Patent ID: 6904886

Claim:
A method of positioning the crankshaft of an engine having a flywheel fitted to the engine crankshaft and having external teeth that are engaged by a driving cog of a starter motor, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of: providing a first hole in the flywheel, providing a second hole in a stationary part of the engine to line up accurately with the hole in the flywheel once during each crankshaft revolution, removing the starter motor, mounting on the engine using the same fixings as the starter motor a manual cranking device having a cog that meshes with the teeth on the flywheel and that is secured to a shaft rotatable by means of a cranking handle, rotating the flywheel by means of the cranking handle until the holes in the flywheel and the stationary part of the engine are aligned, and inserting a locking pin into the aligned holes to lock the crankshaft in a predetermined angular position wherein the hole in the engine that receives the locking pin is located in such a manner as to prevent replacement of the engine starter motor while the locking pin is in place in the aligned holes.