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just as a thought.......
please, how many bolts around the whole of the gearbox hold it onto the engine?

i've loosened (not majorly undone or removed) 4 so far, starting from fairly high up near the back of the engine, anticlockwise (looking into bay from the left/passenger side) round to right down at the front

(reversing lights, shafts, speedo and clutch cables off too ... think the starter's going to be a pain, and freeing it from the coolant bracket / engine mounts... just got to jerry rig an engine chock and some way of getting the box sideways and down safely after that)

PS about how far - in cm or inches - will the box have to go to the left to complete the crucial stage of clearing the shaft from the clutch plate?

theres five big bolts and three bolts for the starter motor. the one you havent found yet is probably the one thats at the back of the engine underneath the starter motor. the bolt goes though a bracket which is used to support the cat.

Youll need to remove both gearbox mounts to drop the box out. Theres loads of room when changing a 4-speed box so you shouldnt need to worry too much about clearance. its about 2 inches.

cheers geeza ... i'm guessing its more like about a quarter inch clearance for the 5 speed? how far out does it have to be moved to clear the clutch, anyway? and could the (presumably lighter) 4 speed be manhandled or is it still a jack job?

other Qs...
i dont seem to have the coolant support bracket thing it bangs on about - how likely is this to be true?

will there be any other bolts holding the starter in place eg to the engine? or just to the box?

Don't forget the small cover plate at the bottom held in with an 11mm hex bolt, easily done

oh yeah, i got that one - cant forget it after the hell it gave me doing the engine!

just wondering if theres any others up top like

OK, flummoxed now. Still haven't found the fifth bolt. Got ONE of the starter bolts off. Can't see any others.

Does seem to be at least one hole without a bolt in, though, when i root around with my fingers. Perhaps when i had the clutch done they lost a bolt?!?!

In any case - airbox is off, throttle body is off, STILL can't see how to get the $&%*!!! starter motor off and time is getting uber tight. Seems that i might have to remove the inlet manifold - if it comes to that, then the deal is off because it was enough of a pain in the arse when the head was off the block, let alone trying it attached to the rest of the engine.
Clues, muchahos?

On this subject, haynes is once again about as useful as a standard guage box of mad chocolate frog-fish teapots.