Toyota Repair: 1990 4runner 6 cyl, crankshaft pulley, crank pulley

Question
Hi Ted, changed my alternator and removed the distributor to make the task easier. Put everything back together and now it wont start and just keeps backfiring.
Thank you

Answer
The distributor is not timed correctly. To fix this rotate the engine to the #1 TDC position with the crankshaft pulley mark lined up with the zero mark on the cover, remove the #1 spark plug(it's the first one on the right side of the engine) and make sure the piston is up, check with a flashlight, if the piston is not up rotate the engine one full revolution to the zero mark again, with the piston up and the mark on the crank pulley at zero find the number one spark plug connector on the distributor cap, most caps are numbered and so are the plug wires, make a mark on the distributor housing at the edge where the cap connects,it should  line up directly with the #1 connector. Remove the distributor cap, the rotor should point directly to the mark on the housing, if it doesn't remove the distributor and turn the rotor until it lines up when all the way back in the cylinder head, this may take a few tries as you will notice the the gears are not straight so the shaft will rotate as the distributor is put in, the trick is to rotate the shaft in the opposite direction just ehough so the it rotates enough to line up with the mark as the distributor goes back in.