Did I just wreck my engine in the lamest way possible?

[Wolfys11]

Going backwards is a good practice but generally shouldnt cause any issues. Its just moreso some systems have a little slack in the timing chain, and when rotating the right way, the tension is setting everything to the correcr position, going backwards releases the tension (not talking about alot here, tensioners keep tension too) and in certain engines its possible to get enough slack for the cam/crank to get out of position with eachother. 99.9% of engines wont have interferance at such a small degree off position, once you turn it over the right way again it will go back to the original position and be fine

long story short, dont worry about it, shes fine

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[StreetSpirit]

The engine runs backwards when in reverse. No worries.




I’m kidding. But really, you should be fine.

 

[Oakley]

Hey all. I’m pretty deep into the Opg/Crank install on my 3rd gen and I was thinking it was going pretty smooth. If you guys are considering, just watch a few YouTube videos from speed addict 731, and the 2 install clips from truck and roll on his old mach 1. Those and the service manual should get you through it.

Anyways, I was thinking about it, and to remove the harmonic balancer bolt I put the car in 2nd, yanked up on the e brake, and got the bolt out with a breaker bar. Took a minute tops. The issue, thinking back on it I feel like the engine rotated counterclockwise a bit before ‘grabbing’. I’ve heard a lot of people say engines should never spin that way, but I wasn’t thinking about it in the moment. What should I look for before reassembling? Do you guys think I could’ve messed something up?

a rotating assembly should never RUN that way but spinning it backwards a little bit would never harm an engine that is fine to begin with. dudes in junkyards get seized engines to move smoothly with gasoline and going back and forth all the time.

 

[Niche5.0]

Update: Fired up, ran like a cammed 5 cylinder and stalled. Tried again. Same result. Died a little inside. Rechecked vacuum lines. Brake booster fitting popped off the intake. We good. Runs like new.

 

[Headless Horseman]

Update: Fired up, ran like a cammed 5 cylinder and stalled. Tried again. Same result. Died a little inside. Rechecked vacuum lines. Brake booster fitting popped off the intake. We good. Runs like new.

I died a little inside when I read that 1st sentence! I'm glad you got it worked out.

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