Gearbox is out - the clutch is the culprit!

Very exciting - we've wrestled the gearbox off!

It is absolutely covered in a thick, difficult to clean off greasy mud.

Degreaser barely touches it, so we've been cleaning it by alternating between prying it off with a screwdriver, spraying on degreaser, brushing with a toothbrush and wiping with rags.

Hauling it out from under the car was a great achievement.

Now to tackle the inoperable clutch...

Joel manages to unbolt each of the six bolts which hold the clutch pressure plate unit to the flywheel with a half inch ratchet. The advice is to loosen the bolts a bit at a time in order to not cause distortion on the plate.

The bolts are finally removed and.... out pops the clutch disc!
Looks like the pins holding one of the anti-chatter springs have given out and the spring has come off.

We are wondering whether this is what caused the clutch to not function.

Light rust marks on the smooth pressure plate surface seem to indicate that the clutch disc material was bonded to the pressure plate - possibly this is the explanation?

Any thoughts would be welcomed!

We are now deciding what to do next... Ordering parts from the UK is a big priority. There is also a debate going on between us as to whether or not we should open up the gearbox now that it has been removed from the car. Given that neither of us actually has much of a clue what we are doing, its all very exciting!