Not always true. It mostly depends on how your IP is rotated relative to the manifold. On my one car (similar engine to yours), I can remove the ALDA with the intake and injection lines in place. On my sister's car, I need to remove the rear 3 injection lines to get the ALDA off - they're in the way. Haven't tried my other car. On the one car though, it takes about 20 minutes total, in & out. Each car is different, and your 3.5L pump could be slightly different and since clearances are tight it's hard to tell without trying it. But yes, it's sure a lot easier with the manifold out of the way!!
BTW, this is one of the
extremely few things I like about the old OM617 (5-cyl, iron head) engines - they sure had easy access to the ALDA!
