i just put my hed back on my block. i lined the harmonic balancer timing line with the mark on the cover. i put the head to where i believe is tdc. it runs for a while, i hear it missing still. after a few minutes the idle drops and it dies out. can someone post a pic of the cam at tdc please?

 

Need to know the motor to answer that one! but basically, if its SOHC, put the word "up" on the camgear facing up and sligtly forward. While it is located in that position, there is a horizontal line at the 9 & 3 o'clock positions on the camgear that should be parallel with the head (with valve cover off).

EDIT: better reference for 89-91 SOHC.

 

Pic here: http://www.tboekholt.com/HondaCRX_Wo...es/91-6-26.jpg

If it is an Si,
take note of the circle labeled "Si" as it is timed differently..

 

Thats exactly what i just posted^

 

srry its an si head on a cx block. i tried to get the head right but i guess what i did wrong was not removing the valve cover, so i couldnt really tell if it was right on the head or not. how do i tell if its on the compression stroke?

 

Not exactly,
look closely at both pages,The pic you posted doesn't have the Si setting..

Look at the circle in the middle of the picture...