Honda: 91 civic seems guttless, diesel mechanic, oil rings

Question
QUESTION: I recently did a head job and just did a ring job on my civic 1.5 the head was done very well and improved the cars performance dramatically but the oil rings were shot and it smoked horribly but ran very well and got 35 mpg.  I just did the rings over the weekend and now it doesn't smoke but it doesn't have the power it had before. The strange thing is after I first started the motor and began to do the initial break in it ran better than it does now. After I drove it for a few miles it would take off and run liked a raped ape but i was just "certain" that I did not have timing set right and kept messing with it. Now it runs well but I don't have the get up an go like I did have the first day.  My O2 sensor was reading bad and tested bad so it has been replaced with a new bosch orig equip. I must be overlooking something but I don't know what.  The timing is supposed to be set at 18*BTDC  I do not know what the colors on the timing marks represent so I have the base timing set on the red one in the middle. I have tried advancing and retarding but it doesn't help, so I left it. The converter is hollow so I know it is not plugged and it has a high flow fart can muffler. Cam is set properly so the cam timing is not off.  What am I overlooking?  Sorry for being so long winded just getting frustrated I'm used to Mopars and diesels not Japanese =)  Thanks for any help you might have     Mike

ANSWER: sorry it took so ling to get back.you said you did the rings over the weekend ,did you take the block to a machine shop or hne it yourself? the crosshatch in the cylinder walls is critical to ring seating so if you used one of those dingleberry hones that could be your problem.i would suggest doing a compression test.

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QUESTION: Compression is excellent, i did hone it myself as I have been building race motors for several years and I am a diesel mechanic. This is the first time I have ever touched a Honda other than driving one. I am very unfamiliar with foreign cars and it is OBDI not OBDII so my computer can't link up to it to see what all of the sensors are doing and reading. It feels more like the timing is either not advancing or or is advancing too far but at this point I have no way of telling. What mark is the 18* BTDC mark?as there are three marks and they are colored white red white and then the TDC mark all by itself. Could the MAP sensor be bad and the PCM is not detecting it? Or is there some little trick to smacking the little sucker in the right spot with a hammer? It does seem to have more power at lower RPM's which indicates over advancement but it can also mean that it retards at higher revs. which to me would indicate MAP sensor or maybe distributor, does this sound like anything you have dealt with? I'm at a loss.

Answer
it does not have a 18 degree mark you will have to use a dial back timing light and the tdc mark.also you will find a little gray plug under the passenger side dash make sure you unplug it and jumper the wires when you check the timing.if your check engine light is not on it is most likely not a sensor problem.