1.6HDi Mk3 Gearbox Removal

[kingy1912]

nHi there folks, 

im looking for some help on removing the gearbox of my berlingo to replace the clutch. my mechanic says he has never encountered a gearbox as hard to come out before. he has all the stuff stripped from the box and all the fixing bolts removed but cannot get enough clearance to pull the box free. he is now telling me he believes that the engine needs to be removed to separate the box from the engine. is this the way in, which the box needs removed or is there something he is missing?

any help wod be appreciated as im a taxi and i need to try and get back on the road before new years day.

many thanks

[Lighty]

They are not that difficult, if you lower the engine & box at one end, it will come out. There is a plastic support bracket for the hoses that fits over a gearbox stud at the top, this is very awkward . The two studs in the box, we remove both these , they have a small external torch head on them to aid removal. Once these are out, the box will not have to part from the engine quite so far before it will drop away from the engine.
There is one bolt at the front of the engine & box that is really difficult to remove, and has to be undone with an open ended spanner, 1/4 of a turn at a time as the box is gradually moved away.
1st few of these we did, we struggled a lot, we can now remove one in about 45 mins