noob with issues. turning into a true dsmer

[hate_thmpr]

OK so I bought my 93 NT about 3 years ago. NEVER knew about this site or the recommended service intervals. I didnt talk to my mechanic about this either. but last October the timing belt shredded. and i mean shredded. took out 12 valves, and so i took it all apart.

I brought the head to a 'machine shop.' the guy there said oh yeah i have done one of these before. this guy took almost 3 weeks to get this head done and back to me. I thought at first it was only half the valves. but i was wrong.

Long story short(too late i know) got that all back together and running. ran great till just before April. new timing belt from gates just sheared across the belt.

called gates. talked to them. they couldn't do much since i didn't keep the receipt. (yes my bad.) so i bought a reconditioned head from eBay (reputable store on there) got that and a head gasket set, timing belt set, and water pump. thought i would do the maintenance on it since it was torn down. got the intake swapped over, and got it all ready to go. since there was three of us working on the car i don't know who set the TB idler on the 3rd piston, but it was set there. got the head all torqued down. and couldn't move the motor due to the idler in the motor. DID NOT START IT, just hand turning, like you should with every new motor.

went back took the idler out. redid the head bolts (which are a turbo head bolt??) got it all back together and running. only to find out they didn't put in cam seals. then go that fixed. running great.

NOW.... shes running great. but i think my timing is off by just a little bit. Dont seem to have the power i was used to. and to top it all off... oil pressure is fine until driving it for a few min then she drops but only under 3 grand. and i have a very odd noise after about a half hour. it doesn't sound like metal on metal. doesn't sound like plastic on rubber. its almost as if the water pump pulleys are hitting on something. but i KNOW those are tight. and torqued in the proper sequence also.

if you guys could help me out i would appreciate it.

 

[zxrider_sa]

First things first. Gremlin Bells. You definitely need something to ward off all that bad ju ju you seem to have. Lol. Or at least be more intentive

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk

 

[phunny]

First things first, verify timing is correct.

 

[hate_thmpr]

timing is all set correctly. verified 3 times.

forgot to specify. while doing the head this last time. i couldnt get the cam sensor apart. the screw had seized into the aluminum housing. (great idea to blend two different types of metal) so im at a loss as to what to do. full time student on unemployment.

EDIT
went to start my car this morning, seems that the timing jumped. may be looking into a new tb tensioner. im really getting sick of this shit happening. thinking about selling the car right now. any takers?