done it.. it sux
this is FWD sr20 tho;
I've pulled the front cover without pulling the crossmember or the upper oil pan let alone the head. Get the lower one off so you have access to all of the bolts on the upper one.. Loosen all the 12mm bolts that hold the upper (aluminum) pan on. Don't forget the two 10mm nuts that live just inside the transmission cavity on the other side of the small black block off plate (just under the rear main seal). After they have all been broken loose, there a a couple of small ledges on the pan sealing surface that you can pry against to break the RTV seal. Once the pan is broken free, take the two longest bolts that hold the pan on and run them in a few turns on the farthest holes from the front cover. it should allow the pan to stay on but creating a large enough gap to get at the small ledges on the front cover to pry that off once the bolts are out. There's a bunch of bolts on that little bastard too.. Make ABSOLUTE sure that you have them all out before starting to pry. That aluminum likes to break and not bend.
IIRC, there should be 13 bolts (not counting the crank bolt) holding the cover in place. Most of them drive into the block but there are two on the top of the cover that drive into the head. The process of getting it off at this point is pain staking and tedious because of the crank key and it's ability to slide back and forth. The cover cannot come off at an angle and should not be forced to try and do so. I recommend a couple of nice pry tools or a very gentile use of a slide hammer to get it started. Once it has budged, you can tap the oil pump key farther back in the crank to allow the cover to come straight forward. Once you have it off, the tough thing is to get the RTV in the right places and keeping it there when you go to replace it. Be weary of the head gasket when putting the cover back on, if not, you'll mulch it up with the sharpness of the upper ledge of the front cover.
sorry about the book.. but if it can save someone else some time and headache.. I might as well take the few minutes and type it out.
