Shift Change Cover Oil Leak

[Hend238]

So it looks like I've got a decent oil leak coming from the shift change cover. I noticed a small weep from the gasket a few seasons ago and didn't worry too much about it because it was so minor. Today was the second ride of the season and there's quite a bit of oil coming from that area. Enough to drip on the garage floor. It's hard to tell if it's the gasket that has failed because oil is everywhere but based on my earlier observations I'm making an assumption. Has anyone pulled that cover off before form an 84 700S? The manual states the engine needs to be removed.

[mollusc]

Some say that you can lift the engine up in the frame if you support it well across the oil pan and remove the mounting bolts.  You should then be able to remove the shift cover.

[Hend238]

I'm heading back to work tomorrow so haven't taken a close look at what I'm dealing with but at first glance, I would tend to agree with you. I think what I better do before diving in is clean the entire area really well and do some leak checks to pinpoint where the leak is coming from without question.