You haven't said yet if you've checked to see if the belt is broken or not. If it's not broke then changing it is not going to solve any of your problems. Either do the check Indycam mentions above or get the distributor cap off to check it. This means removing the piece of big plastic tube to left of the cap and removing 2 screws. There's not much play in the 7 leads that go to the cap but maybe enough so you can peek in there and see if the rotor arm is loose. A spinning rotor = broken belt, resistance as you prod it means the belt is good.

 

I was kinda worried I'd spoil something if I attempted to open the cap myself, but since you make it sound pretty simple, I might give it a go.

 

Take the first step... You'll be okay. Just make a clear mental note of all the things you do.. and then put them back in reverse order. Go slowly. It'll be fine.

 

Do my test first please , its faster and a better test .

 

Also, keep in mind that the belt can be intact but could have slipped a notch or two or more. This can happen with an old dry belt per my personal experience a while back. There are folks on this site that can tell you how to determine if the alignment of the two rotors are correct. I knew once, but as with a lot of things, it has slipped out of my brain.

 

Do THIS before anything else. A quick an easy test...

 

Kahdmus
Have you done this test ?

 

Kahd and Indy, done it already.

And it is running poorly on the other because of this broken belt.

Which i'm assuming is due to the lack of distributor vent over the years.

But, there is a bit of rust / damage on the distributor. I'll post pics later.

 

I have done it before on the C4. I gave myself a good jolt the first time as well as I tried to remove the cap with the engine running...the syndrome strikes again!

Why do you ask?

 

If I understand you correctly you've disabled each distributor one at a time by following Indy's suggestion and the engine still runs, albeit poorly. This indicates the belt is not broken, atleast not completely.

Bill
90C2

 

If you do the test by pulling the connector from the ignition switch you should not get shocked .

 

Didn't answer my question. I also sent you a PM. Cheers, --Howard

 

Bill- yup not broken, but there's a hole in it.

Broken as in spoilt, but not broken in two.

I found a belt to get from Pelican Parts.

Is there anywhere else better to get>?

 

I think I seen one on EBay recently it may still be there.

 

You have a hole in the belt inside the distributor ?