Yup, you can remove the starter from above, engine in place. It is a bit 
of a lower back killer and a knuckle cutter, but I've done it myself. 
There is a bracket on the front (FIF) of the sarter that holds a coolant 
hose, easy to flip the hose out when removing starter, harder to get back 
in when reinstalling. I think (though i may be mistaken) that I removed 
the right rear wheel to gain better access to the electrical connections, 
but the starter did come up through engine compartment. Good time to 
replace the heavy guage wire from the battery to the starter.