Finding TDC #1 in a different way. take out all but #1 plug

[wayne petty]

i was spinning a motor on a stand today..  moving the spark plug around to feel the compression on the different cylinders.. i only had one spark plug..

when i went around the holes a second time. when i got to the #1 cylinder and had the spark plug in it..

i was looking at the damper timing marks as i spun the engine with a breaker bar and socket on the crank snout bolt.  then i realized that when i was coming up on #1.. that i could always tell when it was coming up..

i must have spun that motor 20 more times.. yep..

other people probably knew this.. i cannot imagine that i am the first to discover this trick. .

only issue is taking out all the spark plugs.. but on installs.. the spark plugs are already out. .

[kb426]

Wayne, if we count all the duh moments in life, we won't get much done. Those moments of clarity when you realize you should have come up with that shortcut long ago are common if you do enough. Almost everything we do repetitively causes the search for a better way to occur. Have a good weekend, my friend.

[chimp koose]

well I for one learned something today! Thanks Wayne.

[jaybee]

Great idea...never stop looking for the easy way.

[junkyardjeff]

Never thought of doing it that way but when I usually am trying to find tdc on 1 I usually have all the rest of the plugs in and its not during a tune up.