DavidAlan

yes. Less power than usual, lots of jingling/jangling especially on acceleration going up long hills (as in where I live). EGR or distributor problems. Timing chain? Thanks

I neglected to mention that I did replace the cap. Did the plugs, rotor, cap and plug wires. Thanks

I have a spark knock in my 1986 tercel. New plugs, cap rotor, plug wires. There was a lot of rust dust inside the distributor cap. I cleaned and lubed the area in the bottom of the distributor. The problem seemed to be intermittent, but I can't be positive about that. The knocking returned and is worse despite advancing and retarding the timing, etc. I removed the distributor again, cleaned it better and was able to see that the spring mechanisims and mechanical parts in the bottom of the distributor move freely. Time for a new distributor? This is the one with three vacuum hoses coming out of it. Are there any valves or things outside the distributor that could be suspect?? Thanks for your time.