1988 420SEL W126 Water Pump Removal

[zymurgist]

I'm trying to replace the water pump on a 1988 420SEL, and I can't reach the bottom bolt holding the water pump in place. I have removed the 6 bolts holding the main pulley, and the pulley then came off fairly easily. According to the shop manual, I have to remove the main bolt to get the balancer off, but I have seen several threads here that say that removal of the big bolt is not necessary. Should the balancer come loose without taking out the 27mm bolt?