Tinker,
Thanks for the tips-yes, what a nightmare! I'm almost at the point where I may just go ahead and yank the entire engine and tranny out instead of attempting to perform the rest of this operation with the engine in the car. I just got back from the dealer today and picked up my rear sportline springs and shocks as I am also in the process of eliminating the self-leveling rear suspension. While there, I bought a tube of the MB sealant for the chain cover. I don't want to do this again because of some oil leak. Any tips on how to remove the 27mm crankshaft bolt? BTW that was some AC/PS bracket wasn't it-speaking of over engineered.
Thanks
Steif1