Easiest Way To Set TDC

[burban89]

What is the easiest way to get to TDC by yourself?

Edit: New problem crankshaft bolt is stripped. Now what do I do?

 

[dyeager535]

Finger over #1 plug hole, breaker bar on the crank.

 

[BlazerBud]

OOh, OOh, OOh, I Know. I did this by myself without any help.

But my engine was out of the truck. First, if you have the timing mark on the front pulley, line that thing up with the marks by rotating the crank to about 0-4 degrees advance. You are now either damn close, or 360 degrees off. Oh, and I never rotate backwards, only in the direction of engine rotation. And I have to always look at the fan blade rotation to keep it straight in my head.
Then to see if you are dead on, look at the number one cylinder exhaust valve through the head, assuming your headers are off. It should be closed, other exhaust valves are in various states of open or closed.

My goal was to line it up for fitment of a new distributor after I lost track of where TDC was. Basically removed it incorrectly in the first place.

 

[BlazerBud]

Or where you asking about something in regards to girls or sex?

In Which case...................

 

[southernspeed]

What is the easiest way to get to TDC by yourself?

Edit: New problem crankshaft bolt is stripped. Now what do I do?

Now you've got problems! Did you get the bolt out? If the thread has gone on the bolt, which it should've done, you can run a tap down the crank thread, blow it out and hopefully be ok.
If the bolt is still in and just turning, try a large pair of vice grips on the head, as you turn the head, lever under the grip to try and get it moving outwards.
You'll be much better off taking the radiator etc out to give you good access.
Good luck dood.

 

[4X4HIGH]

I'm fairly sure he means the bolt head is rounded off. If this is the case then an air chisel is now your best friend. Get the chisel started on an edge and start chiseling it counter clockwise.

 

[ryoken]

 

[burban89]

Nope wish it was that easy. The treads are stripped off the bolt. I can get the bolt out and about the first 1/2 inch of the treads are gone. I can get in there to tell if the crank threads are still ok or not. The motor is still in the truck. All I was trying to do was reset the valve lash, because I was getting some clicking rockers.

 

[ryoken]

well, as long as the threads in the crank snout are ok, no big deal...

use some carb cleaner, air and an angled pick to get any metal out of the crank threads.. then run a threadchaser down em, backing it back out and blowing it out every couple turns.. do NOT use a tap, use a threadchaser... replace bolt...

 

[gone huntin]

You should be using this to turn your engine

 

[Cowboy_80]

Is the crankshaft itself stripped? If so, it's time for a helicoil. Easy enough to do, and the bolt doesn't see much stress. Just keeps the balancer in place. Still need to pull the radiator to get a drill in there though.