Rotor not turning

I would of liked to have had the mileage of the car and repair history. I will try to asnwer the question the best that I can. The distributor is driven by one of the following things; I am not familiar with your vehicle so I am making a guess here, It is either driven by the cam shaft the oil pump, or the timing belt. If there is nothing physically wrong with the distributor I am going to guess that the distributor is run by the cam shaft. The cam shaft is also driven by the timing belt, which means the timing belt could have broke and the reason you can't turn the rotor is the springs from the valve are locking the cam shaft in place. You don't have the physical strenghth to turn the rotor and overcome the pressure of the springs. Good Luck :)

The van has 188000 miles on it. I was thinking camshaft myself just hoping not

is it the original timing belt on the car? If it is then thats your source of trouble. It is more likley that the timing belt needs to be replaced then a cam shaft.

not positive, bought used but most likely original... hopefully timing belt is cheaper than camshaft... thanx

Is the timing chain on the same side of engine as distributor or the other?

The timing chain or belt will always be on the front of the motor. As far as the distributer goes I don't know where it is for your particular car off the top of my head. This varies according to the manufacturer or design but the timing chain or belt will always be on the front of the motor. One other thing if this is a front wheel drive car the motor will be transverse. meaning it is sitting in the engine compartment side ways the front of the motor will have the fan/ accesory drive belt that turns the altenator, fan, ac, etc. This is the front of the motor. Behind these items will lie the timing chaain or belt. Hope this helps.