For all the mechanics out there, I need help

[GPA61]

I am trying to change my timing belt on my 1994 prelude vtec, and somehow ended up with the cams and the crank out of alignment. My cams were close to TDC on #1 but I could not see the mark on my flywheel. Any way I took the belt off at this time and moved the crank to the 270° mark and moved the cams into TDC. I figure if I move my crank to the 360° mark it should be ok. Well, guess again, I still cannot see the mark on the flywheel which tells me my crank is a full rotation out of sync with the cams. As a lot of people advise I broke the crank pulley bolt loose b/4 opening my valve cover,(in case you cannot get it loose you can take it to a shop). When I was putting the bolt back to turn the car into TDC, I turned the engine clockwise a little by accident and I think that is when the belt jumped. Is there something I can do to get my crank to TDC without taking the cams off? I do not want to take a chance of bending any valves.

Thank you for any advice

PS. yes I am a dumbass.

[capncarl]

I've seen a number of Honda engines that broke the belt and did not bend valves. These were engines that were stopped and the belt broke upon starting and the engine turned numerous rotations before the owners decided something was wrong. You do have the spark plugs removed and the battery cable disconnected? You will want to plug in a 12v battery source to keep the computer memory. It sounds like you've already moved your crank enough to prove that the valves are ok. I don't think you will bend valves when turning the crank or cams by hand. Top dead center is not a "safe" spot, Just because an interference engine is on top dead center doesn't mean you are safe because one of the cylinders valves will still be open. You could test to see if it is safe to rotate the engine by feeling through the spark plug holes to see which piston is at the top, then slowly rotate crank till it is at top and rotate cam to see if you feel any valves hit. I don't think you will. If you don't feel anything with it at tdc you know you are good to go, reset crank and cams and install belt.

[dbhost]

Not 100% certain as I haven't worked on one of those engines in years, but as I recall the VTEC engine was a free spinning engine. Meaning the valves could be wide open, and the pistons can't hit them. Unless of course you had the head / block shaved and increased the compression ratio etc...

You might actually want to check into a Honda enthusiast forum for this. I know typically your timing marks should be pretty clear, but yeah, Honda can be a bit tricky as I recall... I think the guys that are in that full time would have a better idea of what to look for...

[GPA61]

Thank you guys for your consideration and responses. I turned the crank and didn't hit anything. Good to go. Sure appreciate all your help..