I have a 1989 Honda Accord SEI. It leaks oil and I have been letting my son
drive it. I have lectured him about checking it frequently but wonder if he
let it get too low. The engine quit on him as he was getting off of the
freeway. I towed him home and saw that I had no spark to the plugs. I took
the dist cap off and cranked it and the rotor didn't move. I removed the
valve cover and timing belt cover and cranked and could see the bottom
timing belt sprocket turning but not the top. I got the belt off and tried
to turn the top, camshaft sprocket by hand and it wouldn't move more than a
quarter of an inch. I figured that the cam shaft bearings may have frozen. I
loosened the bearing caps and I could then turn it. A guy at a wrecking yard
told me that it shouldn't have to be able to be turned by hand, but with a
wrench. How hard should it be to turn? I hate to spend $30 on a belt, put it
all back together, just to have it eat the new belt up. Thanks in advance
for any replies.

 

shouldnt be too hard, but if the engine was turning over but not the camshaft, you most likely either bent the valves, busted piston, or broke a rod.

 

Pull the cam caps and rockers, from the description it sounds like the cam locked up from oil starvation and stripped the teeth of the T-belt.
When you have the head off replacing it be sure to pull the oil jet out of the block and clean all the orfices with berrymans B-12

 

It should be fairly easy to turn. It's not recommended but you can put a rachet on the end of the cam and turn it that way. 3/8" rachet should work fine. The 1/4" play you mentioned is perfectly normal its just that there is no compression on any of the valves.

When you loosened it you also gave it more play. If you bent a valve this could have been enough movenment to bypass it.

Good luck.