Well I had the benefit of my exhaust being partly out. I had already removed the H-pipe and cats for the engine removal. So I removed the exhaust pipe from the rear of the car on the passenger side. Then I took the remaining pipe that goes over the rear axle and pushed it out of my way the best I could. I could not get it out, but I was able to get it enough out of the way to give me just a little bit more room up there. It still was not very easy and it helps I have fairly skinny arms. Also my exhaust is not very rusted being a florida car all of its life and only 54K on it. Definitely wish there was another way. The other trouble I had was getting the tank back in. It fought me every bit of the way back in. Was hard keeping the rubber seal around the fuel connections at the right spot. I finally laid it over the holes in the car and luckily it was pretty well lined up. I left the tank loose and went under and checked to make sure it was in the right spot before I tightened down on the tank straps. Hope this helps you a bit. Seems to me that there is not much else to make room up there short of lowering the whole rear subframe. Good luck to you.