Gearbox Removal - 99 Tdi

[Yeti]

Currently removing a gearbox from my mate's 1999 Alhambra TDi.

 

I agreed to fix it, as it seemed to be a broken gearchange cable - but no, it's a broken selector shaft instead.

 

Was supposed to do it as a homer at work, and it's still stuck on the ramp there.

 

My problem is that the nearside mount (gearbox mount) appears to be impossible to remove. There's 4 torx bolts into the gearbox casing that you can't possible get at, there's two large ones on the front (one is very difficult to get at) and there's two normal bolts at the top, which go through an alloy peice that appears to slide inside the other part, and there's not enough space to slide it out even if I remove the bolts.

 

So, am I missing something? Because at the moment, I'm looking at cutting part of the subframe or chassis off to get this out (Ford genius design, the bottom engine/gearbox mount sticks out and doesn't unbolt, and the battery/gearbox mount on the chassi leg likewise).

[Yeti]

Hey! It worked!

 

As soon as you announce to someone that something can't be done, you figure it out!

 

The two 13mm bolts that I thought only held a bracket for an intercooler pipe, actually hold the bottom of the mounting rubber.

 

So, I was missing something!