I am trying to determine the cause of a rough running 1995 Mustang GT
5.0 HO (150K miles).  The owner (who is inexperienced with engines) had
powerwashed the engine and then replaced the distributor cap, wires and
plugs.  The engine runs like hell.  I swapped the wires back to the
13726548 firing order and it helped, but still runs rough. I
disconnected and checked each electrical connection for water intrusion
and everything was dry.  When I tried timing the car (SPOUT
disconnected), it would die before I could get it anywhere near the
correct timing.  I tried bumping the distributor gear a tooth each way
as well as clocking the spark plug wires.  No luck.

I am considering removing the timing cover to check for a jumped chain.
Before I do this, does anyone know the correct position of the
distributor rotor/cap when the engine is at TDC? Does the #3 position
of the distributor face straight towards the firewall?  The distributor
cap has a "1" on it, but I am not too sure that this really is the #1
position.

The car ran OK until it was modified, which is why I am not too excited
about pulling the timing cover....

Thanks,
Joe
McKinney, TX