Hand cranking the engine

[7DCUDA383A]

My Cuda has been sitting since Jan 1 , I finally have the oil and trans pan on and lowered it to start on top , I new the 1 cyl. was at top and I wanted to see if it was comp or exhaust so I started to hand crank it clockwise and it did not go far till it stopped , I then went counter clockwise a couple wrech turns and stopped again , not putting pressure on it at all , going slow , I then went back to clockwise motion and nothing happened , free flowing , it has not have oil in it for a month at least , did a valve or something else just get stuck then loosened free , I have 1 cyl. back at top , anything I should do before I do anything else or is it OK now .

 

[pschlosser]

With sparkplugs installed, when a cylinder begins its compression stage, the pressure can feel too large to turn the engine by hand against.

But if you remove the spark plugs, you can place your finger over the sparkplug hole (example of #1 cylinder at driver side power steering pump) and feel when the cylinder is in its compression stage by the sucking sensation on your finger.

 

[7DCUDA383A]

With sparkplugs installed, when a cylinder begins its compression stage, the pressure can feel too large to turn the engine by hand against.

But if you remove the spark plugs, you can place your finger over the sparkplug hole (example of #1 cylinder at driver side power steering pump) and feel when the cylinder is in its compression stage by the sucking sensation on your finger.

Thats what I was doing but when I was cranking the engine with a rachet it stopped like it hit something , I backed it back and did the same , when I went clockwise again it went smooth , so not sure what happened but it moves now .

 

[7DCUDA383A]

Do I need some oil in the spark plug holes or anything since it's been sitting awhile , everything was fine before .

 

[DetMatt1]

Sounds like you’ll definitely want to prime the engine before you start it for sure but if you used the proper assembly lube while putting everything together you shouldn’t need to introduce anymore if you’re just rotating it by hand to get the timing set up.

 

[7DCUDA383A]

Sounds like you’ll definitely want to prime the engine before you start it for sure but if you used the proper assembly lube while putting everything together you shouldn’t need to introduce anymore if you’re just rotating it by hand to get the timing set up.

I did not take the engine apart , I just changed the trans and oil pan but it sat for a couple months maybe with them off , so if I crank the engine by hand that will prime the engine with oil .

 

[DetMatt1]

I did not take the engine apart , I just changed the trans and oil pan but it sat for a couple months maybe with them off , so if I crank the engine by hand that will prime the engine with oil .

You’re good then, there’s really no need to prime it if you didn’t just have a fresh rebuild imo..
It’s just as if you parked for the winter and you’re starting it for the first time in the spring.

 

[Ronbo73]

If you want to prime the engine to make sure oil has traveled through engine I would just pull the coil plug wire off the coil or distributor and turn it over with the key. Maybe 10 to 15 seconds, let it rest and do it again. That way you do not burn out the starter. That will prime your engine. You'll be there for a month with a ratchet. lol

 

[7DCUDA383A]

If you want to prime the engine to make sure oil has traveled through engine I would just pull the coil plug wire off the coil or distributor and turn it over with the key. Maybe 10 to 15 seconds, let it rest and do it again. That way you do not burn out the starter. That will prime your engine. You'll be there for a month with a ratchet. lol

Thanks dude

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I would rotate it over a few more times to be sure nothing got dropped into the intake / cylinder , if you fire it & something is in there you will have a big problem

 

[7DCUDA383A]

I would rotate it over a few more times to be sure nothing got dropped into the intake / cylinder , if you fire it & something is in there you will have a big problem

I have cranked it 5 or 6 times , not sure what it was but seems fine now , its up to the Mopar Gods now .

 

[Spyder]

Man, I'd be nervous if came to a full stop. Cameras that plug into your phone and can poke through a spark plug hole are like 12 bucks.

 

[7DCUDA383A]

Man, I'd be nervous if came to a full stop. Cameras that plug into your phone and can poke through a spark plug hole are like 12 bucks.

I didn't open up anything but the oil pan and replaced the pick up tube and pan then put new plugs in , I am kinda nervous but I'm not planning on opening the top .

 

[aussiemark]

If you removed the transmission there could be a bolt or tool accident left in the bell housing area that jammed against the torque converter then when you rotated it the other way it move out the way, crazier things have happened.

 

[Challenger RTA]

I would rotate it over a few more times to be sure nothing got dropped into the intake / cylinder ,

Man, I'd be nervous if came to a full stop. Cameras that plug into your phone and can poke through a spark plug hole are like 12 bucks.

jammed against the torque converter

A loose rocker arm might miss a line for a bit. I would check clearance and toque. Same for rods. Pull all the plugs and look. Flex plate bolt loose.

Better safe than sorry!

 

[7DCUDA383A]

A loose rocker arm might miss a line for a bit. I would check clearance and toque. Same for rods. Pull all the plugs and look. Flex plate bolt loose.

Better safe than sorry!

Im going to remove the valve covers tomorrow and see if I can detect anything , I have never done this so just checking for anything broken or wiggling , any lube or anything to use since it has not been started for 4 months .

 

[Challenger RTA]

Im going to remove the valve covers tomorrow and see if I can detect anything , I have never done this so just checking for anything broken or wiggling , any lube or anything to use since it has not been started for 4 months .

When you open it up you can see if it's to dry. You can put a little oil on rockers if you think you need to. Probably not. I fired mine up from sitting over winter. I would say if it sat for years or new I would prime it.

 

[pschlosser]

While you can manually prime the engine using the correct shaft on the distributor drive, if the engine has not been freshly rebuilt, I would simply do this:

temporarily disconnect the coil wire going to the distributor. Now you can crank the engine without it starting. get in and crank the engine for 20-30 seconds until you see the oil light go off (or movement in oil pressure gauge). this tells you the engine oiling passages are now fully primed. plug the coil wire back in, and start her up.