Gearbox progress

Another day and another step forward. Got the broken gearbox out of the car today. Referred to the workshop manual frequently and working carefully and methodically I quickly got to a point where the manual was of no use whatsoever.

Eventually with the judicious application of a few expletives and a little bit of brute force I managed to free the gearbox from its entanglement. In the end I used a block and tackle tied to the towbar and to the back of the gearbox to winch the gearbox backwards far enough so it was free from the engine, at which point I knocked the jack out from under it and let the whole lot crash down onto the wooden planks I had put there for that purpose.

Job done without damage to self or car. Satisfied and feeling I earned my peanuts this evening. Tomorrow comes the altogether much more difficult task of putting the reconditioned gearbox in. Alignment is somewhat more critical and a softer more deliberate approach is called for. Not sure yet how I'm going to lift 80 kg of gearbox into exactly the right place and then slide the whole lot forward into the engine but somehow I will do it.

While I was under the car and had access to the clutch I checked that and, thankfully, that looks to be in excellent condition.

At least that year studying automotive engineering at the ATS in Apeldoorn wasn't entirely wasted (grateful thanks to parents).