Believe it or not, that is not rust you are seeing. It is just a lot of built up crap.

I will see if I can get something with more leverage and try that. On a side note, I was talking to a mechanic today and he seemed to think there could be a bracket under the lower mani that is still connected. I couldn't really tell since it is so well hidden.

I told him about another member's suggestion of turning the engine over a few cranks to use the compression to "pop" the seal. He said that should work too. Any thoughts on that?