Turning motor by hand

[alpine60]

My car will be up on jack stands for a while. Given how catastrophic the result of a wrong turn may do to the chain tensioner, etc. I just want to make sure I'm doing this right.

Is this what people meant by turning it CW (clockwise)? Thanks.

[Ned, NYNA11]

Yes the arrow shows clockwise and the engine spins that way

[rwest]

Yes, that's the way to turn it. Do yourself a favor and always take your wrench off each time you finish doing a turn so you don't accidentally leave it in place and start the engine; I have two paint chips to prove my point!

Best,
Rutager

[aigel]

I am curious about the pending catastrophe when turning it CCW?

G

[sc_rufctr]

If you look at your fan it has to turn clockwise to draw the air in for cooling.

(There's no such thing as a stupid question)

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by aigel

I am curious about the pending catastrophe when turning it CCW?

G

If you turn it CCW the timing chains may slacken causing a valve strike. You'd have to be unlucky for that to actually happen and even if it did you'd be foolish to put a lot of pressure on it if you felt some resistance.
Although a lot of foolish things have been done to our cars over the years.

[alpine60]

Thank you all for the quick responses. Much appreciated!

[aigel]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

If you turn it CCW the timing chains may slacken causing a valve strike.

The chain tensioners don't work when the chain is going the wrong direction? I realize they may not be working at 3000 rpm but hand cranking?

G

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by aigel

The chain tensioners don't work when the chain is going the wrong direction? I realize they may not be working at 3000 rpm but hand cranking?

G

You're right however I thought I had made that clear in my response using the term "may".

Either way I wouldn't do it. For instance, If you're hand cranking whilst doing a valve job and over shoot the position your going for.
It's best practice to continue clockwise until you come around to the mark again.

[aigel]

We are on the same page then - I thought i had missed something. Preferred direction is CW but you won't kill your engine if you turn CCW carefully. I have done so on several engines.

G

[boyt911sc]

Originally Posted by aigel

We are on the same page then - I thought i had missed something. Preferred direction is CW but you won't kill your engine if you turn CCW carefully. I have done so on several engines.

G

Manually turning the crankshaft CCW won't hurt your engine provided you have tensioner doing its job. What mechanical failure or catastrophe would have resulted if you turned the engine the opposite direction manually? This is another myth people like to believe. Has anyone experienced or seen damage to the engine caused by manually turning the crankshaft the opposite way? Keep us posted.

Tony