Auto Box Splitting

[Dubstar]

According to the Haynes, to split the autobox from the final drive it says you have to remove the whole box from the van first. Does anyone know if you can split it while still on the van as it's only held on by 4 bolts and the rear mounting. I only ask because I have to replace the seals between the 2 and it seems a bit extreme to take the whole thing off. Just wondering if there is something special that can only be done by taking off the torque convertor first etc - the Haynes also told me I had to drop the engine to change the oil cooler seals and I did it on the van in about 4 hours!

[bigherb]

In theory you could but the problem comes putting it back and making sure the oil pump shaft is fully home otherwise it will wreck the drive plate. At the risk of damaging hard to source parts it's not much harder to remove the whole box.