[Freaky]

FIND IT! At some point, a bolt got dropped down the back of the engine and managed to find it's way into the ref sensor opening, don't really know when it happened. One day I started the car, and heard a loud noise the area of the bellhousing. Shut down, looked around and found nothing amiss. Took a light and looked down the back of the engine, and noticed the timing reference pointer was missing.

We pulled the trans and bellhousing and not only did the offending bolt break off the pointer, but I also destroyed the ring gear (tore up some teeth), and damaged the pinion gear on the starter , and the now adrift pointer lodged between the flywheel and the bellhousing, and tore off the 3 reference pins.

COST: One new flywheel, one used ring gear, one new starter and one used bellhousing, not to mention the time to remove and install the bellhousing and trans on a turbo....I learned then to cover that hole when ever I work at the back of the engine.