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Rope Trick?

vlvman

vlvman

New member
Joined
Mar 31, 2009
Location
Jefferson City, MO
Will the rope trick work on a white block or any other engine? I see no reason why it would not work but have not seen it used or recommended on any other engines.
 
I think it may be bad to turn a white block backwards as it may loose timing belt tension and jump time. If you were turning it forward and stopped near the bottom of the compression stroke you could feed rope into the cylinder and make it work. Then how would you get the rope out if you can't turn it backwards?
 
Never quite understood the reluctance to turn an engine a little counter clockwise. Perhaps wouldn't want to rotate it but enough to get the rope out couldn't hurt. After the rope was extracted another half turn by hand would put all the tension back in the right places.
 
I wouldn't do it on any motor with valves angled..like any 4v head.. And any head with little tiny baby valve stem diameters..they bend easily..

What is the difference between a rope pushin sideways on a head of the valve and a piston?

But what do I know?
 
^^ I agree. Definitely going to put quite a side load on those canted valves. Even if the risk was minute, I wouldn't chance it. The white blocks aren't a 4-6 hour job to R&R the head like a redblock is.
 
I did the rope trick a few times on a S40 with no problem.
How will it bend the valves if it 's on the power stroke?
Aren't the valves closed on the power stroke?

I would remove the spark plugs before turning the engine backwards.
 
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Um, lets think about this guys. If the valves are closed, how are you side loading the valves or risking bending them? They should be seated so you are only keeping them in their seats, so no side loading or bending forces are present. No, I won't put rope in there if the valves are open, that's just dumb. Rope won't do any more damage to closed valves than compressed air or compression when running.

Explanations otherwise?
 
Just to be clear, you use the rope trick if you want to work on, say, the valve springs or keepers, not to lock the motor in place. That would be stupid.

Also, one only uses the rope trick on crap cars that you wanna get running again, like american stuff with broken springs. For something worth caring about, do it right.
 
I would never use rope anyways. Perhaps a spark plug wire or something that's not going to leave little fragments in your cylinder. Don't they make a tool for white blocks too?

I would only use the rope trick on a junkyard motor or in desperate times.
 
gsellstr said:
Um, lets think about this guys. If the valves are closed, how are you side loading the valves or risking bending them? They should be seated so you are only keeping them in their seats, so no side loading or bending forces are present. No, I won't put rope in there if the valves are open, that's just dumb. Rope won't do any more damage to closed valves than compressed air or compression when running.

Explanations otherwise?
Click to expand...

Compressed air is not directional. IOW, you are going to have even pressure (normal to the surface) all over the valve and combustion chamber. Something like a rope stuck down the cylinder being forced up into the combustion chamber is directional. IOW, you have a concentrated force with a direction that will be pushing the valve in an upwards direction (parallel to the path of the piston, not parallel to the path the valves move in). Since they are canted, it is a bending force. I agree with the valve fully seated and the spring pressure holding it there, the chance of bending the valve is minute. However minute, I wouldn't chance it myself.
 
gsellstr said:
Um, lets think about this guys. If the valves are closed, how are you side loading the valves or risking bending them? They should be seated so you are only keeping them in their seats, so no side loading or bending forces are present. No, I won't put rope in there if the valves are open, that's just dumb. Rope won't do any more damage to closed valves than compressed air or compression when running.

Explanations otherwise?
Click to expand...
I've seen pieces of shop rag/paper towels bend valves and even bend a connecting rod.
Don't put **** down the spark plug hole! ;-)

To keep the valves up, use compressed air.
To keep the engine from rotating, use special tool #whateveryoucanstickthroughtheflywheel
 
It will work. I was a lot more comfortable shoving rope in the cylinder on my moped, but I've done it to my Volvo without problems as well.
 
I was pretty sure there would be lots of different ideas on this subject.

If the valve is canted there would be a lot of load on a small surface area of the valve face and seat.
 
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