Why would my timing jump and no its not the chain.

after afew starts it jumps timing so i have to turn the distributor to reset and yes its tighten down.

 

Is it on a thirdgen? If so, disconnect the EST wire. Tan wire/black connector near the blower motor.

 

Yup that happened to me too, and I also suspected the timing chain. But iansane is right, its the EST (or I thought ESC?) wire. When the wire is connected the ECM will advance or retard the timing on the fly which can mess you up when you check timing or try to reset it. Disconnect the wire and you should be good to go.

 

yea its a 89 formula of mine and i do unplug the wire

 

Pull the distributor and replace the broken roll pin holding the cam gear. It sounds like the gear is spinning on the shaft but there's just enough force to hold it in place for a while.