manually spinning engine

[FrankWest]

without a starting crank can an engine be gentily rotated by moving the fan belt??? Not started by just to see if the motor is not seized??

[V8COOPMAN]

Not necessarily ALWAYS. I have been able to "rotate" SOME engines by the belt, while others would not rotate so easily, depending on how "un-stuck" the particular engine is, and on how tightly the belt grips the crank pulley. DD

[Joe K]

A lot of this may depend on how worn your engine is.

New engines with new compression tend to be harder to turn and start with a crank.

Older engines - like the original engine to my truck, could be turned with a crank held in two curled fingers (no thumb!) and would certainly start - but had no particular power and one of those "extended" crankcase breather thingies - and an accessory trail of blue vapor.

Joe K

[Paul]

Pull the plugs and turn away.

[Fred K-OR]

Originally Posted by rustyrim

use a socket on the crankshaft. You can bend the fan.

A number of the vendors offer a wrench that is like a socket ,to be used for this purpose.

[Tom Wesenberg]

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I heated and bent my own special box wrench for the front crankshaft bolt. This is handy to get the bolt loose.

It really is a special bolt, so why is it called a nut?