Yeah, I had to bring the car down around noon as I had to leave and close the garage. So, basically I'm dealing with a long job as the pressure plate is not accessible from the bellhousing and I don't really have that many tools to assist me.
Yeah unfortunately that sounds about right. Probably not a huge issue causing your problem, but the fix is going to mean dropping the transmission even if it's an "easy" fix like a throwout bearing adjustment or a bolt that worked loose.