Sputtering after Water Pump / Timing Belt / Radiator job

[Telltell]

Hey guys. I recently did a water pump / timing belt job. At the same time also had the plastic tank on my radiator replaced. I filled the radiator with antifreeze, then some more with the car idling like Chilton's says, and everything seamed fine, nothing weird. Then when I turned it on again and there was this big sputtering of the car, and then it turned itself off. That happened twice.

Then after a couple of hours I disconnected the battery, and reconnected it and tried it again. This time the sputtering is not as dramatic, just barely noticeable. The first time it seamed like it wanted to turn off but I pressed the gas and it stayed on. The second time it didn't want to turn off, just that sputtering barely.

Any ideas whats going on / what I could do?
As always, thanks for your help guys.

Note, I have not moved the car since the water pump/ timing belt/ radiator job. I'm just turning it on.

 

[1990AWD]

Is the base timing still dead on?

 

[Oldsid]

If your car was running fine before you did this maintenance, and since you changed your timing belt, it is possible that it may have "jumped" during installation and your base timing is off. Recheck your installation and make sure everything is aligned at TDC.

 

[Telltell]

...I checked timing at TDC after installing the front timing cover and it was good. Could it have jumped or somehow got off timing after?

Is there a way to check timing at TDC without removing the drive belts and crankshaft pulley?

Any other suggestions of what it could be are appreciated.

Thanks guys

Hey guys here is an update:

Something I forgot to tell you: This started after I took out and reinstalled the radiator. Before I even took out the radiator (after the timing belt /water pump job), the car seamed like it was adjusting for a little bit, and it did adjust after a while, and it was good. So it was good after the timing/waterpump and before the radiator job.

Here is some additional info:

If I leave the car off for some time (like overnight), when i go to turn in on, it stays on for a good while without dying, but still sputtering some. After i turn it on and off a couple of times, it will get to the point to where it turns off pretty quick if i don't press the gas.

When i place a spacer of about 190 thousands of an inch on the adjuster under the hood that moves when you press the gas, and then turn it on, the rpm stays at about 1k and the car seams fine, no sputtering. If i remove this spacer, the car turns off.

Thanks