i just finished my timing belt change on my 98 prelude. i'm 100% positive everything is in place, there are no extra bolts or parts laying around. i went to start my engine and it wouldn't. it just cranks the starter, but the engine doesn't start. i checked all the distributor sensors, wires, spark plugs, timing marks on crank and cam gears, and fuses. i took out a spark plug and did smell gas coming from the engine. what am i missing here? i read that you should rotate it 3 teeth ccw before putting the new tensioner in. i didn't do that however. will that make a difference?

 

Yes it will matter. you are most likely off by the 3 teeth. Such a pain in the *** i swear. good luck to you.

 

so do you turn it so that the crank is 3 teeth ccw, or the cam gears are ccw? thanks for the help 98typesh!

 

pull off your cover and check your timing marks if they are out then you have to adjust the timing belt... hopefully you did not bend any valves that is something that you might want to check especially if your timing belt skipped teeth... i know that it is a little late now but when you do a timing belt it is a good idea to turn the engine over by hand (ie a ratchet on the crank) and see if it turns freely ( to make the job easier take out the spark plugs) if the timing is off you badly you will know it b/c you will not be able to turn the crank.. you want to do this b/c by turning it by hand if you hit a valve you will not do any damage but if the starter turns it over it will do damage... after turning the engine at least three times make sure that the timing marks are still lined up... i hope that this helped a bit...

 

thanks guys, this really helped a lot. i turned it over by hand and luckily it did spin freely, but the exhaust cam gear was off by a tooth. i'm going to take it all back down and redo all the timing. will this help with my engine-not-starting problem?

 

one more thing. how can you tell if TDC is for the intake stroke or combustion stroke? does it matter? i was just thinking what if the injectors were going at the wrong time because the crank was as the wrong TDC?

 

Pull all your spark plugs, put a long *** socket extension in the number 1 cylinder. When you see it come all the way up, you are at TDC.