goes a long way. I'll get years of use out of my $3.73 cap and $1.10 rotor because I blow the dust out of them and put the grease on the terminals like you're supposed to. I'll keep the leaves and dirt away from my Duraspark module and it'll last forever, too. If it doesn't, I'm spending the $70 for the Motorcraft one. RockAuto can keep the $14 Standard and $30 Airtex models.