1986 March 965cc Panda 4x4 gearbox et al

Hi,
Anyone changed the hardy spicer joint (adj to diff) on rear propshaft of 965cc 1986 Panda 4x4? - I am about to start the exercise armed with the Porters Manual. Just wondered if there are any snags? I have also located a s/h flywheel and intend to start dropping the gearbox over Christmas Hols. Got a new Valeo clutch kit at £57 UKP del to door. Any hints for dropping gearbox / aligning clutch? Porters imply drawing both hubs from driveshafts and pulling out gearbox complete with drive shafts - why can the driveshafts not be removed from the gearbox after drawing hubs off the splines - I seem to remember being able to remove drive shafts after I overhauled hub carriers a few years ago - any comments?

Tom

tjs

Removing the driveshafts helps you to handle the gearbox,which will be lighter;)!Of course on a 4x4 model you'll need to dismantle the transmission shaft to do the clutch!If you've got the manual read it,and possibly compare the different solutions from different books:p!

Best thing for aligning a new clutch is an old gearbox input shaft...

Regarding hubs and driveshafts, I did one inboard driveshaft boot by taking the hub off:
it was a real pain to split the bottom suspension joint, and the hub "staked" nut was beyond redemption and cost rather a lot to replace.

The other one was done with the hub left fastened to the driveshaft[:0] so the nut was undisturbed.
It was awkwark to refit - primarily due to the hub and some of the suspension weight being mauled about while getting the tripod joint back in. But I did it on my own.

BTW I took the suspension to bits (like this thread
http://www.fiatcentral.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5253)
rather than split that joint on the second side I did.