As promised, some comments from me after following this method. Chronicled in my thread here. Took me the entire August bank holiday weekend including Monday (perhaps spent too much time drinking tea).
At the end of it all, the elements I was able to replicate worked for me. Lack of lifting gear and a blanked IRD rear pinion meant I did a few things differently. However, I've had some bad knocking and creaking from my O/S strut after the argy-bargy required to refit the IRD. I will encourage others following this guide to loosen the strut top mounts to allow lots of room for movement without stressing the bearing and damper assy. Alibro does mention this may be a good idea in the OP. You'll have to remove the fuse box to get to the nuts on the N/S and the coolant expansion bottle on the O/S. Better still, if time/tools allow, loosen the strut tops and pull the drive shafts entirely to prevent any damage.
The support/mounting brackets for my IRD are different. Mine comes in two pieces instead of the one piece photo'd in the OP (photos below). The trailing/stabiliser mount is integrated into the lower bracket rather than a seperate overlay piece. Not sure if this makes refitting any easier, just worth noting the differences.
I'll emphasise tying up the drive shafts securely to avoid over-articulating the CV at the hub end (photo below).
I also had to jack up the hub assembly to aid refitting the wishbone's rear mount. It was very useful to leave reference marks around these mounts before dismantling. Got a bit carried away with the rust paint and almost covered them over before I realised I'd done it for a reason
There is definitely no reason to unbolt the exhaust from the manifold as stated on the RAVE.
Locktite on the pressure plate bolts might be a good idea. I didn't and have been a bit paranoid that the stated 25Nm isn't tight enough. No dramas as yet, though.
Clutch bled out very well (the Borg & Beck slaves are already primed). Went through nearly a litre of fluid to purge the manky old stuff. Bite was almost immediate on the pedal at first but it has since settled in nicely. No problems since.
Alibro's IRD brackets:
My IRD brackets (two on the right):
Secure the driveshafts:
As an aside, you'll get the best possible access to the turbo during this job. I had fitted a new one shortly before tackling the clutch without removing the IRD and it was very awkward. Just look at the room with the IRD off...
Many thanks Alibro. Your attention to detail was invaluable
Ok - will go for it. Have not been doing this stuff since my teens. Very inspiering write-up!
