yes sump gets in way but i did mine recently and wot i did was undo rear driver side engine mount then put solid piece of wood on trolley jack thenlift sump and engine out ov way, just have to do it slowly and carefully, works a treat.
Right ,on top ov gearbox where linkage is there is a wierd shape black L shaped piece ov cast or some sort ov metal anyways its held on by 1 bolt 13mm i think if this bolt overtightened or replaced with wrong bolt causes this problem undo bolt and put a washer or 2 in then try gears again this worked for me as teh bolt scratches on top ov box and causes probs with rev 1st n 2nd
Got mine on 30mm drop with 17s does still look a tad high but i darent lower it any more as the drive is superb now .Oh i got koni top adjustables and eibach springs.
could be mate i had similar problem recently though and found it was just dust shield a little close give it a little push and its been fine since .dust shield behind disc that is.
when the little twats try to do that to me i like to see how long i can keep em there alongside i:e speed up when they do then brake when they do really trashes em when something coming in the other direction he he he
you might find its the bearings in ya top mounts or they could be just settling in still i fitted the same shocks with the eibach springs last week left em as they come out the box n ride is so sweet now.
Olly thermostat goes in water system just above gearbox under coilpack or distributor ,and controls the temperature ov the water running round your engine.
lol i only got k/n filter at mo reckon i might need a bit more modding first just fitted koni top adjusters and pair ov wishbones pair new mintex discs oh and 3 yes all bloody 3 engine mounts aswell .car was a bit abused before i got it .Oh well such is life gotta find some decent wheels next.
im at norton at mo but should be moving soon but wont be going very far just down the road oh and just in case you are not familiar with norton its 2 mins from smallthorne.sure you know where it is though. lol.
soz timing chain tensioner that is .i done a clutch on me old 1 only to find i had to strip it all back down to replace tensioner ,i was gutted but suppose you have to make these errors to learn lol.
would definitely check tensioner and replace clutch is gonna be a defo if you got oil coming out from that area as u only need a drip of oil to get on clutch and it is knackered.
lol going slow is very boring .sounds like pretty terminal gearbox prob mate reckon u lookin at new box.I hate it when stuff like that happens ,means i gotta get dirty again.