96 Cavalier 2.4L trans removal

my sister blew the trans out of her 96 cavalier (with the junk 2.4L motor) and im having to resort to dropping the trans in my parents garage since my shop is locked up for the weekend (im a certified mechanic but have very little time on my hands to just trial and error it)... so i got the trans all loose and ready to just fall right out, but the side pan on the drivers side of the trans is hanging up on the small subframe looking thing (kind of a U shaped frame piece, since this car doesnt have a full fledged subframe), and everything is so badly rusted under that car im afraid if i try to drop that frame all the bolts will snap off. is there ANY way to remove the trans without removing the frame?

mike