Just to close the loop. I did the job. I did not pull the intake manifold because I could not get any advise how the remove the center bulkhead section. This is the worst job I have ever performed on any M-B (since 1963). Removing the intake manifold may have helped but it still would not have been easy. Bottom line – it took me a lot of careful study and experimenting with various tools – and 4 hours on the driver's side and 1.5 hours on the passengers side.