Mitsubishi Repair: Mitsu Ignition timing, chiltons manual, mitsubishi galant

Question
Hello mitsu experts,

I have a 1999 Mitsubishi Galant with 3.0 liter
V6 engine. I just replaced the leaking head   
gaskets and installed a new timing belt. The
car cranks but won't fire. Chiltons manual
says align the crankshaft and camshafts
sprocket marks. I aligned the crankshaft
sprocket marks with the timing belt braket
marks(arrows) but I could'nt find where to
align the crankshaft sprocket with. The book
also says to rotate the crankshaft until the
#1 cylinder is at TDC. It's my understanding
that TDC means the #1 piston is at its max
height in the cylinder and the rotor is
pointing at #1 cylinder. But when I bring
the #1 piston to its max height, the rotor
won't point at #1 cylinder. What did I do
wrong? And yes, I did'nt align the marks
before removing the old timing belt. My
mistake. Any help will greatly be
appreciated.

Bert  

Answer
Bert,
Sounds like you did the process correctly (except for marking the belt prior to removing it - common mistake).  When the #1 piston is at TDC, that does mean the piston is at it's maximum height, but the crankshaft could be a few degrees after or before TDC.  That's because of the rotational nature of the rotating crankshaft.  So, even if the piston is at TDC, the crankshaft may need to be set a few degrees before TDC in order to set the sprocket.  

Other than seeing the set up, it would be difficult to diagnose what else may be causing your problem.  But it sounds like you're doing the correctly, and you're just off by a bit.  Keep at it, and double (or triple) check everything, and should be able to get it.
Good luck!