I'm pulling the manual transmission out of an '89 Ford Aerostar. I've never done clutch/trany work before and I was wondering if a nice floor jack and a couple nylon straps will be secure enough to hold the transmission steady as it slides back and lowered. That's the method recommended by the (insert personal feelings here) haynes repair manual.

The transmission seems somewhat heavy and I was thinking of putting the jack's plate/pan slightly toward the half that connects to the motor (the bigger half; rear wheel drive) and cross the straps in an "X" fashion under the jack's plate/pan and roughly over the center on top of the transmission.

Any advice is appreciated, thanks, chris

Welcome to AF.

Transmissions are heavy (100-200+ lbs with converter), depending on the model.
Obviously they can injure you if they fall off a jack, so keep your limbs out from underneath it when you pull it loose.

Place a piece of wood ( I use an approx. 12x18" piece of plywood) on top of the jack to protect the pan, or else you may dent it.
The most important thing is to place the jack at the balance point of the transmission, usually on the pan, usually a quarter of the way back. Some trial and error and great care will help here.

I have never strapped a trans down to the jsck because if the jack is off-balance, the trans will fall over anyways, whether its attached to the jack or not.

BTW you do have a nice big, wide floor jack right? A tiny floor jack is not up to the job.

Thanks for the advice.

Yes I am using a nice size hydraulic, rolling, floor jack, with a plate about the size of a (large) palm of hand.

The transmission is a 5-speed manual, so it is smaller and lighter than most automatics (but still a little heavy). There doesn't seem to be a "pan" on the bottom side, I'm guessing that is usually on automatics. So I'm going to have to balance it on one of the small external ribs on the underside.

Thanks for the advice.

Yes I am using a nice size hydraulic, rolling, floor jack, with a plate about the size of a (large) palm of hand.

The transmission is a 5-speed manual, so it is smaller and lighter than most automatics (but still a little heavy). There doesn't seem to be a "pan" on the bottom side, I'm guessing that is usually on automatics. So I'm going to have to balance it on one of the small external ribs on the underside.
Okay, about 99% of Aerostars (it seems) came with the auto trans so I assumed that is what it was. Manuals are pretty rare.

The manual trans is easier to remove than the auto because you can leave the clutch and housing still attached to the engine. It is lighter and smaller than an auto, but as you say, there is no nice flat base for the jack to sit.

Place the jack underneath the trans, right at the middle. Jack it up just enough so that the weight will be on the jack when you pull it loose. It is much easier to have a friend with you. With one person on each side holding the trans, you can carefully unbolt the transmission and CAREFULLY move it back until the input shaft clears the clutch housing. The idea here is to avoid any of the trnasmissions weight being placed on the input shaft (and thus the clutch) as you roll it backwards, so do not lower the trans until the input shaft is clear.

Are you replacing the clutch too? If not, do not touch the clutch pedal until the trans goes back in, or else you will need a clutch aligning tool (or properly shaped broomstick) to align the clutch before the trans goes back in.

I've found its better to have somebody working the jack as it has to move back out of the engine then drop down. Two much chance of losing it by your self unless your experienced.