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Car won?t start, backfires out of intake. Please help!

The timing belt is the fuse...... way before a cam gear mechanical failure. Whenever fuel/flame comes out the intake tract, the camshaft timing is wrong w.r.t. crank "home base"....... Pull your cover and find the truth.
 
What was the weather like when it started?

I drove through a biblical downpour several years ago. Everything ran fine on the way home. The trouble started when I went to crank it again. Exact same symptoms your seeing. I dried out the distributor cap, problem solved.
 
I think this is the key clue.

" It cranks fine, it almost starts occasionally but it shakes like crazy and backfires. I hear the fuel pump and fuel pump relay is clicking."

It's likely not getting a steady rpm signal or power/grounds are the problem.
 
I think this is the key clue.

" It cranks fine, it almost starts occasionally but it shakes like crazy and backfires. I hear the fuel pump and fuel pump relay is clicking."

It's likely not getting a steady rpm signal or power/grounds are the problem.

The fuel pump stays on, when I say I hear it clicking I mean just on and off like normal.
 
Checked the timing again. It is all good. Cam shaft roll pin is in tact. When cranking I get about 2 on the vacuum gauge, so not much vacuum.... I?m stumped.
 
check timing again but point the light the opposite way
Thanks for your help guys, I appreciate it.

I didn?t check the timing with a timing light, I took the covers off and verified all timing marks line up on the pulleys and crankshaft and made sure that the roll pin for the cam pulley wasn?t sheared.

The spark plug wires show a signal when checked with a timing gun, and the coil has a strong spark. One spark plug not firing wouldn?t be enough to kill it since I know it will run on three cylinders. How would I test that the rotor is good?

I disconnected the vacuum hose to the booster and plugged it, no effect.
 
If the PCV hose on the plenum part of the intake manifold has cracked or slipped off it will produce the symptoms you describe.

You can test a rotor with an Ohm meter . stick one probe in the centre contact and hold the other probe to the outer tip. If 0 Ohm then OK.
Also inspect the cap:
check if the centre terminal is still there with proper spring action
clean all corrosion of the 4 outer terminals, do a general clean of the entire cap. (keep the location of the leads in mind: 1-3-4-2 sequence)
 
After checking your timing marks, verify the rotor is aligned to small notch on distributor case.

http://repairguide.autozone.com/zne...0c152/80/08/c4/ed/medium/0900c1528008c4ed.gif



*IIRC you disconnect vacuum advance(& plug) then adjust timing when car is idling. But you can do this after you get it running.
* If you have a spare cap, swap one on. I've had caps that appear "normal" fail (cracks, broken circuit)
 
Any tutorials here on resetting the timing belt? I'm backfiring out of my intake as well and didn't think of that til reading it now.
 
Guys! It was the distributor cap. Felt pretty stupid that I missed that. The cap looked normal, so definitely good advice to swap it.
 
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