Droping the tranny........2 quick "experience" que

[New92]

Any advice is very much appreciated.

-Can you, in fact, drop the tranny yourself? Ive got everything removed, the engine slightly pushed up under the oil pan and an 2ton jack under the transmission. It would seem, from other posts ive searched, that this is doable but no one has come right out and said that they did it on the ground by themselves with a normal 2t jack. Im impatient to get to the clutch but wont have an extra set of hands for a couple of days. If it is feasible what should I be mindful of as I pull it off the spline? I would hate to find out I missed something after Im laying on the ground with a awkward piece of machinery teetering over my precious noggin.

-I have a leaking drive shaft seal and its replacement is waiting to go in. Can this be pulled like a normal front drive axle seal by using a seal puller? I ask only because I do not want to damage the stub the axle slides onto.

And for those of you who may be about to ask.....I have done extensive searches all over this board and a few others (non leagacy related) and you all have already helped me out incredibly. For that I am very grateful. However on these two particular points I am having a little trouble getting thorough info on.
Thanks for the help,
Ben

[legacy92ej22t]

I dropped mine by myself. It was a heavy bitch but yes, it can be done. I couldn't get it back in by myself though.

[206er]

I needed help to drop my 4eat but did my 5mt in by myself in 20* and 30mph winds outside. build a cradle out of wood that you can attach to the jack and having it sit really level, pretty much a poor mans trans jack. it definitely took some doing. or buy the one at harbor freight then sell it for $20 less when your done.
my cradle was basically a 2' long piece of 2x10 with pieces that I coped to fit the trans case really tightly. then bolted that contraption to the jack in more or less the balance point of the trans, there was enough play to where i could get it into the engine studs. I think I would do it that way again but Im the type to spend too much time making something to save a few bucks. but it was very easy to make, had the scraps in the back yard.

[HellBinder]

easy squeezy, pulled the AT out, put in the 5mt, pulled the 5mt put it back in and pulled another 5mt in a junkyard all by myself.

I do it by pulling all the bell bolts, speedo cable, (m/c or cable) linkage and that other pigtail for the trans sensor. Then move to the back and pull off the rear tranny x-member, this will give you access to the shifter linkage alot easier, pull that apart and then two of the bolts on the front transxmem leaving two holding it from falling.
For the suspension, pull the tires off and pop out the tie rod off the spindle on both sides. you should be able to turn the assembly extreme enought to get the axle out of the trans(after you punch the pins out) and tie them up with wire out of the way.
Lay under the trany and craddle it with you legs and one free arm, while you undo the last two bolts.
Now it should be free. actually physically pulling it out like this is completley upto your manual dexterity, physical size, observation and patience. Your biggest problem will be fighting the wieght of the engine trying to lean forward while you pull it back and off the studs.

What helps is tieing a rope around the crank shaft pulley and putting upwards tension on it and tieing it to the core support. if you dont, once the trans clears the lower studs the engine will fall forward and crunch your fans.

[BAC5.2]

You get the hang of it after a while. I needed help my first time, but after that it was pie.

[New92]

Hey thanks guys. I ended up waiting on my "extra set of arms" just to be safe. We got it out no problem.

[Woody9101]

Lay under the trany and craddle it with you legs and one free arm, while you undo the last two bolts.
Now it should be free.

Wow, now that something I never heard of anyone doing! kudos to you

[New92]

Got the extra set of arms and all went as planned. Thanks everyone for sharing your experience and advice

Getting it back in was a bit of a pain, angle is everything.

I dont get how anyone could do it themselves, that would have beat my butt.

New clutch is awsome! Put in an MY02 wrx flywheel and pressure plate along with a stage1 clutch disk. This thing grabs so hard! Hydrolic clutches are new to me to begin with so there is a bit of a learning curve but I guess Ill manage somehow! LOL.