Posted by chris case on Sunday, April 17, 2005 at 12:12PM :
In Reply to: Re: hand crank starts posted by Aussie Mark on Sunday, April 17, 2005 at 6:35AM :
I've only hand cranked 6v battery systems, 230 cu/in, 7:1 compression.Here's how:
A) With winch, you'll have to unwind enough cable to allow crank insertion:
1) be sure truck is in neutral
2)For cold engine- pump throttle 2 times to prime engine, set choke and idle speed.
3)with key OFF, crank it 2+ turns, ending with crank at 7:00 and against a compression.(this is the "contact" of hand pulling a prop on an airplane, something still done today)
4)now turn on key ("switch on" in airplane lingo)
5)with thumb flat along side of hand,NOT HOOKED OVER CRANK, pull firmly upward ONLY ONE STROKE! DO NOT TRY TO WIND IT, JUST GIVE ONE UPWARD STROKE. Like kick starting a motorcycle. If it don't go on first stroke, reposition crank to 7:00 (turn off key to crank it around if neccessary, sometimes it will engage in sweet spot and another stroke will do it).
Practise on a warmed up engine first. The point of the hand crank is to have a back up system in case of problems out in the field, though I have used it for 2 weeks at a time between battery charges, when I was too broke to buy a regulator or a charger of my own. Another part of the back up system was the fuel pump with the priming lever, so you could pump fuel into the carb without having to crank the engine 'til you died just to get fuel up.
The down side of hand cranking, besides the effort, is the possible damage if things don't work right: broken thumb if it kick back and you wrapped your thumb around handle; broken arm if it kicks back hard enough to yank the crank our of your grip and continues around another stroke; or damage to radiator 'tunnel' if coordination is off and you yank as crank gets loose from the 'spigot' in the crankshaft.
Have fun, participating in an activity unique to POWER WAGONS !
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