Sean's Garage: Transaxle Removal

So at first glance it doesn't look like there would be too much to removing a VW transaxle. That's sort of true. But like everything else looks can be deceiving. I wanted to disconnect the rear swing arms from the spring plates. Three bolts should be easy right? But to disconnect the swing arms, the parking brake cable must be removed. Which means the drum must come off. But the drum is held on by one large 36mm nut tightened to about 200ft-lbs (very, very tight). Unfortunately i didn't get pictures of the action on this but i'll describe it. I bolted a 5' long piece of angle to the drum and added a 3' cheater bar to my breaker bar. Then i stood on the end of this until the nut loosened up (after it soaked in WD40 for two days). Nothing broke (surprisingly), i got the nut off, and i didn't hurt myself so i'd consider it a success. Then i pulled the axles off the spring plates and removed the 4 bolts that attach the transaxle to the chassis. I disconnected brake lines, clutch cable, and shifter linkage. After that, it was free. Now i just need to get it out of my garage. This will be replaced with a bus (type 2) transaxle with independent rear suspension rather than the swing arm. This will be a stronger transaxle for more power and the IRS will allow the lowered stance without wheel misalignment. Anyway, here are the pics.