Thanks to all who provided valuable information and help. I am so relaxed now knowing that I did not damage the valves or engine. I will remove the plugs and proceed with the installation of the timing belt.

Michael

Assuming your engine was working before you started the timing belt replacement, there's no reason to think that the camshaft is seized. I think you just didn't expect it to be so hard to turn (which is because of spring, and some compression, resistance).

Next time, put a long ratchet handle and socket on the center nut of the crankshaft pulley and turn it to line up the marks on all three pulley's before removing the old belt. They're all easier to turn as a set when you have a long handle on the crankshaft pulley (plus the mechanical advantage of turning a large crank against a small pulley).

And, pull out the spark plugs, too -- that will eliminate engine compression, which will help when you turn the crankshaft (and the other two shafts) with the new belt on, prior to buttoning up everything at the end of the procedure.

And yes, when you put the 5284 tool on the vibration damper, you usually have to turn the crankshaft just a few degrees one way or another (and thus set all the pulley's off their marks a little bit), but don't worry -- when you put the new belt on, and then (after tightening the bolt and removing the 5284), you can move the crank back to where it was and all the pulley's should line up again.

The main thing is that you want the pulleys close to their marks before taking the old belt off, so you don't have to turn the hard-to-turn (and belt-free) camshaft a lot to line it up.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Check the pockets in the cylinder head for oil (depressions around the lifter bores) If none, then the head is not receiving enough oil and the cam bearings are dry and that's the seizure. On B21-23 it's quite common, less so on the B230's. Of the many I have repaired, the oil crossover in the head gasket from the block to the number two exhaust head bolt plugs and stop the oil. The only solution is to pull the head. The cam bearing bores can be cleaned up, the camshaft bearings polished, and the cam installed without valves to check for rotation. If the engine was overheated badly the head may be warped. If the oil has not been changed, the passage plugs up but the head will be ok.
Knowing how to clean up the cam bearing bores, and of course all the rest of the work, is about an 8 out of 10 for skill level.
To do a final check on the location of the plug you can remove the camshaft, and then drive the intermediate shaft with a 1/2 inch drill to pressurize the oil system. If oil does not flow readily from the five cam bearing oil holes, the blockage is in the head gasket. With the key on the oil light will go out if the rest of the engine has the correct oil pressure.

Put a ratchet and socket on the end of the cam and see if you can move it at all, if yes, you are just fighting valve spring pressure. If you can't budge the cam one bit, the cam is seized, this is incredibly rare unless the engine has been seriously overheated or run without oil.

jorreell
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92 245 299.3K miles, IPD'd to the hilt, 06 XC70, 00 Eclipse custom Turbo setup...currently taking names and kicking reputations!