01mggt

So I am trying to set my ignition timing and Haynes says 12 deg is where it should be. I looked at the timing marks and there appears to be seven of them. Is the middle one the zero mark and then +/- 5 for each mark in the respective direction? The vehicle needs to be in neutral right?Kind of confused bc I heard neutral but it's an auto. also...should the marks alwys like up with the pointer when the engine is off? They just rotate when the pulley does correct? Makes sense....anyway thanks alot for any input! Also can someone point me to the location of the idle speed screw and the procedure for adjusting it?

I posted it in the first gen forum along with a recommendation that this post be deleted by a moderator seeing as how there isn't much activity here.

How is it spam for me to post updates of the troubleshooting that I am doing? The more information I provide should make it easier for others to help...

is there a refference I can use to get the dizzy back where it should be till I can get a timing light on the car?

Ok, so I just bought an 87 pathy for winter driving here in Alaska for the last year I am stationed here. It's got 240k on the clock and still ran pretty smooth with just a slight chug when I bought her a couple days back. I figured I would do a slight tune up to cure the problem. I replaced the plugs with NGK and verified I had them gapped properly. Using a set of feeler gauges I get get .032 in between the gap of them nice and snug. I tried not to over tighten them for fear of stripping the old threads. I replaced all the wires one at a time and also replaced the dizzy cap and rotor. To replace the cap I simply took out the 2 or 4 screws (can't remember) and also change the rotor. it was lined up with a red mark inside so I made sure it was aligned with the same mark when I put it back in but I may have rotated it ever so slightly as there wasn't much resistance. I also removed the MAF sensor and cleaned it with MAF cleaner from the parts store. I sprayed it and let it dry over night. Also replaced the air filter. Put it all back together and it idled horrible. Almost like there was a big cam in it or something. Tried to drive it and at times had no power at all with the pedal to the floor. It even died once and refused to start without the pedal to the floor. I should also add that I put a can of seafoam in the tank and poured a small amount into the throttle body as well. The ECU had no stored codes as I had the battery cable removed. Any help?!?! I also noticed it's backfiring through the intake and I can see smoke coming out. I may have bumped my dizzy becaus eI noticed the adjust ment bolt it a lil loose and it can be turned. The part that's notched for the bolt has a red mark on it so I centered it in the middle of it. If I turn it clockwise it won't start at all but will if I go counterclockwise then jsut backfires and dies basically. Sorry if this seems like a double post but I think I made a newbie mistake and posted in the wrong section the first time!

My distributor is loose enough to turn by hand....thinking maybe I bumped the dizzy and messed up ignition timing....right now if I try and start it it basically backfires out of the TB

Ok, so I just bought an 87 pathy for winter driving here in Alaska for the last year I am stationed here. It's got 240k on the clock and still ran pretty smooth with just a slight chug when I bought her a couple days back. I figured I would do a slight tune up to cure the problem. I replaced the plugs with NGK and verified I had them gapped properly. Using a set of feeler gauges I get get .032 in between the gap of them nice and snug. I tried not to over tighten them for fear of stripping the old threads. I replaced all the wires one at a time and also replaced the dizzy cap and rotor. To replace the cap I simply took out the 2 or 4 screws (can't remember) and also change the rotor. it was lined up with a red mark inside so I made sure it was aligned with the same mark when I put it back in but I may have rotated it ever so slightly as there wasn't much resistance. I also removed the MAF sensor and cleaned it with MAF cleaner from the parts store. I sprayed it and let it dry over night. Also replaced the air filter. Put it all back together and it idled horrible. Almost like there was a big cam in it or something. Tried to drive it and at times had no power at all with the pedal to the floor. It even died once and refused to start without the pedal to the floor. I should also add that I put a can of seafoam in the tank and poured a small amount into the throttle body as well. The ECU had no stored codes as I had the battery cable removed. Any help?!?!