Hello everyone? I've been driving my 98 Protege LX for about three years now with no problems other than the A/C no longer working. The water pump went out and so I bought a new one and installed it. It's the third time I do it on this generation Proty(different ones). I turned on the engine and no leaks. I went to take it out for a drive around the neighborhood to confirm it and the car won't go past 3 mph.

The first thing I suspected was the timing. I had put white marks on the crankshaft, both head sprockets and on the belt. After putting everything back together the top two marks were perfectly aligned but the crankshaft mark was just what looked like either one tooth mark ahead but more like just half a tooth mark ahead of where it should be.

I took my chances. Now even if that small amount would be the cause of timing problems, shouldn't there be more than just the car not wanting to go? I mean, shouldn't there be some chugging, choking, the engine wanting to cut off? You know, something! It turns on beautifully, it idles just fine. However, when I accelerate it won't go any faster.

I thought the transmission fluid might have leaked out but I didn't remove the lines off the radiator and I checked for fluid and it's all there. I checked for disconnected wires or vacuum lines and all seem connected. I checked that the accelerator pedal is connected and is fine on the outside and inside the car when using the pedal.

Can this be a timing issue even if the car doesn't stall or make noises or show any signs of lack of power except that it won't go past 3 mph? Does timing in the lesser-power direction sound so calm and nice as opposed to timing in the too-much power direction?

This is weird because no car whose belt I've removed or replaced due to it breaking has ever had me get the timing wrong. Of course, there's a first time for everything. Does this sound like a timing issue? If not, chime in guys and tell me what you think it could also be. Thanks

 

The way you describe it it is hard to tell if it is an engine problem or a transmission problem.
Does your engine rev up to 5000 when in neutral? If yes, combined with the fact that it delivers power and runs otherwise fine, would point to a transmission issue. I have a manual, so I can only theorize: it may have switched into limp mode. I would disconnect battery negative and step on the brake. That should reset the computer.
If that doesn't help I would check the vehicle speed sensor and the transmission speed sensor, and finally the ecu.
I hope you get some more qualified responses.