I am about to change out the cap and rotor on my 94 Accord EX, I have heard the only real problem might be when the rotor bolt is in a position where it's hard to get to. How do I get that bolt in position to take off? Can I just crank the car real quick to make it move, even if the cap is already off but still has wires attached, or is there a way to manually move it? Also, is there something to be aware of in regards to the #1 piston being TDC(top dead center)... does that even matter with this or do I just put the cap and rotor back in the exact same positions as when I took them off? If so, how do i make sure of the TDC?

 

You can use the starter just for a moment, that works OK.

If you feel like spinning the engine by hand, park with the steering over hard left. Reach in front of the tire & look for an opening in the plastic inner fender liner. Kinda star-shaped with flaps that push out of the way. Stick a socket in the middle of the front pulley. That's the lowest pulley at the bottom with all the drive belts. Can't remember if it's 17mm or 19mm. Only turn the engine FORWARDS. That is, when you're at the left-front fender looking at the drive belts, turn it counterclockwise like you're trying to loosen the bolt.

The distributor shaft has a flat spot and (of course) the hole for that little rotor screw. You can't put the rotor on wrong. The distributor cap isn't perfecly round - it's got a square-ish side so you can't put that on wrong either.

But pay attention to which wire comes off of which position. THAT can be put back wrong, so draw yourself a picture or something.

 

Thanks JB, much appeciated.