Bell Housing Partial Removal W/Fork Installed?
 

Engine is still out of the car, and I forgot to reset the speed sensor prior to reinstalling the bell housing. I know I can do this after the fact, but I'd rather use a feeler gage between the sensor and the toothed ring, rather than do the procedure which involves gluing a .8mm washer onto the bottom of the sensor.

Thing is, it was a PITA to hammer out the clutch fork shaft, and I'd rather not do this again anytime soon.

So my question is: can I remove the bell housing bolts and back the housing off enough to get a feeler gage under the sensor...while the clutch fork and its shaft are still installed? I know I could just go ahead and try this, but I don't want to damage anything in the process. Thanks!

Negative
 

No, IIRC, you need to take the bell housing off which entails removing the fork and pulling the pivot shaft. As it hasn't had years and thousands of miles to rust and settle in, it may not be all that hard to remove. (lets hope)

Alternatively.....and what I would do if I were you...Take some card or plastic stock and glue it to the end of the sensor. I use a matchbook or thick business card. Once you install the sensor, the plastic or cardboard disintegrates when the engine runs leaving you with a perfectly gapped sensor. Viola'!

on my old 89NA, I folded tape to the required .80mm, adjusted the sensor and left the tape in there. It worked perfectly. Now on the turbo, I would never even consider doing it this way...just the thought of any foreign object in there makes me shiver. Now I have an old sensor that I cut the wire off of, glued a washer on that, and have a permanent tool for adjusting sensors

fyi
 

Oh yea, and IF you removethe BH, notch the bell housing if it hasn't been notched already in order to use the feeler gage method.