I thought the SAE was knowledgeable. Damn. The question wasn't really about the actual rotation of the 603 while running, that reference was just a what if example. The question stems from people saying to rotate the engine by hand clockwise only. The question was "clockwise from what view?" Since I first asked the question in another thread and got no response I decided to go with what I believed was standard. So much for that.

__________________
Brian
87 300Dturbo 180K #14 head still running R-12 SOLD 12/2017
02 F350 Powerstroke 180K
05 Chevy Express 1 ton w/Royal Utility box 120K
08 Infiniti FX-35 40K
15 Golf Sportwagen TDI 35K
10 Sprinter 3500 chassis with a Class A Winnebago on it. 56K

Great idea. Except for the fact that the camshaft is hidden from view on many engines. And the direction of distrubutor rotation is dependent on the design characteristics and has no theoretical relationship to chankshaft rotation direction whatsoever.

You just need to be able to separate those who are from those who think they are.

Ask a question on the internet and wrong answers will exceed correct answers more times than not.

Using the cam as a guide assumes that you know the difference between an intake and exhaust valve and the order of their opening, and it assumes that the valve cover is removed or the cam is otherwise visible.

Using the distributor rotor as a guide assumes that you know the firing order of the engine and can identify which wire goes to which cylinder. It is irrelevant which direction the rotor turns. When giving mechanical advice on an automotive forum or BBS, I assume a certain level of basic automotive knowledge. If the person does not have this basic level of knowledge, they should not be monkeying around under the hood. With all due respect and IMO, of course.

That is the SAE standard, not what automakers actually use. I have seen people have a hard time figuring out which way to turn a bolt on the other side of something (think brake caliper bolts), I can't imagine telling someone "well, it rotates counter clockwise looking from the opposite end" and have them be able to figure it out. Automakers just make it easy and say "clockwise".

Thanks for the replies which made it clear that the vast majority of mechanics view engine rotation from the front, which is what I was trying to find out.
treetrimmer, I have been monkeying around under the hoods of my own vehicles for 40 years, don't think I'll be stopping anytime soon, I enjoy it too much.

__________________
Brian
87 300Dturbo 180K #14 head still running R-12 SOLD 12/2017
02 F350 Powerstroke 180K
05 Chevy Express 1 ton w/Royal Utility box 120K
08 Infiniti FX-35 40K
15 Golf Sportwagen TDI 35K
10 Sprinter 3500 chassis with a Class A Winnebago on it. 56K

Show me in writing. Hearsay and rumor doesn't count.

Well then by all means continue! It's just that sometimes I see threads where someone is in over their head and others have the attitude that everyone should DIY everything, which I don't agree with.

So do the marks still line-up when you rotated it in the correct direction? (CW from front of car). I betting that they did. It's not a good idea to rotate an engine backwards but on most of them, nothing jumps a tooth when you do.

I didn't have the valve cover off.

__________________
Brian
87 300Dturbo 180K #14 head still running R-12 SOLD 12/2017
02 F350 Powerstroke 180K
05 Chevy Express 1 ton w/Royal Utility box 120K
08 Infiniti FX-35 40K
15 Golf Sportwagen TDI 35K
10 Sprinter 3500 chassis with a Class A Winnebago on it. 56K

Bear with me, I am in the middle of a move, so all I have for available resources are some Haynes manuals, section 3 in both:


Not the proof I know I have, but that's sitting in a storage unit 900miles away, and no matter how much I may want to provide proof of this, it's not worth $400 in fuel and days of my time. I can assure you, though, that anyone who has gone through Universal Technical Institute will know that engine rotation -in cars specifically- is the only thing not oriented as sitting in the driver's seat. Boats, trucks and heavy equipment are a different story.
It'll be next year before I can get the proper information, and by then this will likely have been long forgotten.

That pretty much settles it, then. If Haynes says that the Society of Automotive Engineers is wrong, that's good enough for me.

I agree that Haynes isn`t the best source for info. Did you read the rest he said?

quote
Bear with me, I am in the middle of a move, so all I have for available resources are some Haynes manuals, section 3 in both.

Not the proof I know I have, but that's sitting in a storage unit 900miles away, and no matter how much I may want to provide proof of this, it's not worth $400 in fuel and days of my time.

SOOO, he is in the middle of a move and doesn`t have all his FSM at his finger tips. give him some slack.

It says in the one sentenance in the manual

"when looking at the front of the engine, normal crankshaft rotation is clockwise".

what is wrong with that?

Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Except for the fact that the SAE classifies engine direction by the other end, nothing.

The primary question in this thread was about a convention, not about which way a particular component rotates when viewed from a particular perspective on a particular day. Per SAE convention, automotive engine rotation direction is defined by the flywheel end. No amount of additional discussion (or generation of smoke screens or red herrings) is going to change that.

Ok, what ever, you win.

Charlie

__________________
there were three HP ratings on the OM616...

1) Not much power
2) Even less power
3) Not nearly enough power!! 240D w/auto

Anyone that thinks a 240D is slow drives too fast.

80 240D Naturally Exasperated, 4-Spd 388k DD 150mph spedo 3:58 Diff

We are advised to NOT judge ALL Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics, but we are encouraged to judge ALL gun owners by the actions of a few lunatics. Funny how that works

Ah, NOW I remember why I left............

Just look at the fan blades to figure out which way the engine turns.

__________________