hey thanks for all the advice. i think i might put off working on the distributor for a while now. it seems like my bad luck continues. now the distributor is stuck and won't come out, or go in anymore. i also found oil inside the cover that the rotor sits on. (see attached picture)

 

here's the pic

 

Daquane25:

Bite the bullet and get a re-manufactured distributor. The internal seal must be shot, the one that is not replaceable.
A new distributor will make your car much more reliable.

By doing all that work you have learned a lot about car maintenance.

 

I kept prying and finally got it off. here's how it looks inside.(Pic 1) Is this normal? I saw this ground plug (pic 2) hanging freely and I don't know where it should go. What do I need to rotate to get the compression stroke on tdc?

 

You need to rotate the crankshaft at the bolt of the harmonic balancer to find TDC. On the compression stroke the piston will push the air through the spark plug hole. That will blow away a piece of paper.

I don't know why your distributor was stuck. Maybe the O-ring got pushed off? Check if it has marks. You can also lightly lubricate the O-ring prior to installation. Make sure you put it in straight.
You can see that the groove is slightly off center. Therefore the pin can get into the groove only in one way. I hope you did not force it on the wrong way at your last try. You ask if it looks normal, but I can't tell. I don't see anything obviously wrong either.

I don't know where the ground was attached to. I don't have access to our Protege right now, so I cannot look. Within easy reach of the wires there should be a location that will accept the ground. Where is the wire coming from?

 

So i would have to rotate this bolt?

 

yes, the one circled in red. It sits on the end of the crankshaft. There is no chance for it to come loose when the spark plugs are out.

 

Okay thanks. I got a picture of it at night. Should there be like a seal there where all that oil is or not?

 

I am guessing here. But it is an educated guess: oil on this end of the distributor should be no problem. But if oil manages to get along the shaft into the other end where the electronics and coil are sitting, then you are in trouble. There must be a seal on that shaft and it is not serviceable.

 

great. what size socket for the spark plugs and for the nut on the crankshaft? i have a 1.5L. I think the spark plug wires had 8mm on it, but i'm unsure if that is the size of the spark plugs.