Crank?
Mike, welcome to the forum.
Let me see if I got this straight. Your trying to remove your engine and you can't get it out because of the crankshaft. Hmmmmmm, I'm going to assume you mean the shaft that connects your jet pump, since the crank wouldn't have any affect on removing the engine.
To seperate the engine fromt he shaft, you can do this two different ways. I think the manual calls for you to remove the engine supports, suspend the engine an inch or so, then push the engine forward a couple inches to seperate the shaft from the pto flywheel. You can also remove your jet pump and pull the shaft a couple inches to the rear. I recommend just hanging the engine an inch or so, then sliding it forward.
Let me know how it goes!