I've looked around and cannot find the answer, how do you do this?

The engine is out and on a stand, has the glow plugs out, but the main crankshaft pulley just has a round hole, nothing to put a wrench or anything on.

This is probably a simple question...so simple that I cannot find where anyone else has asked it online...

I've tried turning the bolts on the main crankshaft pulley, but they just loosen or tighten, they don't spin the engine.

The engine is a V belt one from a 1992 suburban I think.

I need to hand crank this engine a lot because the guy I got it from accidentally let it get rained on. Water leaked down through the intake manifold and filled the cylinders. I got most of the water out, but now I put pb blaster in the glow plug holes and I need to spin the heck out of that engine.

 

With the flexplate or flywheel on, you could buy a flywheel turning tool for around 10 bucks, but if its frozen it might not work.

 

Will that work while it's on an engine stand?

 

Put the harmonic balancer on get a chain or strap wrench turn it counter clock wise using the HB use some tranny fluid in the GP holes before doing so a big enough pipe wrench will work also

 

K so I removed the Outer pulley, I assume it was a dampner or something. Now I can fit a 15/16 socket on there and can move the engine. Only problem is I don't know which way to turn it?

 

Counter clockwise

 

Whoops! My little brother, a apprentice mechanic, told me clockwise.

So I cranked it clockwise for about ten minutes, Think I harmed the engine?

 

Probally not

 

Good times!

 

the oil pump drive rod has a hexagon shape where it connects to the engine rpm speed sensor (if its an automatic. either way, there is something in the back of the block, in the valley between the heads in the same location as where a gas distributor would be.) remove that thing and you will see the oil pump drive rod. find the right size socket with about 6-9" of extensions, and connect that to a drill. have an assistant run the drill while you turn the engine over by hand. this should help free it up, along with Mayhem's suggestion

while doing so, make sure you turn it over counter clockwise

your little brother may be right, depending on which way you are looking at the engine. Generally one would look at the flywheel from the rear of the engine to determine rotation, and that would be counter-clockwise. But since you are looking at the front, it would be clockwise