How Do You Turn Engine Over By Hand

hewittd · Post by **hewittd** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:22 am

I recently bought a 79 rabbit and was curious how to go about turning the engine over by hand.

-Dylan

82vdub · Post by **82vdub** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 10:56 am

Welcome to the forum. To turn the engine by hand, you place a socket on a ratchet and put that on the bolt on the crankshaft. It's either a 17mm or 19mm socket that's needed. You need to turn the wrench in the direction of normal engine rotation, or else you run the rise of loosening the bolt, which, according to the Bentley manual, should be replaced if it's removed.

dieselsnowmobile · Post by **dieselsnowmobile** » Wed Aug 05, 2009 5:44 pm

If the car is still half way together and on the ground, putting the car in 5th gear and pushing it forward is what I do.

vanbcguy · Post by **vanbcguy** » Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:35 am

Or you can just jack up one wheel and turn that (passenger side)... I put Jezzie in 5th because it's the most mechanical advantage for cranking over the motor...

Originally got the idea from Vince Waldon's site, tried it and never looked back.