A few weeks ago the crank angle sensor went bad. Replaced the distributor and now the timing is off(have a timing light and still can't get it right). Now it idles very low(around 500rpm) and when you drive it past about 3500rpm it starts to sputter and miss. Car has plenty fuel in it. As far as I know the mechanical timing didn't jump. When the crank angle sensor went bad the cat just shut off while at idle and I barely got it to start again to read the error code. After that I just towed it home.

 

You said as far as you know....did you check the mechanical timing? This is what it sounds like to me.

 

ignition timing is set by setting the timing light to 18 and lining up the red mark on the crank pulley with the pointers on the t belt cover.

 

Okay so I believe I've set the car to tdc. It's the white little mark that's to the right of the other 3 marks on the pulley correct? If so, it seems the cam is almost opposite of where it's supposed to be. Could someone check these photos and confirm this for me? https://imgur.com/a/rWnKEmp



If it's that far off wouldn't it not run at all? I feel like id have some serious engine issues outside of what I've mentioned at the beginning of this thread but I could he wrong.

 

You're probably at TDC on the exhaust stroke, not the compression stroke. Rotate the crank counter-clockwise another full turn, line up the TDC mark, then look at the cam gear.

 

That white mark is the correct mark
Go another full rotation to that mark and the cam gear should be on the correct place

Also, there should be another mark on your timing belt cover, used to line up the crank.

 

Okay so I cranked it over one more time and actually got thing to line up almost. It seems like the timing jumped a tooth or 2 so I aligned everything back up but even after tighting the 14mm bolt that holds the timing belt tension there's still lots of slack on the belt. So much that when you start and let it idle the belt starts to slap the cover.

 

might need a new timing belt and tensioner then