I've read through the CB7Tuner thread that the FAQ links to, but I'm a bit confused about the timing belt part.
The original poster says to either remove the timing belt from the cam gear or have someone hold down the trans-side of the cam to keep it from popping up when the rocker assembly bolts are loosened up. Then, later on in the thread, somebody says something to the effect of "nobody ever said anything about holding down the cam, the cam's not going to move" and the original poster agreed with this person.
I have all of the tools and parts needed to do this job, and I going to have my cam jump out of the head if I leave the belt on, or is it nothing to worry about?
The Honda factory manual doesn't mention anything about it when removing the rocker assembly, but a lot of times that manual assumes you already have the engine out of the car or the head pulled off the block or something.

 

Anybody know?

 

From experience, it's better to be safe than sorry. Take the extra few minutes to release the tension and remove the timing belt from the cam gear

 

The cam is held down by the T-belt, and it's attachment to the dist.

When you work flat rate pay you learn very quickly not to do extra work.

 

When I changed the tube seals on my 92 Accord the timing belt was still on, and it did not pop up. It didn't become a problem in my case. Just be careful not to move it around, because it will come up easily with the timing belt pulling down on the sprocket.

 

Ah, I forgot the cam spins the distributor. I'd remove the belt if the car had half as many miles on it, but so many things have broken or been dead stuck on this engine from previous jobs I'm afraid to go near the belt. I'll remove the top bolt only from the dist at first. If that's safe enough to hold on to the cam for a few minutes, I'll reinstall the end cap if that can be installed by itself (ie it doesn't help keep the rocker assy from popping apart - does it?)

I know I'm being paranoid, but I've stranded myself at home with this thing before

 

I never touched the distributor while doing this job. I have no idea why it would have to be removed. The valve cover and rockerarm assembly were all that were removed. You should not have problems. If I were to do it again, I might try doing it without backing off the valve adjustments.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BLKFLSH &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I never touched the distributor while doing this job. I have no idea why it would have to be removed. The valve cover and rockerarm assembly were all that were removed. You should not have problems. If I were to do it again, I might try doing it without backing off the valve adjustments.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Lord, I've gotta do the valves on this thing. They're way too noisy on startup, and there are plenty of F22 Accords around here to compare mine to - definitely not usual clatter.
Thanks for the advice, my prospects of doom seem far lower now.