97 with MT had blown clutch when purchased. Replaced clutch and release bearing. Car shifted and drove fine, but still noise from transmission. Ended up doing an engine rebuild, and shop noticed the noise, so replaced the clutch release bearing (again). Noise is still there so was not charged for the second bearing. After reading threads about noise without pedal pushed in, I believe the problem is most likely a bad input shaft bearing. Another shop drove the car and also believes it is the input shaft bearing. They want over $300 just to remove replace the transmission, plus whatever the bearing and labor to replace it costs. The bearing and seal are only $30-$40, so does $400 sound reasonable for this job, or should I attempt it myself? Are there any other things I should check on the tranny while it's out? Thanks for any help/advice.

Does sound kinda high to me but the labor should be 250-300 range.

I dont know what capabilities you have but this is not something an average joe should attempt.

To get the bearing out of the case, you really should use a press. You can pound it out with a socket but personally there are a lot of things that can go wrong and result in damage to the case or the sealing surfaces. If you want to try it then a coupel of us can walk you through it.

I do have a writeup on the Wiki for changing out the gear box of a trans. If you reference that, it will guide you through splitting the cases and resealing them. Dont forget to use anerobic sealant.