so ive taken a day off work today so i can get the gearbox removed.
8am i made a start. first thing i noticed was the bucket that contained 5-6litres of dirty gb oil last night was now empty. so im guessing the bucket must have had a small split in it! my dad really isnt going to be impressed if/when he finds out!
first job was to remove the gear stick surround and gaiters.
decided to remove the surround because ive never had it off before and thought it might give me a bit more light underneath.
removed the exhaust down pipe next.
this is an example of why i dont trust garages to do any work on my truck. over £500 for a stainless exhaust system and theyve used the old flange and bodged a load of silicon around it where it mounts to the turbo!
im yet to find anywhere i trust to do work on my truck as i always seem to get f*****D over!
next i unbolted the rear prop.
followed by the clutch slave cylinder and starter motor.
removed all the bell housing bolts.
2 vacuum hoses to disconnect.
removed the 4 bolts that go through the cross member into the gb mounts.
jacked the gb up slightly to take the weight off the cross member.
and unbolted the cross member.
pulled the rubber boot up on the gear stick.
and removed the stick.
unbolted the front prop.
found a ratchet strap.
and used it to hold the gb up while i repositioned the jack and board it was sitting on.
jack in position.
while pushing the trolley jack towards the back of the truck with my knee, i was able to use my hands to push the bell housing from the engine.
once it was clear of the clutch and fly wheel i lowered it down.
eased it off the jack.
and dragged it out.
set it up on some crates.
re-fitted the gear stick and used some duck tape to make sure it was water tight. the rubber gaiter doesnt look to great and im wondering if this might have been where the muddy water got in the box.
taped any other bits i didnt want getting wet off.
used some engine de-greaser and a scrubbing brush and pressure washer to get the box as clean as possible.
sat it on an angle and drained the last trace of oil out.
so that was the box out!
2 hours and 45mins, getting soaking wet and covered in mud and oil, lying on my back in the snow and rain, on my own! really wasnt much fun, but at least its out.
im hoping it will go back in without any problems.
rear recovery point.
when i got ridiculously stuck at buildwas and was recovered using 2 12,000lb winches and snatch blocks, the standard toyota recovery point never showed any signs of damage, unlike the rear cross member that ended up being shaped like a banana!
viewtopic.php?f=38&t=11533&hilit=buildwas
new one bolted on.
started measuring up for the bearings for the drawer system next.
im away on a camping and laning trip next weekend so i really want the drawers finished for the trip.
ODBII version next 
Well, for a couple of years at-least, children eh
