So I did my TOB this weekend. Here are some notes from my experience.
I read the service manual, the DIY from the OP of this thread and followed this video:
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZhjIXU5GRcc"]How I pull an FRS/BRZ/GT86 Transmission in 20 mins! - YouTube[/ame]
I mostly followed the video but with these differences.
1: You don't see him disconnecting the main harness, speed sensor or reverse sensor, and a few others. I mean, maybe he is so fast you can't even see him do it. My guess is he started the project before rolling the video. Who knows.
2: This guy uses a socket to plug up the hole where the prop shaft normally goes to prevent oil from coming out. I pulled the prop out just enough to get a mic in there to measure the diameter (1.5in). Then I found the perfect sized socket to plug the hole. But at some point the socket slid out and I ended up with oil all over the place anyways. If I did this all over again I would drain the oil. Like I said, I am a cheap ass. Hahaha
3: You will see him remove a cotter pin and then disconnect the shift linkage. You will notice there is no rubber boot. This is probably because he had already destroyed this boot while doing this job a previous time. This boot was REALLY hard to remove. I took the interiour apart thinking I could release this boot from above. It's not possible. You simply have to pull the living crap out of it to get it to stretch over the linkage. It's even harder to get that boot back on. I ended up tearing it while putting it back on. Next time I have to drop the tranny I will just cut that boot off and throw it in the trash.
4: You will see him get out a big pry bar and pry on something near the linkage on both sides of the tranny. You don't need that big pry bar. Simply get a flat head and use your hand to tap on the end of the handle to rotate these tabs up. There is one on each side ot the tranny. Once the tabs are up you can slide the pins out of the linkage. At this point the tranny is completely free of the linkage.
Here is a picture of these tabs from the manual:
5: This is the biggest time saver of them all. This guy doesn't jack the front of the engine. If you don't jack the front of the engine it will tilt forward causing it to bind on the two lower studs making it impossible to slide the tranny off. My guess is the car he is working on has stiffer engine mounts or bushing inserts that prevented it from rocking forward. Trust me, you are going to waste a TON of time if you try to skip this step. The service manual tells you to remove the ex manifold so you can place a jack under the engine. I didn't want to replace ex manifold gaskets and this guy in the video gives you false hope that you can just slide the thing right off. Don't fall for this trap. I was able to use a 2x4 between a floor jack and the water pump (not on the actual pulley). I didn't like doing this but I wasn't actually jacking the engine. You simply want to prevent it from tipping forward.
It took me about 5 hours to do this job. From jacking the car to dropping the car back down. This doesn't include putting fluid back in. I did this the next day and didn't time it. Knowing what I know now I think I could do this job in 2 hours. If I jacked the front of the engine I suspect I could have lowered the tranny with my jack rather than man handle it so the tranny would have stayed level and the socket probably wouldn't have slide out dumping oil all over the place. So that would have saved even more time. Knowing what I know now I would say this is by far the easiest tranny job I have ever done.
Edit: One other thing. I cut a 1x6 just long enough to span the center section of the tranny. I put this between my floor jack and the tranny. It was surprisingly stable.
Edit2: OMG, I just watched his video again and he did actually jack the front of the engine on the header. I watched the video in full a few days before doing the job and then the day of I simply skipped around the video and totally missed where he jacked the front. Hahaha. So really this video is a very good overview. A little clarification that cutting that boot off is the way to go and a little more detail on the pins on the sides of the tranny and you're good to go.