I have a 1993 Honda Accord, 2.1L, 5spd manual. The distributor seems to have failed (or rather the ICM inside it, but the rotor seems to be stuck on too solidly to pry off to just replace that part, and there are also signs of general corrosion inside it.).

Can I just put in the new distributor I got without having to follow all the official instructions of setting the cylinders to Top Dead Center and all that stuff? It's broken down in a rather out of the way spot, and I don't have the tools to crank the engine over by hand. Because of the way the distributor slots into the crank, as far as I can tell from looking it over the only thing I can get wrong would be to install it with the rotor turned 180 degrees. Is that right, or is there something else I can break that I'm missing?

 

You don't have to set the engine to TDC to install the distributor. Just make 100% sure the rotor is pointed in the right direction. I installed a distributor 180 degrees off after I had posted the same advice countless times on this site.

The distributor housing can rotate in the cylinder head to do a fine-tune timing adjustment. You would need a timing light to do this. You can mark the current location of the old distributor and cylinder head to get the new distributor close (see video below).

 

Okay. Thanks!

 

If you mark it & try your best to get the new one close to the proper position, you'll be able to drive home & THEN adjust it properly with a timing light.

 

Yes, you can install it without having everything to #1. But be especially careful to get the tab/tangs aligned with the slot in the cam. If you get it off, it can break those tabs right off creating a bigger problem.
Also, the rotor probably has a screw holding it in place, which is why it doesn't want to come off.

On my 97, I changed the distributor too, as it had an internal oil seal leak that slimmed everything inside. I didn't reset it to TDC either. I just made sure the tabs aligned with the slot and was good to go. Just be aware of where the old rotor was pointing when you take the old one off, and point the new one in the same place and you should be good.