GM to customers: "Ummmm you might want to keep that SUV out of the garage..."

[eustacetilley]

Speedy wrote:
It would be very difficult, if not impossible, to crank it backwards with the keying on the crank slot. Might be doable if the hand crank was held tightly pushed into position while the engine started. You are more likely to find the two-stroke firing backwards while using the electric start for other reasons. I have managed to do that.

Those old Volvo engines have pretty heavy flywheels, and you have to really put your shoulder into it to get a few revolutions going before popping the Compression Release.
If the engine is already warm, and you decide to be Manly, or just plain Stupid, and decide not to use the Release, it is possible for the Diesel to combust before reaching TDC, and then it tries to run backwards, badly.
Here is a drawing of how the bits fit together:


Part 35 is the hand crank, and part 5 is the replaceable pin that the crank engages. I have a spare pin.

There's a good discussion here:
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/f54/...18968.html

Note that many people don't know how to properly start a Volvo Diesel even with the electric start; they talk about cranking for 30 seconds as if it was normal. It isn't.
1) Push throttle fully forward and set back to about 25%.
2) Pull out and push firmly back the Main Decompression Control. (This is what (normally) is used to stop the engine.)
These two actions set up the Starting linkages.

3) Tickle the Manual Fuel Pump lever for around ten seconds. This is absolutely critical, and very few people even know that it exists. This purges the Injection system of any gas bubbles that may have formed since the engine was last run.
4) Turn on the starting circuit, the oil pressure buzzer should be buzzing. Turn the Key to Start and keep it there until the engine catches, and the buzzer stops buzzing. If it doesn't catch in ten seconds, stop, turn everything off, make a cup of tea, and then work the problem. It will probably be bubbles in the injectors, and the fuel system will need a total purge with preferably fresh Diesel. This is very messy.

Eustace