if your ignition system is bad (wires, cap, rotor, etc.) that could cause those problems

 

Ok, so this is a stupid question that I sorta asked earlier in this ongoing thread. If you guys were me, would you wait the whole week to receive distributor cap, rotor and wires, or would you go to an autoparts store nearby and buy non-OEM?

 

go to the auto parts store and get non-OEM

 

Is there a specific company I should be looking for?

 

it all works

 

Severe misfiring can destroy the catalytic converter, which is very expensive. This is another reason that this situation is urgent.

Replace the plug wires, distributor cap, and rotor ASAP. Also check whether the plugs in cylinders 3 and 4 are severely fouled. Replace if necessary. When done, clear the CEL codes from the ECU, drive the car, and see whether the CEL turns ON or stays OFF.

When the engine is running without misfiring and the CEL is OFF, then set the ignition timing.

Sorry to hear about your difficult financial situation. Many in the country are in a similar situation. Let's hope for economic improvement soon.

 

Ok so here's what I did. I drove to the local autoparts store. The spark plugs are only two days old so I kept those. I took off the distributor cap, rotor and plug wires. The rotor and cap's contacts were both badly worn; the contacts on a couple appeared to be burned and old. Bought new cap, rotor, and plug wires. Plugged them all in. Started car with paperclip in that connector under my dash. The CEL still blinked with errors 45, 73 and 74. Unplugged battery, let sit for a minute. Re-plugged battery, CEL was on solid, no error codes. Drove the car home. Still no blinking. Retimed the car as you mentioned by using the two arrows (when I lined them up, they almost make a diamond pointing towards the timing marks on the pulley). I noticed that my timing light worked a lot better. The timing marks were very easy to see. Tightened distributor cap, and rechecked timing. Looks dead on. Took out paperclip from under glove box. No check engine light. Checked timing again, still looks good.

Does all this sound like I did the right thing? Anything else I should be doing? Thank you guys for everything.

 

Excellent work! You should be proud of yourself. Sounds like you are good to go. Enjoy the improved performance and mileage.

 

Good job man. Successfully fixing a problem without having to pay someone to do it for you always feels good. Kick back and grab a cold one.

 

Oh yeah.