I pulled the motor because I have an M41 with the overdrive unit in there and getting a regular M40 in and out is almost impossible by yourself. I did not want to try and bench-press an unweildy gearbox and overdrive in that narrow space. The firewall shape makes it doubly difficult to get the bellhousing in place. Plus by pulling it entirely, I did nto have to worry about crushing something important between the firewall and head, or putting a fan blade through my precious radiator.

Also, I would have had to pull the motor if my engine had been seriously dmaged as I feared. And... it's good practice for when I diassemble the car for engine compartment welding and paint job.

--
1967 P220 (My every-other-daily driver...), 1971 P1800 (The Parts Car), 1972 145S (1993-1997), 1977 245 DL (1993-1999), 1983 245 (1998-2001), 1986 745 GLE (1997-2005), 1990 745 GL (2003-4), 1995 945 (2005-Present)....