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Has anybody here replaced an '01 auto transmisison? My girlfriend's car is doing the whine-of-death, so I know it's on its way out. A local junkyard sells rebuilt ones for $800 so I'm considering doing that. I'm not sure if it's within my means or not.

I've done a fair amount of maintenance work like timing belts, suspension, etc. But never anything so major as a transmission.

Besides some sort of lift or hoist, are there any special tools? Will I be able to get it out with the car on jackstands or is a lift required? I don't know how much clearance is necessary.

The same junkyard will do the job for $300 in labor (I think it's all illegals that work there) but my girlfriend's broke. I enjoy working on cars but am not sure if it's reasonable to think about doing it myself or not.

Thanks in advance.