The MGF Register Forums

How are the inner drive shaft joints held in?

It's like a spring clip, take it your having problems separating it fm the gearbox?

Not yet, I was wondering how easily they came out if one lifts the engine and box out of the sub frame.

As Banana said, it's a circlip toward the end of the inner splined section in the differential. The special tool, 18G 1761, is basically just a wedge to prise it out

Do I need to roll the boot off?

Nope, the driveshafts literally just 'pull' out of the gearbox.

See my thread on gearbox removal- I have done just what you describe - pulled the engine out of the sub frame.

https://www.mgfregister.org/forum/viewt ... ox#p152140

When you remove the gearbox by pulling away from the engine, the driver's side shaft comes away from the gearbox.
The 'trick' is to create enough movement to remove the passenger side shaft from the gearbox. I also removed the nut
off the ball joint on the other side the 2nd time I did it to just remove the gearbox.

This is achieved by removing the connection to the anti-roll bar and the upper ball joint nut and loosening the other suspension bolts.
Then there is enough movement to pull the driveshaft away.

This thread has precise details of getting that drive shaft out of the way.

I found the best tool to use ( without the Rover tool ) was the 'hub cap' remover that came with my 4 wheel drive. It's basically a big wide lever.
A wrecker bar or similar will do the job. They feel tight, but they come away with just the right amount of force.

I found once the sub-frame assembly was out of the car that I had to remove the gearbox first. I'm sure the factory probably put the engine and gearbox together first, then dropped it into the sub frame, but for a DIY like me it became too heavy to swing into place.

Thanks for the info Robbo.

I have a three and a half tonne forklift with squeezie forks to lift the engine out of the subframe, the engine is scrap but the gearbox isn't.

Hmmmm. That was my situation exactly.

Enjoy the process. I found it was actually quite straightforward once I had removed the silencer assembly
and mastered Rubik's buttress and the dreaded captive air box.

Feel free to PM me if you get into strife.