removing front wheel transmission

Whats the trick to removing a transmission of a front wheel drive manuel car while leaving the engine inside? I know people do it but I never watched how this is done.

Depending on the car, it most likely requires a complete disassembly of the front suspension and dropping the entire subframe.

Go to Harbor Freight and get one of these:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/photos/96500-96599/96524.gif

It fits across the hood opening and lets you support the engine while you take the tranny out from the bottom.

Its on my ricer 91 corolla which many thought looked funny but who cares. With the engine change nearly done on my sentra(with snow its been hit and miss chances) I'm looking to get a 6 speed transmission since the 5 speed I have now with 208000+ miles lacks 3rd gear anymore cause it does nothing but grinds. Many have said a used or remanufacured transmission is better than fixing the old one cost wise. Is one of those in your picture easier to use than an engine hoist for holding the engine? I mean, I imagine among items there would be the two cross bars underneath and the transmission and front and rear engine mounts. I assume the passenger side mount would be left so that the engine would swivel. I assume you would then unbolt the transmission and angle it downwards so that the transmission side of the engine is pointing at about a 4 or 5 o clock position if 12 o clock was at the sky and 6 at the ground. How do you get it to the ground without it crashing to the ground? And even more, how do you get the new one up to it? I recall the trouble of trying to get my sentra's transmission(5 speed) up to the engine. Required some pounding if I recall.

And what is the name of that item in the picture? I can't look it up without knowing what its called.

And what is the name of that item in the picture? I can't look it up without knowing what its called.

It's called an engine support.

http://search.harborfreight.com/cpisearch/web/search.do?keyword=engine+support&Submit=Go

Is an engine hoist not just as easy?

Is an engine hoist not just as easy?

You could also use an engine hoist to hold up the motor/trans.
However, the legs of the hoist could get in your way if you have to work under the car.
The engine support keeps the underside clear for working.

Plus, there are some vehicles where going up and down with the vehicle is a necessity to reach things on top and bottom.

Trust me... $60 for an engine bar/support will be money well spent. I've done it several times with a chain and a 4x4, but I didn't feel too safe laying on my back under a 500 lb chunk of iron supported by pine. :O

Depends on the car if you need to remove the sub frame and how bad it is. My 89 oldsmobile, it was pretty difficult getting the sub frame out to get the trans out. On my 96 saab, it was cake, and pretty easy. My 02 Jetta hasn't been too bad either.

If you use a hoist to hold your engine in place, you may need to get it all done in one day, I know I wouldn't trust a hydraulic jack/hoist to hold my engine in place for a long period of time.

I have one of those support bars, they work great. Right now it is holding my engine up in my jetta while i'm waiting on another part to arrive to finish my clutch job.

http://photos.imageevent.com/orange57/clutchjob/websize/CIMG1529.JPG

In this picture only the mounts on the passenger side are removed, and the trans is not in the car. so the bar is holding one side of the motor while the other side is secured by the mount. I got mine from NorthernTool online because the Harbor Freight one was on some long back order. It has really been a great investment, especially if you like doing a lot of your own work on your cars and need to drop a trans.

Pull the wheel and take a look, its got to be something fairly major.