Kracker Jack's RIGHT about recoring the tranny from the inside if yer pullin' the cap, structurally AND cosmetically...before you pull it, walk around on the foredeck ahead of the windshield to see if any soft spots up there...if so, that fix is much easier w/cap off and flipped over...

I posted some pics on a thread I started "Here she is" that has a couple of pictures pulling the cap off. Give you an idea of what you will see if you decide to go that route.