I'm relatively new to these things, and I found it pretty easy to remove the fan and shroud on my 240D and then rotate the engine from above using the crank. Just don't forget to put one of the fan's bolts back in once the fan is off so that the holes stay aligned during the cranking. I didn't and then had to loosen the alternator belt in order to get the holes aligned again and the fan back on. Still, I'd say it added less than 10% time/effort to my very first valve adjustment job and felt worth it to do the job "right."