I just had my water pump replaced on my 1995 Tercel DX. Car ran and idled fine before this but after I drove away from shop car idled rough. Very uneven idle and would buck when pulling into driveway, had to accelerate hard, etc. Next day I took back to shop and mentioned timing because I knew they had removed timing belt cover and had an idea the timing could be off. I was told no the timing wasn't the problem because it would run worse.

Mechanic appeared to connect a vacuum hose and it seemed to run a bit smoother but was still not perfect.

Next day car won't start. Turns over fine but wouldn't start. Took it to another mechanic down the street and they tell me that indeed, the timing is off.

So I'm asking is it possible that they removed the belt and didn't adjust the timing afterwards?

Can someone answer this for me please. I may take this mechanic to court and I need to know because 3 days later my car wouldn't start and it was because the timing was off. I had to pay to have it reset correctly.