Vorsicht

I say do it. Dropping the engine is a rite of passage. For a first timer I suggest you drop the entire thing. You will have so much more space to examine things and even to photo-document your engine. As others have said there is also a certain Zen to cleaning your engine. Plus you can replace various rubber and gasket items that after 18 years are sure to be on their last legs. Just to name a few - valve cover gaskets, chain housing gaskets and o-rings, pressure sending unit gasket, etc..

You can look up the phrase, "while you're in there" and get lots of suggestions.

Regarding the clutch job make sure you have the spline tool and the XZN sockets for the pressure plate bolts (I have the VIM 3/8" set which is good quality and inexpensive ( ) . Be sure to read the TSB on how to put the bolts back on. You don't need a book. Mike's site (www.pcarworkshop.com) has most of what you need. The TSB's are under the Documentation section (No. 48 under Mechanical TSB's for pressure plate).

Finally, when you do this there will be a few head scratching moments. Before proceeding just come on here and ask what to do.

Good Luck

pegdrag

Much of my youth was spent with "while you're in there".....

I, too, love this thread.