On Nov 7, 2005, at 7:10 AM, Ken Lewis wrote:

> Michael,
> The spark has to be going somewhere. You did not state if you
> replaced the
> distributor cap, rotor and wires. I would definitely do so.

The wires are about 6 months old, cap & rotor are brand new from a
good source.

>      It is absolutely possible to get the cam timing off with the
> crank. You
> can check TDC of the crank by inserting a pencil in through the
> spark plug
> hole (I would work on piston #1) and slowly rotating back and force
> around
> the TDC mark on the pulley.  Hopefully the agree. The rotor should be
> pointing at the notch on the edge of the distributor. The intake
> and exhaust
> valves should both be closed. If not rotate the pulley 360 degrees.
> This
> time they should be closed. If not the cam timing is off.
>      It is possible to pull out the drive gear and re-orient but
> risky. You
> run the possibility of dropping the spacer washer down in the
> bowels of the
> engine.
>

Ken -- before the engine died on me it was running fine at high rpms
(i.e. able to get 18 mpg in an automatic @ 65mph).  Idled poorly but
did run.    So if this is the problem, it's a long-term one and not
the acute problem that left me stranded.    When you say "It is
possible to pull out the drive gear and re-orient but risky" are you
talking about the distributor gear or the cam gear?