I need to replace the clutch - slipping badly now. Can I change it by just droping the gearbox or does the whole engine need to come out?

You can do it by angling the engine down, but it's marginal sometimes - the crank pulley is the limiting factor (it hits the chassis rail), and I've generally found it easier to take the mounting bolt out and support the engine on a crane and just drop it down an inch or two - puts much less strain on that mounting. Having said that I've also done it the lazy way!

there's plenty of space to get the gearbox out, dont forget to drain the oil out the gearbox before you pull the driveshafts out

OK, thanks TT.

Quick question: To get to the clutch do I need to remove gearbox at bolts A or nuts B per attached pic?

Can anyone give me a "step-by-step guide" for this job?

DONT remove the bolts marked A, the gearbox will fall apart if you do that.

the red arrowed bolt in this pic is the leftmost one you have marked B on your pic (remember the gearbox is facing the other way in this pic) you can see the positions of the other 2 bolts here too. also you can see at the bottom there are 2 threaded holes, these will have bolts in too and they need to be removed

i notice in your pic there is a spring missing which tensions the clutch release lever

ignore the arrow in this pic, the spring goes bewteen the top of the clutch lever and the little L bracket bolted to the gearbox

also, you need to disconnect the battery negative lead, and remove the starter motor before you can seperate the gearbox form the engine

dont forget to unplug the reverse light switch from the front bottom of the gearbox too

Don't forget you'll also have to remove the gear lever (well, you don't have to, but it makes it easier)

Angling the engine down depends on the bottom pulley and also the engine mounting positions - there is plenty of scope in the top (water pump) mounting to be nearer to the offside inner wing, and that allied to having a 6-rib bottom pulley will mean it can be very tight with the gearbox mounting getting past the chassis rail - on mine (which has a 60-2 wheel attached, about 3mm thick), it's not possible to get the gearbox out without dropping the engine down, but on an old standard one (with 4-rib bottom pulley) there was plenty of room - a little makes a lot of difference.

As for a step-by-step guide, I hear Haynes do one!

As for a step-by-step guide, I hear Haynes do one!

not everything iin the haynes is entirely accurate, you dont need to split the track rod ends like it tells you in there.

True, but if you need to be told....

how do you manage to get the driveshafts out? i have tryed to remove them before but they never seen to want to budge...

You need to put some tension on them (usually with a lever, but be careful where you do this, it's easy to damage either the metal seal guard on the shaft or the seal housing on the box), and then tap them (sideways) with a hammer. If it doesn't work after a few, rotate the shaft 1/6 of a turn and try again, sometimes the circlip will drop to the right position and it'll pop out. They need a fair bit of tension with a lever, but not a crazy amount. Once you've got the knack, they're no problem, unless the circlip is too open, then they can need a right hoofing.

Thanks to all for the help here - awesome!

Having said that I've also done it the lazy way!

I did it the lazy way

Mine is the

standard one (with 4-rib bottom pulley)

and there was

plenty of space to get the gearbox out

not everything iin the haynes is entirely accurate

- is that not the point of these forums? - thankfully to get the tips and tricks, that you don't find in "Haynes", from you experienced guys

One last question guys: How do I get oil back into the gearbox? :confused:

if you unscrew the knurled part the speedo cable at the gearbox end ... using a 9mm spanner undo the retaining plate that holds the speedo drive gear in and pull it out (sometimes you need to wiggle them a bit) then you fill up through the speedo gear hole, it's quite tricky to do but you can get away with using those 500ml bottles of gear oil with the extending spout. i always keep one and decant some oil into the 500ml bottle from a larger bottle i have and fill it 500ml at a time, you need approx 2.5 litres and the speedo drivegear also acts as a level dipstick

edit: you can see the drivegear retaining plate in the pic of the gearbox above, it's just above and to the left of the driveshaft hole