Timing Belt

[1SlowGT]

Ive read the how to and I understand it for the most part.

1st thing is my car still runs feels like its running on 3-4 pistons tho is this normal for a bad timing belt or is there another issue??Theres no noise when the car is runnning tho to suspect damage

2nd I have a 94 so I shouldnt have the pressed on cam pulleys right?? so do I still need the hold down tool?? and also while Im that deep into the engine is there anything I Should/Can replace to help with reliability/performance
All help,tips,tricks are much appreciated.

also where do you recommend getting parts from and whats an average time on this job??

[jmgtp]

Yes, 94 will have the easy to remove cam gears. You still need the hold down tool. The purpose of this tool is to hold the cam flats in the proper place for timing the engine. Ideally, you need a tool to hold onto the cam gear as well so when you torque down the bolts you are not overstressing the hold down tool. You cannot properly time the engine without a hold down tool.

I've never seen a belt so bad as to make the car feel like it runs on 4 cylinders, but an improperly timed engine could be severely handicapped on power and fuel efficiency. There could be some other issues... While you are in there it is a good time to replace the spark plugs (dont use Bosch - known to run poorly with our ignitions), spark plug wires, lower intake gaskets and upper intake gaskets. In other words, give it a tune up. See how it does then. A fresh belt, new plugs and no vacuum leaks can go a long way to make a poor running engine run a lot better.

Rockauto.com has a timing belt kit that you can get as well as the plugs/wires/gaskets. It is probably the best price you will find. There is a discount code in a post on this site somewhere.

The writeup on the site is very good but it seems a lot of people still have questions their first time doing this so just ask as you go if you get stuck or are uncertain of something - remember a delay waiting for a response is less time spent than doing the whole thing over. First time performing a timing belt change might take something like 5-6.

[1SlowGT]

the car is a dog its running really rough. im just wondering if its possibly just a plug/wire or coil issue. Is there a for sure way to tell its the timing belt??

Also should I advance or retard the timing and how much? I see some talk of it here and there

[jmgtp]

The only way to verify that it is the belt would be to pull the intake manifold and cam covers, turn the crank to TDC and verify the position of the cam flats. Not worth the effort, if the belt is in questionable condition/age best bet is to replace it.

+6* intake and -6* exhaust is the most popular cam timing and known as the 6/6. It'd probably be pretty much impossible to do accurately without the adjustable cam flat tool. I ran the 6/6 with good results but I went to a more top end agressive cam setting of +3/-9 intake/exhaust.

I see in your sig you have a 97 GT, you could swap over the ICM and coils from that engine onto the DOHC and see if it runs any better. That would at least eliminate the ICM/Coils though it could still be a plug/wire issue. As far as plugs/wires just change them.

[1SlowGT]

belt is in decent shape I pulled the covers off today there is little shaving and it appears tight.I started pulling wires when the car was running cylinder 2 isnt firing and the valve cover gasket/grommets are toast so there full of oil:S going to change the coils plugs wires and valve cover gasket and I should be set for a while

[iroczz34]

sounds like you have a bad coil pack. mine ran real rough till i changed them all with msd coil packs.