One thing I adore about those s- series cars is that they can be maintained without many tools. Pretty much the entire vehicle can be dismantled with about 5 sizes of wrenches and sockets. Plus there aren't a ton of unnecessary brackets holding things together. I had the head off the '02 in a short afternoon. Naturally, you will need a few big sockets for the wheel hubs and crank pulley, and a strong impact wrench to break them loose.
Trust me on this one: if you're going to remove the engine, do it from underneath. To get the cylinder head off, most of the stuff on top of the engine has to be disconnected anyway. The whole drivetrain can be put on a cart, and the car can lift right off with ease. Taking the motor and transmission out the top is a lot more sketchy and very not fun.
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