Hello folks,
I've been working on dropping the gearbox on my Panda (see title), and it's been going as well as can be hoped. I've hit a snag though, and I'm not sure how to proceed. I've looked at the eLearn for the 4x4 and the standard instructions for the operation, and I'm having trouble interpreting my setup with those instructions. Attached is a picture of (what I believe is) the engine/manual gearbox mounting, but the eLearn manual's diagram (also attached) is different. Can anyone confirm whether or not I'm on the right path here? The part in my car doesn't really seem removable after having removed 5 bolts.
Any help would be appreciated
I went out this morning and made some more pictures from a different angle.
Again, I'm not necessarily 100% sure that the part I'm referring to is the mounting bracket, but I can't think of what else it would be, it sits just around the oil pan and flywheel, bolting to the gearbox housing. All in all, I removed five bolts, four to the engine and one attaching the bracket to the gearbox. Still not budging though (I'll try again later).
The bracket above is under the sump. It supports the bottom of the gearbox bell housing. The gearbox top is supported against the engine block. It has a small bolt in front of the large (long) stud. That small bolt also holds the starter motor. It's very easy to miss and will break something expensive if you try to lever the gearbox off with that bolt attached.
The gearbox main mounting bracket is under the battery box. The bolts are accessed from under the wheel arch.
I was working alone so used a ratchet strap and jack to lower the gearbox. Put the strap around gearbox up against the bell housing. Slacken the jack and strap alternately to lower the box. The strap needs a 3x2 timber between scuttle and bonnet slam panel. Screw a suitable batten to the scuttle end to spread the load into the rain gutter.
The strap also makes aligning the box very easy. It takes the weight so you can rotate and angle the gearbox to get it into place.
Don't forget to disconnect the gear shift cables (C clips hold them to a hefty bracket) and the slave cylinder.
While you have the 'box off the car - change input oil seal and shifter oil seal.
