I just got done putting a new oring on my distributor. I marked the rotor and everything and marked how much it turned when i pulled it out. Then i went ahead and put the oring on it and put it back in the same way. Everything went very smooth until i started it up. It ran decent but it doesnt sound exactly the same, i think that it is the timing or something. Also, when i took it out for a drive, the car had no power and barely went 30mph. And i know for sure that the plug wires didnt get crossed or anything. Any ideas guys?

 

When you take the dizzy out, you can get the timing close enough to run by marking the rotor etc. But you will never be exactly right. When I put mine back in I had marked everything and it was still off 6 degrees. It doesn't take much of a misalignment to be off. You need to put a timing light on it and set it exactly.

 

I finally found a timing light to use, but now i need to know which is the number one cylinder? I thought it was the front passengers side, but i wanted to make sure. Also, is there any tricks to timing an engine for someone that has never done it before?

 

Number 1 is front passenger side, you are correct.
This thread will tell you what you need to do:

https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...hreadid=274610

Don't leave out disconecting the EST wire or it won't run right.
It will appear to be timed right but it really isn't.

 

I timed my car by ear.
Then let it be.
During one smog test I got car to be read at 14* by this guy disconnecting that connection mentioned.
I have to say no true problems ever.
I can only throw this question out.
Why the comment saying "it won't run right".
Mine has been operating fine since 2000, when I set car engine timing by ear.

 

my car Doesn't run right if I set the timing with the EST connected...Actually most people wouldn't have noticed, it was a very slight hesitation about when the TC locks up...You said yours is at 14* with it disconnected, that isn't going to affect the ecm badly like being at 8* or 6* or less will, and you wouldn't know the timing is retarded with the EST connector hooked up and timing it with a light.

 

Did you knock out the rollpin and remove the dist gear to get at the o-ring? If you did, what might've happened is you put the distributor gear on differently then how it came off.

I changed my o-ring out a few weeks ago and forgot about that little detail; wound up retarding my timing to about 2 degrees! Went to adjust the timing and I ran out of "spin room", the distributor module was hitting the intake. So I had to pull the distributor out, put it a tooth over, change the plug wires to pick a new #1 on the cap, then I dropped the dist hold down bolt behind the motor, man what a pain in the butt that was. I'm getting agitated again just thinking about that. (laughs)

http://www.harborfreight.com has a timing light for $10 I think. It's not brand name, but I guess it's better than nothing... of course you need one now, though, so you probably can't wait for it to come in the mail.