99 A4 2.8 won't crank

[marcmeyer]

Hello,

While doing the timing belt, water pump, valve cover gasket, etc, I also replaced the camshaft tensioner gasket and half moon seal on the passenger side because of oil leaks. When I put everything back together and started the car, it ran really rough. The codes showed that cylinders 1-3 were misfiring. After doing further research, I think the cam chain was off by one tooth (15 links instead of 16), so I took off the valve cover, set to TDC and tried to correct the cam chain issue.

This time after I put it back together and tried to start the car, it sounded even worse (like a diesel) and wouldn't stay running. I tried to start again, but it wouldn't turn over. So I took the passenger valve cover off again and tried to set the car to TDC, but the crank won't turn far enough to get to TDC. Now I'm wondering if I've created a bigger issue (e.g. bent valves), but I don't understand why that would be because the TB still looks fine. I'm really not sure what to do next. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated because I already think I might be in over my head.

Thanks,

Marc

[john_gonzo]

I'm not familiar with the 2.8, but I have a general tip.

Remove all of the sparkplugs. This way you are not fighting cylinder compression when rotating the crankshaft.