The duck bill looking thing was the first to go. It will probably go back on eventually but I have a different center link to try and want to make sure it clears before I weld it on.
After that it's time to mark the cut line and drill holes for the plug welds.
This is the part where got nervous.
I was surprised how easy the front pushed apart. The transmission crossmember was out and the crossmember for the carrier bearing was half out also.
From there it was the somewhat tedious part of bending the backing plates. Both the backing and filler is 1/8 inch thick.
