The dust shield behind the flywheel has a removable flap that's about the size of a pear. It could be missing. It's very common if the clutch has been changed.

Once you are off of the dowels you should be able to start rotating the trans.

Give me a call or send me a text. I don't have anywhere to be until 4.

Thanks
Sal
4234211496

OK, I found the dust shield in question . . . it would have nice if I would have figured out what it was and how it was held on before it got a 90 degree bend in it, but no damage a big hammer can't fix.  I had to buy a second cherry picker and had one under the front of the car holding the engine and the second one under the side of the car with one of the outriggers off the ground (that makes for a really unstable cherry picker by the way) and a small floor jack under the transmission, but I finally got it unjammed, raised it back up into place and took it out correctly.  It wasn't that bad with the dust shield gone and the help of the extra cherry picker.  The hardest part was trying to operate a floor jack under the car and a cherry picker beside  the car while I was standing in front of the car.  It would have helped if was double jointed in my right shoulder and elbow.  I may be now.  But, victory is mine!  With the last few rays of sunshine, I drug the transmission from under the car an made a photo of it.  Looking back at the photo, it may have been after the last few rays of sunshine . . . either way, it's out.

Now . . . I've got to start re-assembling Jetta #2.  Wooo Hooo!!!   

Oh that's what you were trying to get? I have one sitting next to your 2.8 in my driveway!

I'd like the meet the German engineer who designed the flywheel/clutch/pressure plate set-up in this thing.  I'd give him a swift kick in the seat of his pants.  Why keep it simple when you can flip it around backwards and make it work.  Engineering for the sake of engineering.  After I finally located the correct socket to remove it, I found out the old clutch disc was almost to the rivets.  So instead of making progress today while Jesse was here to work on it, I got to order a clutch "kit" and wait . . .

Oh well, I didn't really want to work on it today anyway.