Distributor Cap

The cap and rotor on my 90 need to be replaced. I have never replaced a distributor cap before (this is the first car I've owned that has had one). Can it be replaced without changing the timing of the engine at all?

The cap and rotor on my 90 need to be replaced. I have never replaced a distributor cap before (this is the first car I've owned that has had one). Can it be replaced without changing the timing of the engine at all?

As long as you don't turn the distributor housing itself, the timing will be unaffected. On this car, the cap will have two screws which hold it in place, and the rotor simply pulls off / pushes on.

Ok, I got the old one off and the new one on, but I didn't take the time to mark the wires (dumb I know) and now the firing order is off. I found the firing order on the net, but how do I figure out which terminal is number one on the distributor cap?

Ok, I got the old one off and the new one on, but I didn't take the time to mark the wires (dumb I know) and now the firing order is off. I found the firing order on the net, but how do I figure out which terminal is number one on the distributor cap?

Align the timing mark on the harmonic balancer with the mark on the timing tab on the timing chain cover - doesn't have to be perfect but it does have to be near. If the rotor is pointing toward the front, it's on cyl 1, if it's pointing to the back, it's on cylinder 6. Firing order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 clockwise from the #1 tower.

Thanks alot for the advice, I got it up and running now. I have one more question though. Does timing ever need to be reset "on its own"? That is, just driving normally without ever changing the timing will I ever see a benefit from retiming the car? or is it something that is either right or it isnt?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but this is the oldest car I have over owned (I'm 24) and newer cars are timed with the computer.