Honda Repair: Timing on a 94 Accord 180k, belt pulleys, interference engine

Question
Hi Rusty,

Got a 94 Accord Auto with 180k timing question:

I replaced the water pump, timing belt, and back balance belt with a friend more knowledgable than me, marking the pulleys in three places to keep them in the same positions as before. But when we put it back together, it sounded terrible and there was poor acceleration. Second attempt, we followed the book and aligned per top dead center trying to follow the marks on the housing and by raising a screwdriver in the #1 valve. Put back together, and it still sounded terrible.  Better, but not where it was before the first attempt.  Next day took it to get smogged, and it passed everything but the timing.  Off by 6 degrees. Supposed to be 15 ± 2, but I had a nine before TDC.

I know it's an interference engine, VTECH, so did a compression test, and three valves were around 150 with one a little low. Put in spoon of oil, and then it came up to the others.

Finally, tried again for a third time yesterday by myself.

Now it still sounds a little funky, but idles around the right number, accelerates and changes into second better than before, but, as I said, doesn't sound smooth as a baby's...which maybe I should have been praying to st. jude for.  

Is this this less-than perfect sounding engine due to previous damage to valve?

Will do another compression test tomorrow to see if anything's changed.

So I'm lacking confidence...because I couldn't seem to find all the timing marks on the timing belt and balance shaft belt pulleys. Or I wasn't sure if they were the right ones. The ones I found I followed, and followed the book (chilton) best I could.

Do I need to buy a timing light? One with advance?

Is that the only way to "proof" the engine, like an algebraic equation? I don't want to have this "seem" okay, then on the freeway fly apart.

Lastly, maybe I'm confused about what timing means. Is it that the timing belt needs to be in perfect syncronicity with the back balance belt? Or only that the rotors/pulleys the timing belt's attached to are meeting at their respective timing marks at exactly the right time with each revolution. Or can the timing belt be fine, but the balance belt not have all it's pulleys correctly aligned and that create the timing problem. Or all three?

Lastly, will advancing or retarding the distributor help anything?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank You.

Answer
It could be a number of things, first i would make sure the balance cam timing isnot 180degrees out, and to find TDC on the motor you need to remove a rubber bung off the gear box and turn motor untill the fly wheel points to TDC and then set the cams, tension it up and fire away, Does the motor run on all four cylinders when its ideling and when you are accelarating?

Hope ive been of some help

Cheers RUSTY