Saab: Trans. main seal leaking, damper pulley, shaft seal

Question
Hi, I have a 92 900s convertible. I was told that in order to replace the seal the engine has to be removed and would cost approx. $2,500 to 3,000.  More than one trans. place has told me this.  Is there anything besides this that can be done?   The car runs great otherwise...thanks a million.  PS it just passed inspection today.

Answer
Carla:
  You did not say whether the transmission was automatic or standard. Also, the term "Transmission main seal" makes no sense. There is no such seal...on a 5 speed the transmission has 3 seals; one for the input shaft and one each for each axle shaft. None of these 3 require an engine removal. There are 2 "engine seals" one of which is called "output shaft seal" which requires removal of the clutch (far less a task than an engine removal) and the other of which is called a "damper pulley seal" which can also be removed without an engine removal (but I had to make a special tool myself to do this on a job years ago) which may be beyond what most mechanics are willing to do, since it is "not in the book". The price of $2,500 to $3,000 to remove and replace the engine and put in a new seal 'wherever' sounds way way out of line!!!!$900 max seems reasonable to me. By the way, where do you live? Maybe the cost of auto repair is different from Southern Connecticut where I live, but I kinda doubt it.
 Hope this helps,

                 Jerry