w210 m112 4matic upper oil pan r&r

[e320wagon4matic]

Hi guys - looking for some encouragement and advice on resealing my upper oil pan. The car is a 2001 e320 4matic wagon with 89k miles. I have access to a lift, but it still looks pretty overwhelming gazing up at it.

My question: alldata says:

10 Take off front wheels.
11 Remove exhaust (9)
12 Remove front drive shafts (5)
Detach front drive shafts from front drive gear for this step!
CAUTION: Do not damage seals of drive shafts!
13 Remove intermediate shaft (6)
Remove circlip on outside at bearing!
14 Remove front axle gear (7)


Is step "11 Remove exhaust" really necessary? I'm thinking the motor will just be snugged up to the support bar, just enough to unload the motor mounts. Wouldn't the exhaust pipes tolerate this? I'll certainly remove them if someone says they need to go, but living in Mass I'm reluctant to disturb functioning exhaust parts due to the crazy rust we get.

Any suggestions or tips and tricks? Anything to watch for when removing the intermediate shaft or the front axle gear? I see the complete job is listed as about 10 hours which scares me - I seem to take forever even at simple stuff.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Dan