i'm reading through my helms, and it looks like you don't have to take the axle nut off to remove the engine and transmission. is this correct? if it is, someone should have told be sooner .

 

Well you could probably get away with not taking them off even though it will be a big PITA. You will have to take everything apart like your taking out the axle (just not the axle nut) so there is enough play to pull the axles from the tranny.

 

i did mine on sunday for the 3rd time and i didn't remove the axle nut at all. just take off the lower control arm crown nut at the bottom of the hub, the 17mm bolt that goes through the lower control arm and the strut, and undo the steering linkage crown nut and then you can swing the axle over the lower control arm and out of your way. on the passenger side you don't even have to remove the steering linkage because the axle is so short. I'd also recommend removing the passenger side radius rod, it makes it a lot easier to do everything.