I read dmorrison contribution describing change of oil pan gasket and turbo drain seals. It sounded doable. However, I m stymied at the point of separating the two parts of the return line.

Before that, getting the bolts that hold the upper part of return tube was a true challenge. Can't reach them from underneath and can't see them from above. Did finally get them out but it was quite tough.

Now, I just can't separate the two parts of the return tube. There's not enough room to pull the upper part off while the lower is still in place, and the lower cannot be pushed up high enough to come out of the oil pan. I have rotated the upper part every which way and can get it to where I can feel the o rings on the lower tube, but there's about 1/16" less room than I need to get them apart. That is there's still a bit of the lower tube still in the upper tube, and they just won't quite separate. In the back of my mind also is wht it's going to take to get them reassembled since assembly is usually harder than disassembly.

I would hate to take the turbo off to finish the job. Is there another way?