Turning Engine By Hand with No Centerbolt

[67-SStLouisJak]

Hello,
I have a 283 that I just did a compression test on and found two cylinders (3 and 7) to be low. Actually all of the cylinders on the driver side are lower then the passenger, but them two are the worse.
I wanted to do a leak down test on both of these to see if I can tell whats up with them, but I dont have a centerbolt holding the front damper and pulley onto the crankshaft to turn it by hand.

Is there some method to turn the engine by hand other then just grabbing the fan and doing it?

Thank You !

[Zeke's Garage]

I've found the easiest way to turn over and bump the engine is to use a remote starter switch. It just clips to the Starter power lug, and the start lug (usually on the engine side of the starter). With this you can remove the power to the HEI, or remove the coil wire from the distributor and bump the engine over at will by yourself without fear of it starting up on you. I got mine from NAPA a few years ago for about $12.

Good luck

Shawn

[cdowns]

a use a homemade tool that bolt to the balancer and has a large bolt in the center and use a rachet

[jjzepplin]

Without using a starter to get a complete revolution from the engine at a constant speed you will get erratic readings and they wont be of much help in relation to the other cylinders. Starter switch and freshly charged battery is the only good way to do it.

[cdowns]

i've never had to spin a thing to do a leakdown test all i used was an air hose from compressor with both valves closed

[67-SStLouisJak]

Thank You All !
I do have a remote starter hooked up that I can crank or bump start the engine with, but I was wanting to fine tune it by hand. It seems I can never get it to stop right where I want it to.
I have never done a leak down test before, so this is my 1st attempt. I was under the impression that the cylinder that was being tested had to be at TDC. I watched the "Eric the Car Guys" ,leak down test on YouTube to get that information.

I recently purchased a harmonic balancer puller hope'n I could use it to fine tune the TDC by hand with,but found out I have to removed the fan belt pulley to do that.

I just wanted to get the right size bolt and thread pattern to use to zero in my TDC.
Thanks all !

[67c10rustbuket]

I use a crankshaft socket from jegs. here is a pic and linky for you. Great for engine building or anytime you want to turn the crank and not strip the thread out. It grabs on the key so no worries.

http://www.jegs.com/i/JEGS-Performan...80740/10002/-1

[67-SStLouisJak]

Thank You Dan !
I found one of these at Summit Racing , but wasn't sure if my fan pulley hole was going to allow me to use it so I could turn it by hand.
I wonder why some SBC have centerbolt's and others don't ?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MOR-38770/?rtype=10

[haysonj]

Originally Posted by 67-SStLouisJak

Thank You Dan !
I found one of these at Summit Racing , but wasn't sure if my fan pulley hole was going to allow me to use it so I could turn it by hand.
I wonder why some SBC have centerbolt's and others don't ?

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MOR-38770/?rtype=10

Those crank sockets won't work unless you pull the dampener off. Some of the early cranks were not drilled but I think all the 350 and later ones are. You can get a tool that hooks on the flywheel teeth and turn it that way if you have someone to help you.

[67c10rustbuket]

Originally Posted by haysonj

Those crank sockets won't work unless you pull the dampener off. Some of the early cranks were not drilled but I think all the 350 and later ones are. You can get a tool that hooks on the flywheel teeth and turn it that way if you have someone to help you.

Very true, I didn't realize the balancer is still on.

I would remove the crank pulley, reinstall the 3 bolts but only about halfway and using a large screwdriver or small prybar (like 10" long) wedged between 2 of the bolts to turn it by hand. This will work to rotate to tdc or whatever you are trying to rotate it for .But for a compression or leakdown test you should use a starter switch as others stated.

[67-SStLouisJak]

Thanks Everyone,
To do a leak down test, dont both valves have to be closed ? And for both valves to be closed,dont they have to be at TDC ?

I do need to find 4 degrees BTDC according to the manual to install a new distributor.
I marked the location the rotor was pointing before I took out the old one. And also noted which plug wire it was pointing to. Turned out it was pointing at the # 1 plug wire on the distributor cap.

Anyway, I couldnt get the oil pump to line up with the bottom of the new distributor, as I tried to align the drive gear on the distributor to the cam shaft.
So, I used my trusty remote starter button to try to bump it into place as I figured about how much to back the drive gear up, to drop down into place against the intake manifold, and got everything out of wack !

I have since took my old distributor's drive gear off, and any other unnecessary items, leaving only the housing, and the mainshaft.
I'll use it next time to rotate the oil pump if I have that problem again.

I watched this video on YouTube explaining how to install a new MSD distributor. They made it look really easy to get the oil pump to line up right. It didnt work out so great for me.
They also say to set it at about 12 degrees BTDC not 4, like the manual does.
This is the video I watched; My "LIKE MAGIC" didnt work out so well...

Installing a Distributor Part 2 - YouTube