Can anyone tell me if it's actually necessary to remove the top heat shield for the catalytic converters in order to remove the rear heat shield(s)?
I only want to remove the rear passenger side shield and all that seems to be preventing that is the lower middle bolt(?) which connects the left and right rear heat shields. (9 & 10 in the linked diagram)
I can get an array of extensions and universal joints up there, but being by myself couldn't get a good connection and wasn't certain I had the correct (torx?) bit.
http://bmwfans.info/parts-catalog/E7...r_heat_shield/
Any insight would be appreciated.