Turn camshaft by hand?

[Ruby Doom]

Should I be able to turn the camshaft by hand?

I have the head off the engine, and I have it up off the table so the valves can move, but I can't turn the sprocket by hand, I don't want to force it as I'd expect it should move freely, or does it need the oil pressure to be mobile?

[Pearl1990]

No, I don't think you should be able to unless you're going to force it. It takes a little bit to push the lifters down.

[burn_your_money]

You won't be able to turn it by hand. There should be enough residual oil in the head to not cause any damage.

[Ruby Doom]

So I can turn it without damage, but I won't be able to? Or do you mean I can turn it with a breaker bar without damage?

Really just trying to assess the condition of the head, I plan to get a new valve, and anything else that may need replaced, I was worried the fact I couldn't turn it meant the whole thing was shot. Just waiting for some other manuals to come in the library as I find the procedure in Bentley to be a bit over complicated and want a second opinion.

[Pearl1990]

So I can turn it without damage, but I won't be able to? Or do you mean I can turn it with a breaker bar without damage?

Really just trying to assess the condition of the head, I plan to get a new valve, and anything else that may need replaced, I was worried the fact I couldn't turn it meant the whole thing was shot. Just waiting for some other manuals to come in the library as I find the procedure in Bentley to be a bit over complicated and want a second opinion.

You won't be able to turn it by hand because of the amount of force thats required to turn it. And if you have the head positioned in a way where the valves can open without any obstruction, then it won't hurt it if you used a breaker bar to turn it over. I think what burn_your_money meant by the residual oil is that there's enough oil left in the head to lubricate everything if you do decide to turn it.

To see the condition of the valves and if you're burning oil through your head (bad stem seals and/or guides), look through the intake/exhaust openings if you have the manifolds off. You can see the valves through there too.

[Ruby Doom]

If you see my other post about my piston damage.

http://vwdiesel.net/forum/index.php/topic,37258.0.html

I have one valve that slammed into the piston, I'm assuming when the belt broke, but I only owned the car after that fact.

I'm trying to get it up and running, so I'm just trying to assess the damage. So far I'm thinking I need to replace that one valve.