Looking at changing my trans fluid and filter here real soon. I was going to do it last night but came to find out all the bolts on the passenger side of the car are obstructed by the exhaust. They appear to be slip fit pipes so I don't see an immediate way to get to the bolts than to disconnect the exhaust at the headers. Is there a better/easier way to gain access to these pan bolts?

 

G’day Swagger,

You've got it, you have to at least displace the centre section of the exhaust if not remove it altogether. Here in Oz we don’t have the underbody corrosion problems due to the warmer weather and no salt on the roads, ever, so my exhaust can be removed easily.

Cheers,
Jeff.

Added a pic of when I did a filter change

You can see here that I've disconnected the centre exhaust section and dropped it down to access the txmsn pan bolts

 

I have found it a quite easy task, removing the exhaust just behind the headers. Right hand side has the olive. Loosen that. On the rear side of this section the left and right pipe come closer together and slide into one box but still 2 seperate pipes. Loosen those clamps. Loosen the left hand front clamp and slide the whole unit rearward enough to free the olive. Now turn the unit( right side inward and move it forwards. Now free the unit on the rearside. Pull it back again and the right front pipe will also come loose. This part is made of stainless steel so no rust and therefor easy to do. In my case the olive was broken. Difficult to obtain, no aftermarket part and ridiculously expensive.

 

It is possible to remove the pan with the exhaust in place. I've done it multiple times. Just need a small crow bar to gently move the exhaust back for a few of the bolts and an open end wrench for the corner bolts. Then a little bit of maneuvering once the pan is loose and it will come out. I decided this was easier than removing the exhaust. I even replaced the speed sensors with the exhaust still in place. That requires a combination of extensions and elbows. 1/4 inch size and a small sockets makes this job possible.