What is the OPDA and do I need to change mine?

Chris said:
Makes me want to take mine out and inspect it!
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Doooo it! :)

Seriously though, the factory CPS has more of a gap with the Crown than it does with the OEM, but there was still a gap there too. The Chinese made CPS that came with the Crown is larger.

It's unnerving, I'm not sure what the best / lowest risk solution is to seal it.
 
jeep_boss said:
Doooo it! :)

Seriously though, the factory CPS has more of a gap with the Crown than it does with the OEM, but there was still a gap there too. The Chinese made CPS that came with the Crown is larger.

It's unnerving, I'm not sure what the best / lowest risk solution is to seal it.
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If you seal it with RTV I can’t imagine that being an issue as long as you do a clean seal. The next best thing might be to go to the auto part store and find the right size rubber gasket to try and slip over it to make it fit snug without a gap.
 
I used the original sensor on my Crown OPDA. The crown sensor kept throwing codes or putting the engine in limp mode.

In all seriousness, the OPDA is such an overblown issue. Replace it with the crown unit and forget about it. It’s under $100 and takes what? 30 minutes at the most to install using basic tools?

If you have an 05/06, next time you do an oil/air filter change, throw the Crown in there and be done with it... then drive around smugly in your 05/06 knowing you have the very last years of the best Wranglers ever made.
 
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Maso said:
I bought my 2006 TJ about 4 years ago and the first thing I did was replace the OPDA. It had done 75000ks (I'm in Australia). I have no idea if it was done before I bought it, But it was cheap insurance. I replaced it with the Crown one. This is what the shaft and gear looked like on the old one. If you have an 05 or 06, and haven't replace your OPDA, just do it!
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I've just got an 06 TJ and this has me worried, though no symptoms and 135000kms. Where in Aus did you get the replacement part?
 
AussieShane said:
I've just got an 06 TJ and this has me worried, though no symptoms and 135000kms. Where in Aus did you get the replacement part?
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I got mine from the States, can't remember where exactly, haven't had an issue with it. Just order a Crown one and replace it when it shows up. Don't use the sensor that comes with it. TJ's don't like them, I had to put the original sensor back on as the Crown one had issues as they all do.
 
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Maso said:
I got mine from the States, can't remember where exactly, haven't had an issue with it. Just order a Crown one and replace it when it shows up. Don't use the sensor that comes with it. TJ's don't like them, I had to put the original sensor back on as the Crown one had issues as they all do.
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Cheers mate have done just that. Ordered it from Quadratec.
 
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I just bought an 05 Sport, 6 speed with 101k miles last week.

If i remove the distributor, is there any way to identify it to see if it's the factory part?

Or by chance if it's the Crown OPDA?
 
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Chris suggested I post the info about my OPDA experience over here.

From https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...in-edition-oem-build.12446/page-2#post-244634

OPDA? Get out of my way!
I jumped in my TJ (that had been running great) to head to work a couple weeks ago. I started it, allowed it to warm briefly (not all the way up to operating temp) and started out down the residential road from my driveway. Tried to get cruising speed up to 25 MPH and limp mode kicked in (fuel cut or whatever). I tried to motor up to 25 MPH again, but I couldn't rev above ~2000 RPM or so without it shutting me down. Turned around, limped it home, parked it, took other car to work. Grrr...

I came home that night and used my generic handheld scanner to pull codes. There was only one code logged twice:
P0344 - Camshaft Position Sensor “A” Circuit Intermittent

I cleared the code and the same code would come back just idling with the CEL, I believe as soon as the coolant was up close to operating temp. Intermittent, circuit...maybe just a bad connection due to corroded connector or perhaps a bad camshaft sensor. Some had also reported that the dipstick bracket had a sharp edge that cut into the engine harness wire bundle leading to the camshaft sensor. That didn't seem to apply to me and my connector was not corroded in the slightest.

But, with a TJ from 2005-2006, you can't help but come across all the OPDA threads and videos when researching code P0344. I had already did a good amount of research on OPDA issues on the 2005-2006 TJ's when I bought my '05 TJ, so I had already planned to replace my OPDA with the Crown Automotive unit with the "supposed" proper design to allow oil to feed up the shaft to the bearings properly. Since I had a 2005 and there could potentially be relationship with the OPDA here, this sounded like a great time to replace it with the Crown unit and see what was going on with my 2005 as far as OPDA gear/camshaft gear wear was concerned etc. This forum has a thread on OPDA here:
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads/what-is-the-opda-and-do-i-need-to-change-mine.80/

So, I ordered a new Crown OPDA unit directly from Crown and a new Mopar camshaft sensor directly from Mopar, just to be sure I got the right shit, LOL. There are many OPDA replacement articles and videos. Some are pretty damn good and have a lot of info, but I didn't find any of them to be 100% complete including all the info I needed for my particular situation and what I needed to do. However, after reading and watching pretty much ALL of them, I figured what I needed to do as I moved forward.

Here was my situation and what I have learned as I have moved through the situation (corrections welcome).
  1. My 2005 was built AFTER the recall date range for TJ's and LJ's. Many like me with late '05's and '06's would like to think our rigs are immune to this problem, but it does seem many folks have had issues outside the recall dates...enough so, that it would be silly for me not to spend the $100 to throw in a new Crown unit. Especially since I popped the P0344 code for the first time since owning the Jeep after about 3500 miles.
    • Opinion: I honestly think the recall was more about the OPDA gear alloy composition. It is supposed to be softer than the camshaft , so it takes the wear instead of the camshaft gear. They likely fixed the gear composition so it wouldn't destroy the camshaft if/when the OPDA failed (due to oil starvation and seizure, shaft play, etc.) AND more importantly because the "hard" OPDA gears actually were failing in a spectacular way causing the oil pump to no longer be driven. When this happens, and the motor is starved of oil, the motor is likely to be destroyed in short order if not immediately shut down. However, it is pretty obvious that the recall did not fix the OPDA "shaft bearing oiling problem" that the Crown unit addresses (and the many creative DIY setups I have seen). In that, due to it's importance in driving the oil pump and it's gear-on-gear relationship with the camshaft, all 05-06 TJ's should consider this a general maintenance item and something to check and potentially swap out periodically. As long as your camshaft doesn't show wear and replacing the OPDA and/or OEM camshaft sensor eliminates the codes for good, then all should be fine.
  2. I was not experiencing the "laughing barrel of monkeys" or any other known noises coming from the OPDA area. I have some good past maintenance records for my TJ, so I looked them over. I didn't find there was ever anything OPDA or camshaft sensor related done, at least on record.
  3. The OPDA unit on my TJ looked original to me, but did not have the LDI, Inc. sticker on it. So, I am not 100% sure if it had been replaced before or not. I guess the sticker could have fallen off, or perhaps someone did do a swap at some point. The OPDA I pulled looks like the stock unit, but so does the Dorman I suppose. Need to do a bit more research on this. My new Crown looks different as shown in the pics, especially the inside indexing wheel that spins with the shaft. It is a darker alloy color as shown in the pics.
  4. Don't forget to use a new OPDA gasket when reinstalling onto the block, or you might get oil leaks. Some OPDA articles don't mention replacing it or making sure you check to be sure the old one didn't leave a rough mating surface behind. My old gasket came off on the OPDA unit and was unusable. The new Crown unit came with a new gasket.
  5. You should never use crank position sensors that come with aftermarket units, even the Crown unit, because these aftermarket sensors are widely reported and known to throw the P0344 codes shortly after installing them.
    • I thought this could be my problem all-together at first, but I didn't find an aftermarket camshaft sensor installed on my TJ.
  6. When replacing with a new OPDA unit, only use the method where the engine is brought to TDC (Top Dead Center) and the OPDA units have "pins" to keep the index wheel from spinning during the installation.
    • Important: before loosening and removing the old ODPA, take a pic and note how the OPDA housing is oriented. Look at the position of the camshaft sensor and where it points, the location of the indexing pin and where it is located, the top-down angle of the two T-25 Torx screws as they are accessed and their orientation with the valve cover.
    • When removing the OPDA use 1/2" wrench (not a 13mm) for the retainer plate bolt (plate that holds OPDA to the block). Many find this bolt hard but I had an easy time with this bolt with a regular 1/2 wrench of about 5-6" long after removing the air intake box and rotating the intake tube a bit. You can also loosen a loop connector on the alternator and rotate the wire down so it gives more clearance.
    • It was easy to use a foot long 3/4" closed wrench to turn the crank laying under the Jeep. I didn't even remove the spark plugs and the foot long wrench gave me enough torque to turn the motor rather easily. Position the radiator fan blades and be careful to keep the wrench steady so you don't slip and slice your hands up. Luckily I didn't do so, but can see how it would be very easy to do.
    • With the vehicle in neutral, only turn the motor clockwise and have a friend help to watch the holes align in the OPDA index wheel and OPDA housing as the camshaft turns. I had my son use a long thin allen wrench and stick it into the hole as he instructed me to slow down with my turning of the motor as the holes aligned.
    • When replacing the OPDA, don't forget the gasket between the OPDA and the engine block. There, I said it again! That thing is small and the new one can fall off the new OPDA easily and get lost. I made sure it wasn't me with an oil leak!
    • When re-installing the OPDA, be sure to slide and rotate the OPDA in just like it came out. Once it is flush mounted with the port in the block, consult your pre-installation pic for orientation and make sue it is very close to where the housing was before at TDC.
    • If the orientation of the OPDA housing is not right at TDC, within a 6 degrees window from what I have read, then you will get the P0016 code "Camshaft Position Correlation (Bank 1 Sensor A)". This means that the crank sensor and camshaft position sensors are not in agreement with the position of the engine.
    • If the P0016 code only raises it's head about AFTER a new OPDA install, then it likely just means that the OPDA housing needs to be rotated a bit to be back in the proper orientation. When I first started mine up, the P0016 came right away after the engine reached operating temp while idling in garage in neutral. I had to loosen he retainer clip a bit so I could spin the OPDA housing. I spun the OPDA about 5 degrees or so until it was as close to the original orientation that I could recall. I locked down the retainer bolt again to secure the new orientation. After testing this next time, the P0016 code went away and I could drive my TJ for several miles without any codes.
    • From what I understand, and what some have reported, if you have the official Jeep/Chrysler scan tool there is a way to either recalibrate for the newly installed OPDA orientation (since the engine is no doubt at TDC) and/or a way to read the current position of the housing and allow the tech to adjust to 0 degrees.
OPDA New Crown Automotive unit vs. Old - the old one definitely had a tiny bit more up and down shaft play (about 3-4 times the amount, enough to be noticeable). This would allow the OPDA gear to potentially move back and forth (in and out) on the camshaft gear more than it should. If out of spec, this could explain the slight wear we see on the OPDA gear, but this is just my speculation.
View attachment 61508

Old vs New Crown Automotive OPDA
View attachment 61511
View attachment 61512

Old OPDA Gear - some wear, but not horrible. I didn't get a good pic of the camshaft, but it looked OK to me from what I could see. The shaft spins just fine, same as the new unit.
View attachment 61509

New Crown Automotive OPDA Gear
View attachment 61519
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Jerry Bransford said:
Just to clear the above info up... Jeep did NOT redesign anything with the recall. The dealers replaced the OPDA with the exact same OPDA that was initially installed by the factory. Absolutely zero differences in its design and no improvement. The factory has never fixed this issue. And the factory OPDA is no longer even available, they ran out of them and they are not making more.

Follow-on products by Dorman and then later Crown which has a slightly better design are just temporary band-aids but none of them fix the root-cause issue which is a lack of lubrication between the OPDA and camshaft gears.
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Jerry, you say the Crown does not fix the root-cause. Do you happen to know what the design difference is between the 05-06 and previous years TJ? I have read this thread and it mentions the Crown redesign to lubricate the bushings within the OPDA but you mention a different part of the equation being the interface between the part and the engine. Just wondering, thanks.
 
I followed that video today and so far so good, took about 40 minutes. A second set of hands is helpful in a few spots, but not required.

To show the type of wear you may see pulling yours these splines are not concave on replacements. Mine was more of a ticking sound than screeching, so the jury is out on 100% if that tick is fixed (if not it’s the lifters I suppose). That sound has been consistent enough that I’m 90% sure it’s fixed with the replacement.

D84204C4-314C-48D8-BE84-10C87F29C8A9.jpeg
 
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smithcaz said:
Jerry, you say the Crown does not fix the root-cause. Do you happen to know what the design difference is between the 05-06 and previous years TJ? I have read this thread and it mentions the Crown redesign to lubricate the bushings within the OPDA but you mention a different part of the equation being the interface between the part and the engine. Just wondering, thanks.
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Take a peek at my post just after yours with the picture. My guess is that wear is a symptom of the lack of lubrication Jerry mentioned (even though there’s a decent amount of oil on this). Mine is an 06, original OPDA (afaik), 53,000 miles.
 
This is one of the only few if any other issues I have to disagree with Jerry on.

The Crown OPDA is a fix and it should be considered a maintenance item like most everything else. Any part in an engine could fail at anytime. Just replace the OPDA every 100k miles and don’t even worry about it.

Nothing is perfect and I’d certainly prefer a 2006 LJ Rubicon over any other Wrangler.

A 100k maintenance interval on a $100 part that’s easy to install is pretty dang reasonable, especially considering the vast majority of 05/06 TJ’s don’t have this problem.

I replaced mine simply because it was cheap and easy. There was no wear on the OPDA or the cam.
 
Lucky me, maybe...

I just got my '06 a bit ago, then came across this thread.
After becoming something of an expert at this, viewing all of the videos, I go out and look at mine. It's new! But, I traced the numbers and, it's dorman. Would you still replace it with a crown? Wait until it gets noisy? Or?

Thanks
 
dbbd1 said:
Lucky me, maybe...

I just got my '06 a bit ago, then came across this thread.
After becoming something of an expert at this, viewing all of the videos, I go out and look at mine. It's new! But, I traced the numbers and, it's dorman. Would you still replace it with a crown? Wait until it gets noisy? Or?

Thanks
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If there's nothing wrong with it, I wouldn't mess with it. You can take it out every so often and inspect the gear on the end to see if there is any wear.
 
Well, I had an odd one today. Just for grins (and because everyone said to keep the OEM sensor) I went to put on a new mopar sensor. This was to replace the dorman sensor on the OPDA that was on the jeep when I bought it. It didn't like it, it through the code and wouldn't start. I put the dorman back in and works just fine. I guess I have a spare now (for someone else at least).
 
Looking at an 06 in a few days. Owner says no monkey noise but does have tiny oil leak.
Would oil leaking from opda be a sign that it could be going bad?
Could all 06s potentially have this issue? Wanting to check engine number vs the listed Chrysler build dates here
Thanks in advance..
 
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