I am in the process of replacing the crankshaft pulley on my 96 accord, because the old one was not tightened properly when the previous owner did the timing belt. I bought a used one and installed it. When I started the car, it idled at 2000 rpms for a minute or two, then died. Now it won't start.
I had read somewhere that the pulleys on OBDI (94-95 accords) and OBDII are slightly different. Is this true? The difference I see is that the timing marks are little different. Would this cause my car to not run?

 

Only the timing pulley would be different. Check for stored codes.

 

I can't atm, but I will. So having the timing marks off by 5mm won't effect anything? I thought the sensors read the those timing marks.

 

The regular crank pulley is what drives the accessory belts. The crank timing pulley is what drives the timing belt.

 

Right, I understand that. I had thought the there was a sensor that read the regular crank pulley. The car ran fine, except the pulley had came loose and needed to be replaced. The one I purchased, is almost exactly the same. The only difference is the timing mark is 5mm closer, and it has 4 dimples. My old one has two dimples, and the timing light mark is exactly 5mm farther out. I bought the replacement pulley from a used parts place, and they had all the pulleys stacked. So I just grabbed what I thought looked closest.

 

After reading some threads, I'm beginning to think the timing belt jumped a tooth. I'm sure I rotated both ways when i was trying to get it tightened.

 

You can always set it to tdc and see if it lines up correctly.

 

Pretty sure the crank pulleys between 94-97 are the same.

Verify the crank sensors, behind the crank pulley, are clean and undamaged. They are magnetic pickups so if they get grungy the signal resolution can be lost.
Also check the wire harness for the sensors, there is a connector about halfway up the timing cover IIRC, make sure it was not knocked loose or damaged.

 

OK So I'm getting code 8, which I had before the pulley fell off. Actually i had 8 & 9 before all this, but the car still ran. One other thing that I find a little strange. The power steering pump seems to be making a whine, and it's like it has some type of blockage. Because a bunch of fluid will leak out the top. I've had this car for six months, and never added ps fluid.

 

Oh and the pulleys are different. The timing marks are 5mm farther out on the OBDII

 

They are exactly the same across all accords from 94-97

CRANKSHAFT - PISTON for 1994 Honda ACCORD SEDAN

CRANKSHAFT - PISTON for 1997 Honda ACCORD SEDAN

There's a good chance your crank sensor wiring got damaged.

 

You can get a power steering rebuild kit to replace all the internal orings for about $20 or so from any auto parts store and rebuild it yourself. It's fairly easy, just remember the pulley bolt is reverse threaded. The oring that fits onto the hose where it attaches to the pump will need to be bought from Honda.

 

OK I pulled the valve cover and the timing marks lined up. I'm assuming that this means the belt did not jump a tooth. Would a bad TDC sensor cause the problem I'm having?

 

Have you inspected your crank sensor wiring at all ?