How to Use Hand Cranks

The “obsolete” hand crank (or “starting handle”) is still a valuable tool for turning an engine over slowly to adjust valves, point gaps, and even to start the engine when all else fails. While hand cranking an engine is not difficult, it is often frustrating and can be dangerous if the following procedures are not followed:

1)   Ensure that the dogs on the front of the crankshaft are positioned so that the had crank is near the 6 or 7 o’clock position against the beginning of the engine’s compression (you can easily feel this);
2)   Handbrake on, gearbox in neutral;
3)   Insert and locate crank nose in the crankshaft dogs;
4)   Ignition on;
5)   With the handle at 6 – 7 o’clock position (against engine compression), grasp handle with thumb on same side of handle as your hand ( i.e., do not wrap thumb around handle);
6)   Pull upward sharply. Do not try to push and pull the crank through a full circle.
7)   It is often advantageous to retard the distributor timing prior to hand cranking an engine. (This is easily done on most vacuum advance Lucas distributors by means of the adjusting screw on the vacuum advance unit – note the original setting to return to after the engine is started.) Retarding the timing offers two advantages:

1)   The engine will start much easier;
2)   The possibility of backfire and resultant “kick-back” of the hand crank is minimized.

It is this “kick-back” which results in what previous generations called the “Ford fracture.” otherwise known as a broken wrist. A sure way to break your wrist is to have the engine backfire (actually start running backwards by firing before top dead center) while you are pushing the hand crank down through the “wrong” part of its circle, contrary to instructions and common sense.