i have the engine out of the car and am taking it completely apart. i have nearly everythingg but i can't seem to get the bell housing off. i have removed all the bolts so that the housing is actually free from the block. it is loose enough to rotate freely in either direction. i just can't seem to pull it off though... the haynes manual calls for using an 8 mm bolt and a screw driver to pry out a shaft. i have put a 8 mm bolt in the assigned hole, but nothing is moving there. i believe that this shaft thing is what is holding the housing on still. any sugestions as to how to remove the thing?

 

You have to remove the clutch fork. That's the shaft the fork pivots on that you're trying to get out with the 8mm bolt.

 

That's one way of doing it. There is also a 6mm bolt that locks the shaft from rotating, you have to remove that too. I found that the only way to get mine out was with a long drift, some penetrating oil (applied sparingly), and some patience. You have to tap it out from the opposite side of where the Haynes manual says to put the bolt to remove the shaft. HTH

Dave

 

Yes this pin can be very hard to get out. When doing Jon's clutch we used a lot of WD-40 and pryed a lot.

 

ok, i'm trying to remove the housing again, i have sprayed it down with some penetrating oil. just to understand better what i am doing, i have a few questions. the 8 mm bolt i have is threaded into the shaft. then essentially i use the bolt to pull out the shaft? there is a groove for a screw driver located on the shaft, but i can't really do much with that. my idea is to thread the bolt in, and knock it out with a hammer ( eassentially hitting the bolt out), and of course there will be an open end wrench on the bolt so that i'm not just knocking the bolt around. if this sounds wrong or a better idea is out there please let me know... thanks!

have a while i guess before i actually try this again, my new rims and tires for the GTI just came in=)

 

Yep Kevin, you are using the bolt to pull it out.

I clamped some vice grips to it and hit the vise grips close to the bolt with a hammer. It took a while, and was a pain, but I was also under the car!

 

cha ching! with some help from my dad we were able to pop that sucker out of there. i was expecting a piece about a half an inch long, but it must be closer to 5 inches. thanks for your help guys! engine disasembly is just about complete