September 4, 2008 – Back at it
Finally got back out and removed some more parts. The previous two weekends were spent on vacation and sick. I wanted to finish getting the exhaust disassembled so I worked on the driver’s side more. I removed the steering shaft for better access to the manifold bolts. It was easiest to rotate the steering wheel until the bolts are easy to reach. Once the top and bottom bolts are out, pull up on the bottom connection until it comes off the steering gear. Once it is out, the top one pulls off pretty easy.
From there I decided to remove the y-pipe first since it bolts to the manifold. I thought it would be easiest to work those bolts free while it was still connected to the engine. One bolt of the three on each side sheared off, and one on the driver’s side rounded. They are 15 mm, so I used a 11/16 in socket that I hammered on the rounded bolt. Once all the bolts were free, I removed the brace and rubber mount from the back of the transmission and the whole, heavy thing came down. It’s heavier than it looks.
The cut on my hand from the radiator is almost healed.