Motor rebuild almost done

[Lets_dudas]

Hey guys,
I am bolting back together my m20 after a full rebuild and I have run into a snag. I pulled the motor apart to replace the rings and bearings and seals and bolted it all back together. Now I'm trying to set the timing and I can't get the crank to make a full rotation and go to top dead center. I have rebuilt many be and audi engines and have never run into this problem. The head was just machined and everything is new up there. I'm wondering if I should've put the engine at TDC before I put the head on. If this is true I have to unbolt the head and replace them and the gasket which sucks but it's not the end of the world. Can anyone help me out?

[whodwho]

Yes normally you would put them both #1 TDC first.

Turn the crank slowly until it hits back it off some(~1/4 turn) and then turn the cam slowly and dont let it snap around from the springs, it is easy to bend the valves.

[my_bmw_sucks]

Pistons are contacting valves. Ideally you should have put both timing marks to TDC and then backed off the crank so the pistons went down in their bore a bit to avoid valve contact when installing the head. Then you could bolt up the head and time the car.

Not sure if this will work but it's worth a try. I'd take the valve cover off to see which valves are in the down position. Back off the crank so there's no contact, then rotate the cam a bit so the valves in the down position pull up, and then try rotating the crank again. Keep working at it until you get the timing marks into position. A pain in the ass but could save you the cost of a new head gasket and bolts.

*looks like whodwho beat me to it