Manually turning the crank shaft
 

Hi my name is Shelly I have a 2001 Ford F150 5.4 L V8 4x4 the engine is presently being removed from the truck to sell and they want to turn the crankshaft they said it's frozen up and I know that it's not what exactly do you have to do to turn the crankshaft must the spark plugs be pulled . The truck was running 10 months ago with no engine problems has never ran hot always had oil and when it was parked due to transmission problems it was running fine can it just freeze up from sitting for less than 10 months?

You shouldn't have to pull the plugs but it makes it a lot easier.

Yes they said they tried to turn it from the front but said that it wouldn't move my question is could it be froze up from just sitting 10 months or is there something else they're not doing right. The motor was fine when it was parked it was the tranny that had the problem

Thank you GLC for your help I appreciate it

It does sound questionable that the engine would lock up from sitting for a few months unless they was a coolant leak into the cylinders or something similar.

If the serpentine belt is still on, and ONE pulley is frozen from sitting (ie, tensioner/idler pulley, or alternator, you will NOT hand-crank engine. Remove belt, and try again.
+1 on removing spark plugs--you won't be fighting cylinder compression when trying to rotate. If engine has been removed from the truck already, you may have to pull the plugs, as the engine-mounts and transmission won't be holding the engine back when you try to turn.