Flippin' Flywheel

I went to pull the 300GD flywheel today.  It was a complete assembly with the clutch & pressure plate, but as luck would have it the rear main seal of the engine had leaked oil all over the place.  The clutch lining seems to be fine, but everything is coated with a heavy layer of oil/grease/dirt.  I hope a long soak in some solvent will take care of it, but I know Guido in Germany has new parts for lots of $$.

The flywheel is held on by 12 bolts, each with 12-point 12mm heads.  I thought I'd need some sort of special socket for them, but a standard 12mm 12-point socket will work fine.  I also had to jam a screwdriver in the fan belt to keep the engine from turning while I broke the bolts loose - they're really on there.  I must say, that is one massive flywheel.  It seems absurdly large and deeply dished, but I guess that should help low-end starting.

The other news of the day is my silicone air supply ducts arrived!  Here's a shot of the reducing elbow test-fit onto the turbo.  SiliconeIntakes.com does a nice job, and everything is off the shelf.  Two elbows, a coupler, and four hose clamps for about $45 delivered.  Not bad, and a nice clean finished look.

Next I plan to mount the flywheel, join the engine & transmission while they're out, and finally clean up the engine bay.  I should have the engine mount arms this week and hope to pop it all in quickly.