engine noise

[121040@comcast.net]

Right before the cheesy plastic gear on my distributor failed, it made a ticking noise that sounded exactly like a sticky rear lifter.  From all the emails I have been getting on my problems with my 90q20v, it seems that they all fail sooner or later.  Might be worth looking into.
Dave

I stalled  my 91 QT 20V today, it seems that I ran out of gas. I was still
at the beginning of the red, but...
I just had the timing belt changed on Wednesday and just drove 2 miles home.
There was a noticeable lack of power. The next day, today, I had driven
about 20 miles on the highway. The car stalled about 1 mile off the highway.
(The car has 58K miles.)  I cranked it for a bit and no start, got some gas
and it still wouldn't start. About an hour and a half later I tried it again
and it started. It now has a lifter type of ticking noise from the back top
of the engine.
Could something have been damaged from cranking the engine?
BTW I will be going back to the mechanic Friday morning.
Nervously,
John