Timing problem
 

Hey ya'll i have a 1990 honda civic dx with the 1.5 l the other day the timing belt broke while driving down freeway had it towed home the whole shibang replaced the timing belt and it starts but it idles like crap and when accelerating it bogs down harshly almost to stalling then kicks and hauls but it doesnt even have that much power at the higher rpms so i cant floor it because it doesnt go anywhere now before i replaced the timing belt i replaced the distributer cap and rotor thinking that was the problem cause the cap was destroyed inside so i changed that then realized it was the belt so i changed that so nothing really changed over there besides the new cap and rotor is it possible that i have it off by one tooth possibly or is it the timing within the distributor but if it was off by one tooth that would be like 18 degress on the crank or cam so it wouldnt start regardless right? kind stumped on this one any help would be much appreciated

RE: Timing problem
 

you should note, that honda's are interference engines, which means if the timing belt snaps, there is a high likeliness of crushing valves

RE: Timing problem
 

yeah i checked that out and there completly fine there is no valve damage and it runs smoothly but just doesnt run smoothly also in my distributor i can here a grinding noise like the rotor contact or something is grinding on the distributor contacts

RE: Timing problem
 

First try and figure out whats causing this grinding noise..

Did you set the timing with a timing light after you swapped the belt? Are all your grounds connected to the proper spots? Start simple and work from there.

RE: Timing problem
 

What were the results of a compression test? That would show if there was any valve damage. As cderalow says, there is a high likelyhood of valve damage when a timing belt breaks.