I've never been able to figure out how to turn the engine by hand. The standard way of doing this is to put a socket on the crankshaft pulley bolt and use a ratchet to rotate the crank. The problem on the Rolls is there is not enough room to get a socket/ratchet in and also the pulley/damper is held in place by six bolts - there is no single central bolt - even if I could get in there. I've tried carefully rotating the engine (all spark plugs removed) using a socket on the alternator bolt but this just causes the belt to slip. In the past I've always got by by blipping the starter motor, but for my latest endeavor I need a bit more precision. Does anyone know the magic answer?
Dounraey
I used a Husky rubber belt strap thingy. Put it around the crank pulley and off you go. BTW. .. Turn CW when facing engine. When the plugs are out the engine is easy to turn over.
Hi Pascal. No, I gave up in the end. I did try using a belt wrench but could not get it to work. When I managed to get it on, which was no small feat, it just slipped around - I couldn't get it tight enough in the limited space. The crankshaft pulley is low and inaccessible, even with the alternator removed. In the end I decided to just blip the starter motor, rather than risk a double hernia. Blipping the starter motor is very imprecise but it gets the crankshaft in roughly the right position which is manageable for most purposes. I too would be interested to hear if anyone has actually managed to rotate the engine by hand.
I did have all the spark plugs removed.
My issue dates back a few months when I was changing the valve stem oil seals. I was using compressed air to keep the valves from falling into the cylinder once the valve spring had been removed. I needed tdc so that if for any reason air pressure was lost, the valves would rest on the piston head, rather than being lost in the cylinder. So I approximated tdc, applied compressed air at 60psi and, exactly as Jim Walters predicted, the piston was pushed down to bdc - lol.
The associated problem with not being able to turn the crankshaft is you can't lock it in place either.
Good job Jim told me that 60psi would push the piston down as I did a test run with the valve collets still in place and was saved potentially losing the valves in the cylinder. My workaround was to apply 60psi, remove the valve spring and immediately use a clip on the valve stem to prevent it moving.
I mention all this as there's always a workaround. In the above case compressed air will keep the valves in place regardless of where the piston is in the cylinder. In the case of ignition timing when I remove the distributor I always make sure it is replaced in the same position. I then start the engine and use a timing light to get the precise timing.
It would be nice though to have an easy method of rotating the crankshaft by hand.
My issue dates back a few months when I was changing the valve stem oil seals. I was using compressed air to keep the valves from falling into the cylinder once the valve spring had been removed. I needed tdc so that if for any reason air pressure was lost, the valves would rest on the piston head, rather than being lost in the cylinder. So I approximated tdc, applied compressed air at 60psi and, exactly as Jim Walters predicted, the piston was pushed down to bdc - lol.
The associated problem with not being able to turn the crankshaft is you can't lock it in place either.
Good job Jim told me that 60psi would push the piston down as I did a test run with the valve collets still in place and was saved potentially losing the valves in the cylinder. My workaround was to apply 60psi, remove the valve spring and immediately use a clip on the valve stem to prevent it moving.
I mention all this as there's always a workaround. In the above case compressed air will keep the valves in place regardless of where the piston is in the cylinder. In the case of ignition timing when I remove the distributor I always make sure it is replaced in the same position. I then start the engine and use a timing light to get the precise timing.
It would be nice though to have an easy method of rotating the crankshaft by hand.
Bar with socket on power steering pump or alternator pulley nut, the trick is to push in on the belt in the stretch before the pulley you are turning. You will have to make short movements to let the compression leak down every couple of inches but it always works. Not necessary to remove the spark plugs.
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