Does anyone know how hard it is to change a transmission on a 93 850? I'm looking at one that the owner says needs a new solenoid (yeah right), so I'm looking at worst case senario at putting another in. Is it a hard job to do? Does the engine/tranny just pull out from the engine bay, or does it have to come out from the bottom?

I am toying with the idea of doing a clutch job on my 850, which would be a similar task to replacing an automatic.

There are apparently two methods: one remove the engine and tranny as a unit from above, then separate them; the other to just drop the tranny from below.

From what I've heard, most shops drop the tranny. But they probably do this because they have lifts and tranny jacks, etc., which make this procedure fairly straightforward.

As a do-it-yourselfer, where we are trading our time for expertise and equipment, it looks like pulling the either drivetrain from above is a less dangerous procedure. Yeah, there is more to do (disconnect the exhaust system--yuch!) and a lot of electrical connections and routing of hoses, etc.

If you need it, Costco is currently selling an engine hoist or $56. It comes with a lead-screw balancer which will allow you to tilt the drivetrain as it's coming out. It's not something I would depend upon for a business, or for pulling big V8s with their trannys attached, but it should be perfectly fine for this procedure.