Nissan Repair: nissan pathfinder 1987, nissan pathfinder, tdc mark

Question
i just got a pathfinder tha the girl had said that the timing belt broke but it still runs but rough i found that the distributor was not tight but it is adjusted all the way to one side it idels rough. like its running on 3 cyl but the motor actually sounds pretty good no knocks could it just be off 180  or has the belt skipped? im stumped but for what i paid for it, and actually drove it home it had troubles off the start but once you got going it was soso got it home found the exhaust broken into fixed that also found the distributor loose but adjusted all the way to he back and my other 1987 is more adjusted in the front before i do any adjustments with the distrib i wanty your input thankx so mch Kevin

Answer
Hi Kevin -

First thing I would do is check the alignment on the timing belt. Manually turn the engine until you reach the TDC mark on the damper. Once that is done, pop the distributor cap and check to see if the rotor is pointing to the #1 terminal of the distributor.

If not, then the timing belt needs to be re-aligned.

Let me know how it goes -
aloha
calvin