gearbox removal, advice please

[lwt]

I am taking the T5 gearbox out of my 450 so as to replace the clutch, but the gear lever linkage is a problem. The blind unbolting from underneath method looks fiddly to say the least (4 bolts on the bracket, the really hidden one on the slider and presumably the one through the top of the original gear lever). The bible suggests that you can 'remove the transmission tunnel from inside the car' but having removed the centre console I don't see any join line in the fibreglass. I had always assumed that the tunnel was part of the body shell? Can anyone shed more light on this please? Is it really possible to remove the tunnel or should I just man-up and unbolt it blind from underneath?

Back to the garage for a couple more hours,

Ian.

[AV8]

It's a while since I did it, but if I recall when you remove the centre console you pull the carpet back a bit there is a "patch" of fibreglass held on by self tappers that you can remove. It is also glued so is difficult to remove.

[BoostedChim]

I've just done mine but I didn't take a photo of that. Once you got both parts of the centre console off you're looking for a fibreglass cover that surrounds the handbrake and gear lever. Find and remove the 8 screws I think and you'll need to cut the silicone with a knife to release it. Once that's off you only need to undo the bolt to the gearbox selector you can then pull the linkage out off the slider. You need to split the box from the bell housing so you can get a better look at the sliders rose joint once the box is out.

[lwt]

Thanks, good info, I will pull back more of the carpet to get at the panel. Propshafts is off now so I can see much better and I may even be able to reach the bolt into the original gear lever, which is nice. I intend to remove the box first and then the bell housing.

Ian.

[philburch]

You should end up with a hole like this when you get the second cover of makes every thing much easier

[lwt]

Yep, got it once I peeled back the carpet and scraped some foam off. Just the 10 screws on mine. That looks MUCH easier than working from underneath. Thanks for the help everyone!

Ian.