Hi, I have a mk1 escort with a type 9 gearbox in it. I have a leak from the speedo seal. Is it at all possible to replace the seal without COMPLETELY removing the box from the car???? Im so close to MOTing the car and I really dont wanna take it all back out to fix it. This gearbox is only staying in the car temporarily whilst I save for a tran-x straight cut jobbie. I have a standard tunnel and I cant seperate the engine/gearbox without dropping the whole lot out of the bottom of the engine bay (my floor is freshly painted and I dont want to scratch anything). Iv tried bodging the leak with sealer which worked for a while but now its leaking again.

I know I can probably get the speedo drive out with the box still in the car but the problem is going to be tapping the retaing cap back in afterwards. Does anyone have a suggested method of doing it without removing the box????? Im actully considering drilling a small hole in the gearbox tunnel from inside the car to enable me to tap the cap back in that way, then I could just put a grommet in the hole (wont be seen anyway).

Im thinking that if I just removed the propshaft and the exhaust I could maybe drop the rear end of the gearbox down and do the job that way???

Has anyone successfully replaced the speedo drive seal on a type 9 WITHOUT completely removing the gearbox from the car?????
Any help really appreciated. Thanx! Justin