Finally I decided I'd better change the clutch, I'd had doubts about it's strength a few months after buying the vehicle and as it's a fairly high miler it was inevitable that a change would come at some point. A few weeks of on/off slipping and odd behaviour made me decide it was time to change before it let me down when towing the caravan or similar.

The descriptions in the Haynes manual or LR Rave CD are reasonable for this job, but observations I would make having done it on a 98 diesel model are -

• Things vary on different vehicles, one article said the IRD can stay in place - both I read said remove the exhaust. I left the exhaust and had to move the IRD.
• The coolant and fuel rails get in the way at the top of the gearbox. They can be raised out of the way using a length of wood and a ratchet strap to jack them up slightly.
• The battery tray does not have to be removed
• The drive-shafts do not have to be removed, in fact only the upper suspension pin has to be removed there is then plenty of room when the hub is levered outwards (see pic) to release the driveshaft from the gearbox or IRD.
• There is a bolt from the engine spacer plate that goes into the gearbox backwards, no manual/description I saw mentions this bolt. Fortunately I'd removed a number of this type of gearbox in the past and was on the lookout for it !

Step 1 : Jack it up. I find getting the rear up on ramps give a lot more access underneath for this sort of job as it doesn't slope down towards the centre of the car.

Remove the airbox

And the battery plus rest of the intake to the turbo, not forgetting to disconnect the MAF sensor from the pipe

Then get the front end right up as high as you can. Take the N/S wheel off too.

Free the flexible brake pipe from the hub, and the ABS sensor wire so the hub can be moved without straining them. Remove the top suspension arm retaining pin at the hub and loosen slightly the lower one. Stick a tyre lever down the gap as below and lean on it to get enough room to pull the driveshaft from the gearbox.

Support the gearbox on a jack and remove all of the retaining bolts, including the 4 through the IRD and withdraw that slightly and the one backwards one which is just above and towards the engine from the IRD.

The yellow ratchet strap is around some wood between the engine cover and the battery tray edge, and it's lifting the cooler and fuel rails up enough to get at the upper gearbox bolts.

The old clutch as it came out, you can see it's very nearly through on the flywheel side ..

.. and the clutch cover side is on the rivets and showing nasty hot-spot damage on the cover. Fortunately the new kit includes a complete cover.

The new clutch is refitted as per instructions, tightened to the correct torque and everything greased with special grease that needs greasing. Re-assembly is for once actually the reverse of removal !