The rabbit hole started with a slipped timing chain by a couple links. A borescope showed no apparent impact of valves with pistons so the chain and tensioner was changed. Car ran fine for a couple of weeks except for a "hollow" sound while accelerating but no loss of engine power. Then on day it just died at a stop sign and got a code p0365 (the exhaust cam shaft position sensor). As a precaution I wanted to verify timing was still good, upon trying to remove the crankshaft pulley I discovered I hadn't torqued it properly and the bolt was about to fall out (which likely had something to do with the odd sound I heard). It had to have spun separate to the crankshaft because the timing marks on the pulley were off but the TDC marks for the camshafts and crankshaft sprockets were all still aligned properly. I properly torqued the bolt and went ahead and changed the camshaft position sensor and it still won't start (crank but no start). My concern is would the pulley starting to come off damage the engine to where it's just junk now? 2006 Honda Accord 4 cylinder, automatic, 270,000 miles
Does your crank pulley incorporate the trigger wheel for the crank sensor? If so that may have been damaged.
It doesn't, the trigger wheel is separate and inside the cover. It did not appear to be damaged in any way.
Did you use an OEM sensor? Does a scan tool confirm there is output from the crank sensor?
Don't own a scanner, I did change the crankshaft sensor along with the camshaft sensor because I figured it couldn't hurt. Would I be right in guessing the fact it cranks smoothly means there isn't something mechanically in the engine damaged? While with a little help doing the work isn't really all that difficult I simply don't know enough about engines to effectively troubleshoot. My hope is that it's something simple I'm overlooking before I give up and junk the thing. Short of pulling the whole motor out of the car I can manage to do most other repairs, feel a little stupid I didn't put a torque wrench on the pulley bolt (the only bolt I didn't verify torque)
Don't own a scanner
These days even inexpensive scanners can read, record, and even graph data. If you're going to be working on a computer-controlled OBD2 vehicle you need one. There are plenty of youtube videos and other instructional material online that will show you how to at least look at the basics when using a scan tool.
If you have a tachometer, on most cars the tach will "bounce" when cranking if the crank sensor is providing an RPM signal to the PCM.
Would I be right in guessing the fact it cranks smoothly means there isn't something mechanically in the engine damaged?
At least nothing bad enough to lock the engine up or make terrible noises.
While with a little help doing the work isn't really all that difficult I simply don't know enough about engines to effectively troubleshoot.
In this case it should be fairly easy to at least see if the crank sensor is working. It should also be easy to check if the fuel pump is working. Without those there won't be any chance of the engine starting. However since this issue came up after working on the crank pulley chances are the problem is related - but it could be something completely different and coincidental.
There are other simple tests you can do. For example, starting fluid will tell you if you're getting spark or not - if the engine doesn't briefly run when you crank it after spraying starting fluid into the intake you have no spark. If it does fire up you have a fuel delivery problem.
There is a lot of information about troubleshooting no-start problems you can look over in the site FAQ.