I'm pulling the engine and leaving the transmission in place. When I pulled the bell housing cover, I found plenty of nuts around what looked like a flywheel with a ring gear. I was removing all these nuts and got to the last 2 when the leaking started. I reinstalled most of the nuts, but left maybe 6 off which might be connected to a flex plate? I now know I'm working with a 2 piece torque converter and it is an air cooled transmission. What's not making sense to me is that the flywheel is normally bolted to the crankshaft. Yet this ring gear is free moving with those 6 bolts not installed. The Mercury manual I have doesn't provide enough detail. It says remove the splash shield and remove the bolts securing converter to flex plate. OK, What is the flex plate?

Can someone enlighten me on what bolts I need to remove? Thanks.

Also, is there a way to search the forum?