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Can you start the engine on the front pulley


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Since automatics can not be started by pushing or towing them is there a way to crank it by turning the front pulley. I dont have AC so the pulley is not completely used. So it would be starting like a chainsaw for example by turning the crank axle.

Just out of curiousity since with the old lada (stop laughing :lol: ) you could start them by using your wheel nut wrench on the crank axle.

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Were were looking over my brother's 78? Land Cruser,hhebought last year and spent some bucks gettign fitted out-noticed the front grill foldeddown to reveal a hole in line with socket so engine could be cranked! of course now his super winchcovers that area...

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Its just that sometimes i am really in the middle of nowhere in north eastern europe. And an automatic not starting really ..... you know.

Have to find out which direction the crank turns, Clockwise or counterclockwise?? Cranking in opposite direction will not work by my guess.

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I dont have AC so the pulley is not completely used.

 

I believe this means he has the crank pulley with two belt slows but only one of them is being used. If you could wrap a rope or something around it and actually pull that hard.. it might work.. unless the engine is really really cold.. i couldn't even pull start an atv that was 10 degrees farenheit. Is this a problem a block heater (100 watt light bulb) might help having under your hood?

 

Edit: I think if you could get an impact gun on there ... well that may be kiind of dangerous.. besides that radiator and stuff is in the way. I'm *fairly* certain they crank the same way you TIGHTEN the crank pulley bolt. Could be wrong.

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Since automatics can not be started by pushing or towing them is there a way to crank it by turning the front pulley. I dont have AC so the pulley is not completely used. So it would be starting like a chainsaw for example by turning the crank axle.

Just out of curiousity since with the old lada (stop laughing :lol: ) you could start them by using your wheel nut wrench on the crank axle.

 

if it's fuel injected what good would it be to turn the crank at the pulley? I liked turning the key option-with the back up juice.

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My dad's landrover isn't to hard to crank start when it's cold... but crank starting it when hot is a royal pain -- something about the ring clearances or something? I've got a friend with a '25 dodge, and it's the same -- pretty easy when cold, but not when hot.

 

The problem with the subaru would be that you couldn't get a standard crank in there since the radiator is lower than on the old trucks and blocks access to the crankshaft. I guess you could do the wind a rope around the pulley trick, but I bet that would be a bear to get enough leverage. With the crank, you typically slowly turn the engine over till you feel a compression stroke, then give it a quick half turn -- so you aren't actually turning it that far like you'd probably be with a rope around the pulley.

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I started my '69 VW bug a few times with a wrench on the generator pulley--just a regular 3/8" ratchet with the right socket for the nut. Of course, that was only a 1500cc engine. A modern Subaru would be more difficult: more resistance, less wrench clearance, a bigger kick when the engine starts (injury potential), and one more thing: if there isn't enough power to the engine computer, there's no fuel and no spark. On that old bug, a quick half-turn of the generator would get enough power to the coil to make things go, and the carburetor and mechanical fuel pump presented no problems at all.

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In theroy it should work. in practice, it works in theroy. Here is the show stopper: the ignition and fuel metering are controled by the computer that also needs to be fed juice. Thus, you might get it started if you are just under the amount of juice neded to turn it over. Otherwise you would have to get the engine moving fast enough to let the alternator feed juice to the computer and injectors. A better solution would be a jumper pack and a remote starter switch. The switch circumvents any bad sensors in the tranny that may be preventng the starter from kicking in, and the jumper pack gives a boost to the battery in time of need. This type of kit would be much smaller than the kit you would need to start the car with mechanical force alone.

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You can attach an electric motor to the front of the engine and start the car that way. Oh yea, they have one of those on the back of the engine already.

 

 

Yes it can be done, the starter motor does it all the time. You just need enough levergae or a really long rope.

 

You also need some battery voltage to run the electronics.

 

nipper

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  • 2 months later...

i have done this i had an old datsun truck wit hteh crank on the front it was original. then i had a riding lawn mower with a broken recoil so i used a rope wraped around the top of the magnito and a stick on the end for a T handle and riped away. by the end of the summer i had a nice set of guns and a good amount of money from mowing all thos lawns. hmmm i wanna try it now lol ill see if i can do it and put upa video :)

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i was out boating one day and we found this guy in the middle of nowhere at a beach with a flat battery and he was stuffed. we asked him if we could help and he's like yes please:) so i took the engine cover off wraped the rope around the pully and told him to pull it. when the motor started he was so happy. i don't know what he was going to do if we didn't help him.

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