My 164 has developed a worrying problem. Sometimes (more often at

higher RPMs, never at very low RPMs) when I am driving around it will

miss. Once under heavy load at high RPMs and wot not only did it

miss but there was a pop from the front of the car and a cloud of

something from the back (it was night time, I was going 80 up a grade).

First -- what could it be? I'm suspecting either ignition or the

timing gear. The motor has been opened before (someone painted the

head a nice turquoise) but it also has, according to the odo 178k

miles.

Second, this car has a york AC compressor right in the way of where

I would point the gun. How the heck do I time this thing without a

timing gun bright enough to flash the light through the compressor?

This car otherwise runs well. It has a slight hot starting problem

where if I run the piss out of it then shut it of it might take a

while to cool down to where it starts again. The plugs look good so

I don't think it is a lean induced backfire kind of situation, and

the ignition wires *look* like they're good. The cap and rotor have

been replaced somewhat recently; I've not checked the points.

I wanted to time it to see if the timing was jumping around. Am I

correct in assuming that a dying gear will cause the timing to be

weird?

chris