I'm in them middle of a clutch replacement on my '03 A4 3.0 Quattro. Things were going fairly smoothly until it was time to remove the lower 3 engine to transmission bolts. The Bently manual says to jack the trans up a bit and take the bolts out - no further explanation - but I don't see how that's even possible. The trans/engine is jacked up as high as it'll go and I still don't have clearance to get in with a tool. The bolts are 8mm female allan head and I just can't get a socket or even an allan wrench in there without knocking the cross member. If they were regular hex head bolts I could get a wrench on maybe, but there's no room to go in from the front. Anyone deal with this before?

 

remove the rear subframe bolts and loosen the front subframe bolts, this should allow for you to remove them a bit easier. Having a good set of ball hex would really help out, but you will be able to get it out this way.

 

Thanks for the response. I finally gave up and removed the whole subframe. I just couldn't see any possible way around it. Allen wrenches didn't have the leverage or freedom of movement and there was no way I was getting a ratchet and hex socket in there. Much easier to finish the trans removal with the subframe out!