Now on to the actual job....
I have the OEM exhaust with a gutted SCR, so I really didnt want to pull it all down if i didnt have to. And given that I was going to go with the OEM back plate I didnt have to worry about the size getting it back in...once it was out.
To prep, you only need to slide the rear heat shield forward an inch or so..... so remove the "hump bracket" and a few of the screws holding that shield in place and slide it forward so you can get to the big 50mm nut. I ended up putting one of the bolts back in, in a different hole so as to keep the shield from falling back into its normal spot. Worked perfectly.
Instead of belts, I used heavy gauge electrical wire....which worked fine...however, looking back on it, the best thing to use probably would have been those sliding strap binder things with the friction clip on one end...easily tightened and loosened and easily removable, when done. They probably have sets of them at Harbor freight.
first thing I would do is to remove the rubber isolators that are part of the exhaust hanging system that is right below the front 2 ears of the diff. They tend to get in the way more often than not....and its just a pain to get around them....Cuda suggested WD40 and pliers...I havent done it, but that sounds like it would work fine.
When removing the rear bolt, though that 288 nut only looks like its about 1/2 inch of threads, there are actually about 3 times that many ....so fully expect to crank on it for a while. The wrench for back there is 1-1/16 or a 27mm. There is not a lot of space so be patient...it will come off in due time
Side note: If you dont have the 1/2 inch drive ratchet with the extendable handle from Harbor freight ...you should get this....best tool in my chest.
As for the big nut on the front of the diff connecting to the drive shaft... To remove, put the 50mm crows foot on the nut, with the handle pointing to the drivers side of the car and rotate to the passenger side. If you choose to remove this nut and put on a new one (new one has a bonding compound on the threads, which could probably be replicated with loctite, but I bought a new one) the flange is lobed ...rotate it a few times and wiggle it.. ..it will come out.
As for installing.... patience.... the first thing i did was slide it onto the drive shaft....I used a little lithium grease...but Im sure whatever will be fine...its just a matter of getting it to slide in the splines....once I was connected there, I got a couple threads on the big nut by hand and things started to line up. I got one front bolt in.... partially lined up the 2nd one....and then sucked the first one up so the 2nd one lined up and started...by then i could move the jack around to the back and adjust that one to get that bolt lined up in the hole.
From there you are home free...tighten it all up.
The rest of this is in the e-diff thread, but you wont have many of the benefits if you dont get your ediff coded out. Holding down the DTC will not turn off ediff! You have to code it. its in the DSC module. Without turning this off, you will still have the car trying to intervene when a tire is spinning...you wont be able to feel much difference in the car until then.
Also....if you are afraid of safety without ediff...I tested it in the rain....traction and stability arent effected.....I broke tires loose, got a little out of line...and the car brought me right back.... No worries.
Be patient....BE SAFE....and good luck