Cobra509

So about a month ago I got my timing done later on the day my car just died on me while driving the engine light came on and it started to idle at 200 rmps and blowing smoke out of the exhasut. Next day we looked at it and my headers were missing 4 bolts, we also did a compression test and found out that one of my sparkplugs was broken in half other piece we never found so I changed all the sparkplugs and it ran just perfect for the next week until on a really hot day I was justing sitting at a stoplight and my car just shut off by itself, i tired to start it again and it started but once again it idled at 200 rpms and just died, so i called my friend up with some jumper cables hooked it up the car starts just fine i go get some gas try to start the car and it starts but idles at like 500 rpms and wants to die so i had to keep giving it gas till i got home. So yesterday i was driving from work and it did the same thing the cars rpms just dropped to 200 rpms while driving so i pull into parking lot and all i hear is my car trying to die and really loud backfires like gunshots from my exhasut, so i turn off the car for about 15min and it just starts fine and even sounds better like the time when i fixed the sparkplugs. so today same thing happen i drive it for about 30 mins and the engine light comes up and the car just dies, so i hook up some jumper cables and it starts and again i have to keep giving it gas to keep it alive and everytime i give it gas while going the whole car just keeps jumping like learning how to drive a manual first time.

so long story lol, could it be bad distribituor or a bad fuel pump, coil? please help guys had to leave my baby at my cousins shop and they don't really like my side of the family so i got till monday to fix it.

PS: I forgot after the car died on me the first time i got home from gas station i left the car for about 4 hours come back and it starts up just fine, so i drove it for a week and now its back.

mattdel

My money is on the pickup in the distributor. Everything that can cause that can be tested with a digital multimeter and some rentable tools, so don't go tossin money around blindly.

Start with checking the wiring for it and the TFI, which should be bolted on the passenger fender apron somewhere. Both of them should have radio suppression wire looms around the wiring. If they don't, they need it.

Venomantidote95

Was the car running fine before the timing adjustment? if so back track, was the timing adjusted properly??

Cobra509

Ya we readjusted the timing back after it broke down the night before.

GTDroptop

I don't think the timing was adjusted right. With the backfire issues, the spark is coming too late. The timing is too "retarded". If the timing is too advanced or retarded the car won't run right. The timing needs to be readjusted. I'm going to assume you still have a distributor so the adjustment will be easy. If the car was running right before the timing was adjusted, I hope the person who made the adjustment marked its previous position before they moved it so it could be put back in the right place.

mattdel

Timing being off is a static problem, it wouldn't only produce symptoms some of the time, which is what he explained is happening. It's a heat related failure, being that you have an SN95 the chances are very good it's the pickup in the distributor.