another funny prob. after t-belt change.

Ive just replaced my t-belt, tensioner, water pump standard D15b1 89 civic hatch, new parts include(keep in mind this will be applicable when the problem is described) New DPFI injectors less than a week old with 50 miles on them. Cap-Rotor-Plugs-radiator-Header-igntn wires. o2 sensor... i replaced my timing components and ran the car as normal only thing that went not so well was the warping of the crank pulley because the center bolt was torqued to 1.3million foot lbs, but im going to replace that pulley with underdrive and rig a safety wire system to hold center bolt in place so as not to have to have so much friggin torque on that bolt, pm me if you are interested in diagrams ive devised for a fix with the overtorqued crank pulley. after my t-belt component change, car starts and runs fine. im letting it idle for about 15 mins to verify, no leaks and to burp the cooling system. idling fine everybody is cool lets keep in mind when i change a timing belt as ive done many times before i just slip the old one off and the new one on and dont bother with timing marks and all that its simple just dont turn the cam with the belt off... so i dont think i skipped any teeth although it may be possible so keep that in mind, after i pack everything up and begin to drive away i get sputtering and backfiring, mind you, it idles fine, and i ground revved the engine to 4-5k rpm while under the hood, neutral, no misfiring nothing out of the ordinary. but when i start to drive i have that sputtering well after a block or so of travel it stops, no more backfiring engine is sputtering a Little bit at a high load low rev situation IE. being in 3rd gear at 25mph or something like that...but as far as normal driving the engine seems to be hitting on all 4 cyls no more backfiring or sputters. now..... im not making power, this is the problem. its acting as if the engine is trying to breathe through a straw or something like that, stock intake brand new air filter.... going to cold air as soon as my kit arrives. however before the timing belt change i was making decent power so now my engine seems to be revving OK however it seems the power is not being produced after 2000 rpms. its acting weak and its revving slower than normal, albeit i tighten my t-belt tensioner to a good tension. and my alternator belt to a good tension its acting like i stuck a 30lb cinder block on the end of the crank, granted im thinking maybe maybe... i skipped a tooth or 2 maybe on the timing but i highly doubt it as i am very observant of what im touching and not touching when that belt is off of the cam. later tonight i had the problem again it was acting like the engine was dying, started fine put it in reverse start to back up and it slowly stops responding to throttle inputs, give it gas it feels as if its starting to rev but keeps bogging down and dies. crank the engine bam fired right back up...... my main relay is in good shape. im not thinking that i have a bad ground on the valve cover gasket... but i dont know if that would cause these symptoms as its apparently a grounding strap from engine to body if i remember correctly. now heres an additional note i had installed a newer ignition coil swapped from my 1990 civic DX D15b2, when i do part research the coil is a different part number between the 89-90 so i did swap them back again and im still having the same prob. Right now i went and started the car, cold start, started up just fine. runs good no miss but still a lack of power, i noticed that i put my grounding strap back up to the valve cover bolt and the second offshoot of that strap that bolts to the spot on the side of the valve cover i put that eyelet on top of the throttle cable hold down which is like rubber dipped so perhaps something to do with that grounding stap not contacting the metal of the valve cover??? ill switch those wires back around tomorrow but i dont see why that would cause this problem, i try to be very thorough of my description of the problem, again everything was working fine the engine was producing power that was on par for a D15b earler today but after the timing belt, im not making power like i should. im thinking of buying a new distributor but i would like to figure out what exactly is going on here first. Also i have NO Check engine lights being tripped, mind you the motor has 250k on it but again this morning it was running like a champ im thinking of also replacing the IAT sensor and MAP sensor but before i go ape sh*t going and replacing sensors galore and distributor i would like to get to the bottom of what happened with this whole post timing belt sluggishness and strange behavior.

god dammit, i got lost in the middle of the paragrah......................no wonder i got lost, its only a paragraph. i will return when my eyes are felling better.

definetly a timing issue. this should have been the first thing to check, as you said

"it feels like the engine is breathing through a straw"

it feels like that because your valves are opening at the wrong time and its losing compression.

definetly a timing issue. this should have been the first thing to check, as you said

"it feels like the engine is breathing through a straw"

it feels like that because your valves are opening at the wrong time and its losing compression.

I will entertain that theory, although the utmost care was taken to avoid any bit of a movement on the cam gear, perhaps im off by 1-3 teeth and if i had to guess i will need to turn the cam 1-3 teeth counter-clockwise? that orientation is speaking as if you are standing on the drivers side of the car staring at the cam gear straight on.... damn i wish i had the adjustable cam gear maybe this is an excuse to buy one no?

dude it is definetly the timing. and no a adjustable gear wont help. its very easy for the crank to move when everything is taken off. you can go ahead and try to fix it with other stuff but that is no doubt a valve timing issue.

Much thanks after much thought about the issue of the timing, i ruled to a conclusion, off with the valve cover off with the upper timing cover. and i re-set the crank to TDC and the cam in its respective position i was off by a decent amount that explains the sluggishness, i am back to where i once started, Do not misinterpret me as i wasnt saying that "ohhhhhh i can buy a magical adjustable cam sprocket and all my problems will go away" no i know that i still have to get everything timed back up but want the sprocket for minute adjustments and experimentation. So problem solved thanks to all for the insight. I appreciate it.
ZC

good job dude!

good job dude!
yeah thanks man i appreciate your insight on that got the gears in my head turning remembering how the slightest valve timing variation makes a big difference anyhow thanks dude...