signs of a bad timing chain

cobra103 said:

I have am 85 Mustang. I gave it a tune-up, it started and drove OK. Later on that day it was hard to start, I finally got it started. I got about a block away and then it cut off, couldn't get it back started. The firing order is right. I reset the timing, but the timing was way off, even using a timing light. Anyone have a clue or any suggestions drop me a line.

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jerry beach said:

What do you mean by hard to start? Did it turn over slowy, or did you have to spin it for a long time? I was gonna guess maybe your coil died, but you say you have spark. As for slop in the timing chain, you can see it if you pull the dist. cap and turn the motor in one direction, then the other. Some of this slop is in the cam gear/ dist. gears, but it can give you a rough idea if there is a big prob. Rotate the engine to TDC and see if the rotor is pointing at #1, or 180* off. That will tell you if it has jumped time or not.

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