The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Buying a '58 235 truck motor - How to manually turn over?

Hey guys,

So, I just found a 1958 235 truck motor. I'm going to be putting it in my '50 Panel. Motor is pretty much complete. Of course, "seller says it came out of a running car".

Question:
How can I manually crank the engine over to see if it spins (not seized)??? On the front of the crank shaft, I don't see a nut like a v8 would have that you could just crank the motor with a socket/breaker bar...

Also, any advantages of a truck 235 vs. passenger car 235?

Thanks!

First remove spark plugs and squirt a bit of oil in each cyl. If it's free, will turn easily by pulling on the fan belt or if flywheel is in place you can try to move that, prying with a screwdriver against the bell housing. 235s won't have a bolt in the balancer like a V8 unless someone has drilled crank. No problem using a truck motor for you, front mount can be used if it looks just like your old motor. Good luck

You want to really check this engine out good before you purchase. I would say about half of the heads I have purchased (with whole engines) are cracked and unusable. There is the chance of a cracked block too of course. Not a bad idea to go through the whole thing if its in unknown condition. Less than 100 dollars for an engine in unknown condition is reasonable. These engines are awesome if they are in good condition. Nothing else like them really.

I use a 3/4" socket extension in the balancer. Makes it easy to set the initial timing as well. Good Luck.

Sweet! Thanks for the info, guys! I'm planning on a full rebuild anyways, so I just want to make sure it spins. Thanks!

I'll obviously check for cracks when it's all apart.

If the flywheel is still on it, use a big screwdriver and turn it over with the ring gear teeth. Those old engines pretty much turn over by hand, anyway.

Sweet. Will do. Yep, the whole bell housing is still on.

Ok, Here's a tool I made for this purpose that I use a lot. You will need at least a 4" Makita Grinder with thin cutoff discs, MIG Welder or something to weld with, a belt sander or bench grinder, PATIENCE! The parts you need is.. go to your local welding shop and get yourself an 8 inch piece of solid 1" round stock.

The Harmonic Balancer hole is about 15/16's so on one end, Sand off a little at a time rotating the part evenly around the sander until it fits in the HB hole smoothly. Make it so its sanded far enough into the stock to bottom out (about 1 inch).

Set your welder really hot so the weld is really good, weld a bead about 1-1/2 inch long in a thin strip.. this is to make the key for that pesky keyway that's on the HB. Weld it high and a little wide so you can grind it down to size.

On the OTHER end of your piece, various things you can do, but I measured, measured again, and so on, and ground a 1-1/2" deep hexagon pattern onto that end to accept a 7/8" long impact socket. This is hard to get right so go slow. Especially with a Makita grinder!

Mine came out nice and I use it but CAUTION! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!! DANGER!! Don't EVER forget to remove it before starting your engine!!

I made it the length I did so it would go into the hole and since the hole is below the radiator I don't have any obstruction.

here's how I do it. Remove flywheel cover. grab flywheel and turn. You get the most leverage to spin it that way.

Oh, coffeeman and 51ashton, those techniques sound too simple. But, of course, they work.

I have a harbor freight flywheel turning tool . It did cost me about $3.00, and Harbor Freight does not seem to list it anymore. It is marginally easier to use than a big screwdriver.

It would also be worth a try at tightening the fan belt and trying to rotate the fan belt (and engine) by hand (from above)?

Cool. Good info! Thank you guys. Can't wait to bring the motor back home next weekend!

It's worth the few hours it took to make that tool. No more crawling under the truck with a screwdriver to turn a few teeth at a time. Did that for years, but there IS a better way. Since it uses a 7/8 long impact socket, I can use a breakover OR the air impact wrench. I am always looking for better ideas.

The thing that's lost in this conversation is, you simply CANT turn the engine with the fan belt when the engine is new. Its way too tight and its very hard to turn it at all. Even removing the plugs. Most of the work I do is with new rebuilds so its nice to have a way to do it. I still think it would have been nice for the HB to have been bolted in so we had something to grab on to.

Good to know once it's rebuilt. Thanks

A much simpler engine turning aid can be made by welding a big nut to a piece of 2" steel flat stock and drilling a couple of holes at the same spacing as the puller holes in the harmonic balancer. Bolt it on, and use a socket and a breaker bar, or a long-handled ratchet like the Snap-On 1/2" drive 14" long one I've been using for years.
Jerry

How bout just using a cheap strap wrench around the damper. It is less than $30, no fabrication needed, no need to dissassemble the engine or crawl under a truck to spin the engine.

Of course you could just look for a gmc 270 or 302 that has the 15/16 harmonic ballancer keeper bolt and use the socket to spin the engine.