It would be a little extra work but jacking the front up and removing the aluminum "engine to bell housing brace" exposes the teeth of the flywheel where a tool can be jammed in to positively hold the crankshaft from rotating. - Dave

As far as loosening goes, there’s always the “ breaker bar resting on top of the LH frame rail and clicking the starter” method. Sounds crude but I’ve done it on both RWD and FWD cars with no ugly repercussions. I’m starting to accept it as an almost-OK method. It’s sure a quick method.
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Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)

From the FAQs:

Method 4: Jamming the Ring Gear. [Not Recommended and NOT for LH2.4 cars, Rex/Regina cars, or any car with a crankshaft sensor] Some have suggested jamming the ring gear with a screwdriver or tire iron. DON'T DO THIS: several anecdotes of ruined torque converters, ring gears, and ring teeth have been reported. Any damage to the crank position sensor ring will cause your engine to misfire or stop. Repair is difficult.

I'll stick to the "Rope Method".
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Post Back. That's whats makes this forum work.

"It would be a little extra work but jacking the front up and removing the aluminum "engine to bell housing brace" exposes the teeth of the flywheel where a tool can be jammed in to positively hold the crankshaft from rotating."

Put the car in hi gear and set the parking brake. :)
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Art Benstein near Baltimore

Ever stop to think and forget to start again?