rsabeebe

it appears one of my recently installed front seals in leaking and I'm tearing into everything again to check the seals. i'm attempting to set TDC - this time with intake in place - and i simply can not get past one of the compression strokes. as i rotate, it's literally lifting/moving the car off the jack stands. should i not be able to rotate the engine under these circumstances? i always reference clarks-garage and there's nothing there about removing anything specific to set TDC. thanks.

Dougs951S

if the engine wont rotate, than its locked up. There is absolutely no reason it shouldnt rotate 360* if the timing is correct. For what its worth, I usually find TDC on #1 by sticking a long plastic rod down the spark plug hole.

snb13

Is it in gear?

rsabeebe

nope, not locked up. just had it running last week after a ton of repairs and it now appears that one of my front seals is leaking - oil dripping from the seam of the timing covers. i can rotate the crank, but the pressure of the stroke builds and i can't swing passed it. one issue is i haven't removed the oil cooler and electric fans yet - trying to save some time - but it's truly not limiting my arc of the breaker bar that much. i just can't seem to get passed this stroke - once i'm out of range, it just recoils back.

rsabeebe

i HATE when i get tired and stupid. this car is absolutely getting the better of me - at the moment. you were right - still had it in gear. my frustration is not helping me think through the process well right now. thanks VERY much for the response.
think i better step away for a bit and get back into it tomorrow night.

MAGK944

Loosen the plugs, it's a 5 minute job that will cure all your woes.

odonnell

I would drop the starter too, just to eliminate that as a possibility.

rsabeebe

the starter is already out, but thanks.

snb13

Just saw this. Glad you got it figured out. It sounded familiar, guess how I knew?