I am working on my 97 Accord V6 and have managed to get the timing off on one cam (rear cam that does not turn the dizzy). When I try to rotate this cam with the spark plugs removed and the belt off there seems to be way to much resistance. I assume this is because a valve is probably pushing against a piston. It is worth noting that the engine was running fine when taken apart as this is routine maintenance. I am off about 1/3 of a turn on this one cam gear from it's TDC alignment mark.

Is there a location that I can position the crank that allows for the cams to spin without knocking pistons into valves?

This probably isn't a easy thing to accomplish but my engine is a bit different from the Haynes manual. It indicates that after you replace with a new belt and all the marks are aligned you should rotate the engine several times by hand and check that all marks are still aligned. I did this but without the bolt in the tensioner because my bolt is part of the lower cover which it also recommends leaving off. Now I just need to find out how to get everything back in line with each mark so I can try this again.

Thanks for your help in advance.

 

I assume you have your crank at TDC? you'll need to rotate the crank forward 90 degrees to get all the pistons to half stroke. You should be able to spin the cam all the way to where you need it, since the pistons are all out of the way, then move the crank backward 90 degrees to TDC. It's not recommended to spin the engine backwards to get back to TDC, but you don't want to go another 270 degrees forward or you will hit valves. You could probably get by with only about 45 degrees, but it is safer to go on to 90.

 

Thanks for the advice. I found somewhere that suggested I rotate the crank 30 degrees forward from the crank's TDC position and then realign cams. I gave it a try and it worked. From there I just rotated the crank backwards to TDC and reinstalled belt. Engine is now running and I am much happier.

 

Good to hear you got it running. I just always go to 90 degrees to be safe. 30 was probably plenty, but if you didn't know what to go to, 90 is always the safest.