haha yea i just put an aftermarket dv on my 97 yesterday. was expecting to get it done in 5 minutes like my old saab...didnt know what i had comin to me lol. i went ahead and took the rubber intake pipe off that made it a little easier. i didnt take the headlight or anything like that off tho. definately worth it in the end tho

 

I didn't take the headlight out. I don't see how it makes it any easier.

 

i did when i did it on my 99.5 cuz i was following the tutorial, then after i got under my car and saw the old 1 staring me in the face i was like wow ok, that was un necessary

 

and the hose that connects the after-turbo intake hose to the DV is basicly in contact with the a/c compressor drive belt. my hose poped out of the bracket that holds it away from that belt and it rubbed thru in a few seconds.

 

So 98 uses this inconvenient dv location as well?

 

apparently so, i didnt know 2000+ models had it easier then me

my 98 is the same as it shows in those pics. also removing the headlight does make it very slightly easier to get screwdrivers in there and such, but pretty much when i need to take out my DV, i have to first remove the pancake valve, n75, MAF, crappy heatshield i made, and turbo inlet hose to get to it.

pretty much if you dont take all those parts off, your fingers will be bleeding by the end of it. the headlight is not absoloutely necessary tho.

 

hah! that sucks. at first after i installed mine i thought i put it in the wrong place because it didnt match up to the pictures in that tutorial and it was way to easy

 

But once it's in it should be good for the life of the engine. I can unscrew the top of my dv while installed pretty easily to get the piston/spring/seals out for servicing.