PTO removal help

[rcamacho]

Removing an M37 PTO from the transmission but running into clearance issues with the frame and sheet metal to get if off the mounting studs. Suggestions on how to do this without pulling the whole engine/transmission assembly?

[just me]

Use a hot wrench to force your will on some cheap wrenches into a usable shape.

[Cal_Gary]

It might not be the wrench but the studs.
Your studs could be sticking out too far-if you can, get some thinner nuts, jam a pair together on the stud then turn the stud in further (or remove it altogether if it is one that will come all the way out;
If that's not it, assuming you can get a wrench on each nut, you could pull the floor pan, one end of the clutch rod, the 4 tranny mount bolts, then turn the whole unit counter-clockwise just enough to slide off the PTO. The weight and offset of the PTO will turn itself that way. That method is a bit more work but still much easier than dropping the tranny all the way out. Also, I pulled the back cover off my PTO to get at that 1 o'clock nut that is so difficult to reach.
Gary

[just me]

I did mine in place with a few bent wrenches and a crows foot. Getting it out was easy compared to putting it back in and setting the backlash. I can drop the trans easier than doing that again. If I had to remove the PTO in the future, I'd pull it, put a plate on the side of the trans and wait till I had time to pull the box before reinstalling.