VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - GENERAL Mechanical - Engine, Trans, etc Manual cranking of engine(s)

Howdy folks,

I wanted to find out how best to manually turn a 1934/1935 207cid engine in my trucks. I crawled under them this afternoon with breaker bar and a few sockets in hand to see if they would turn or if they are seized and low and behold the only way I see that I can turn them is with a hand crank. Is this the only way? I just want to know what I am working with before going thru the process of changing the oil, getting a battery and checking compression.

Regards,
Roman

Hand crank or use the starter
not sure what the nose of the crank looks like, but that is the only way on my 1929 as there is no bolt in the end of hte crank to wrench on to turn

If you take off the lower flywheel cover it should expose the teeth on the ring gear. A large screwdriver or small pry bar on the teeth can quickly tell if the engine will rotate. If that is not possible then remove the starter and access the ring gear teeth through the hole the starter left. It generally is harder to to get leverage through the starter hole.

Before attempting to turn the engine over, I suggest:

1. Squirt some automatic transmission fluid into all of the spark plug holes and let it sit for a while to soak down the sides of the pistons.

2. Put some oil on the rocker arms and valve stems.

3. Drain the oil out of the crankcase and refill with some cheap 10-30W.

4. If the distributor has a grease cap, dig out the old grease and put some fresh grease in there. I use high temperature bearing grease in this spot.

Good luck! Dean

To make it easier to turn over by hand, remove the spark plugs.

Do #1 as Dean suggests above.

Put the car in "drive." (Label the SP wires to make putting them back in correct firing order easier.)

Rock the car, push or tow it a sufficient distance for your needs. ( Ask, tell, demand or order the missus to drop whatever she is doing and to come help you. Whatever she's doing is less important than rocking that old car. ) Afterwards, if you find out she was ironing your undergarments, give her a dollar. Little things mean a lot. Do too!

Best,

Charlie

I would not change the oil in an engine before I found out if it is stuck. Drain the old oil, maybe, but why spent $20.00 on oil, then find out the engine is seized?
I can tell you from experience, you should drop the pan and clean it before attempting to start your engine. (after making sure it is not seized) Whatever is in that pan is not something you want to pump through your engine.

Mike

Thanks for all the suggestions. The plugs will be out of it and although I've used ATF in the past, I find Marvel Mystery Oil to work fairly well. If I use the starter and the engine is seized, will it not possibly damage something?

As for Charlie's suggestion, do spouses still iron undergarments? Going on 28 years with the wifey and never has she ironed anything of mine, let alone my undergarments.

Hey Mike,

Thanks for the suggestion. If I find the engine turns over I will proceed with an oil change or possibly dropping the pan as you suggest.

I have not spent much time under these trucks, so is it possible to drop the pan with the engine sitting in place?

Oil the valve stems and make sure they aren't stuck.

So I went to soaking the 2 engines I have in my 2 trucks. I removed the valve covers and this is what I saw.

This one is from my green dump truck and I am excited about what I see.




This one is from my white grain truck and I am not too excited here.




This the air filter in my white grain truck and with seeing the rust at the front end of this head, I am certain this truck was overheated due to a bad head gasket or cracked head or no coolant or who knows.

I picked up a 47 Chevy coupe about 15 years ago. The oil looked like new. Started it and the oil turned milky. I think it was condensation in the pan. Pulled the pan and there was gunk or sediment clear up to the suction screen.
I agree pull the pan and make sure no valves are stuck.

Dirt but no sludge, looks promising.

Howdy,

Happy New Year's!!

I finally got to the point where I wanted to see if the engine would turn over by placing it in gear and towing it a few feet. The back wheels turned, but the driveline/engine did not move any. There are several handles in my truck...one goes to the trans, the other is a parking brake and the other 2 that sit side by side must have something to do with the dump mechanism. Do the 2 sitting side by side need to be in a certain position for the transmission to engage the rear axle? Sorry, but older chevy's such as this one is new to me. Hell, I don't even know how many gears my 1934 has.....seems like 3 forward gears.

Regards

Your trucks have 4 forward gears. The gear you are not finding is probably reverse. For reverse, move the shift lever as far left as it will go. Lift the small lever on the side and the main stick will go farther left, then pull back. This works for trucks with the Chevy transmission. Some '35 era trucks were fitted with Warner transmissions. On these, the small lever is on the left and reverse is to the right and back. (like a Ford truck of the period)
You will not hurt anything by momentarily trying your starters with a jump from, or installation of, a 12 volt battery. (negative ground) If you are working alone, this will simplify matters. You can energize the starter through the open hood from the passenger side. This will give you a front row seat to whatever is happening as the engine spins.
I am not sure why your engine did not turn when you towed the truck, if it was in gear. Be sure to use high gear if you try this again. GOOD LUCK

Mike

I will give it a shot with the battery now. I was able to get the gear into what I think was 1st, 2nd and 3rd(did not try the reverse since I had no idea how), but I could never get 4th gear. Is the pattern like the letter "H"? I do not have an ignition switch at this time, but plan to get one. Do I only need the wire to the coil and the one to the starter to try and turn over the engine? The fact that the driveline did not spin when I towed it is concerning.

Thanks Mike.

If it is the 3 speed all gears will be in the "H" pattern with reverse in the the left and forward, low is left and near the seat, 2nd to the right and forward and 3rd beside low. With the 4 speed the forward gears (1 to 4) are in a "H" pattern with reverse to the centre left and lift the little lever attached to the shift lever then further left and then towards the seat. Sometimes when everything is stationary not all gears can be selected, 1 of the shafts need to rotate slightly so the gear teeth can align.
Tony

If you just want to spin the engine over to observe your valve gear, etc, you do not need any wiring other than battery cables. If you are trying to start the engine, you will need a wire from the + battery terminal to the + coil terminal. You can use the starter lug for this. A wire with clips works good for this. Look for a spark right away and shine up your points if you do not get one. Points, cap, rotor, condenser should all be available at your local auto parts store. Universal type plug wires and 6 volt Battery from local Farm store.

Mike

Cool, thanks Mike.

As others before have suggested dont turn the engine over with any strength as valves could be stuck open and get hit with the piston.
Tony