2007 escape transmission

4wd v6 is what we got.

12+ hours to change a filter. I donā€™t blame you.

Local yard has them for $800. Guaranteed. Shop that wants to do any internal work is way over $800. Drop trans. Fix 1 thing? Uh, no. OP wants to flip it. His current path seems to indicate rising costs.

Looking to NOT take it out if possible. Next gonsm change the pump which is excitingly exterior. Its the outer plate of the tranny.

Iā€™m just a diyā€™er, no experience doing the sort of automatic transmission work you are contemplating. But I have the feeling your shortcut approach may turn out to be a long-cut; i.e. this may take you longer than if you removed the transmission to do your repairs. If you can obtain a used transmission thatā€™s guaranteed to work for $800, per comment above, that seems like a better path. One problem with that approach however is while the seller may guarantee the transmission to work, if it doesnā€™t , thereā€™s no guarantee on the time it took you to install, test, discover it faulty, remove, and take to the shop for another try.

I looked at equinox with bum trans. Known for broke wave plate issues. Been told you can remove side cover to attempt fix. I passed. Trouble is, trans needs to be lowered to clear subframe to remove side cover. Itā€™s a bear. Your trans has t-case output for rear driveshaft. Not a convenient design to deal with.