I recently bought my first car, a '93 Del Sol, and have had a bit of work done to get it back to good working order. I got a gasket head job done today because the engine had been leaking quite a bit of oil. The mechanic went ahead and replaced the timing belt and the tensioner on it because they were pretty worn down. On my way home though my car was backfiring quite a bit. It usually has a small backfire here and there but this was significantly different. Also, I felt a distinct lack of power on lower gears. At first I though that maybe the car just needed to "settle" but I am starting to think that the timing belt is off. I've done a lot of reading and from what I understand it may be off a tooth? Is that what is probably wrong with it? I wanna take it back tomorrow to do that but I want to confidently know what is going on. Thanks guys

 

Yes, it sounds like the mechanical timing is off. After it's set correctly, the ignition timing should also be checked/adjusted.

 

Will it get damaged if I drive it back to the shop like this tomorrow?

 

It would be best not to drive it.