If you remove the intercooler tube it opens it up a bit ... Also remove the downpipe from the EBPV.. it gives you a little more room. not much but a little.
If you lay down a thick blanket or something to make it a little more comfortable it seems to help it not seem as bad.
It was either an 8mm or 10mm head on those bolts... I can't remember for certain. A socket and ratchet will get the majority but you will need a box end wrench for at least two of them... One on the bottom frontside and the other on the bottom backside. Those are the ones that will make you wonder if you should have even thought about it.
Once you get the part off the truck you can use a grinder on the rivets that hold the butterfly valve to the shaft. get the head off of them. then tap them out. Then tap the whole shaft out... There is a sleeve that the shaft rides on that I knocked out also because when I put the expansion plug in the sleeve was hanging about 1/4" into port. And, I was worried that it might slip all the way out into the exhaust pipe.
Also make sure you get a steel freeze plug, you'll need a 3/4"... I used a brass/copper one at first because it was all they had at the time... and two weeks later I was pulling it back apart because the plug came up missing. It doesn't seem to like the heat. I have had the Steel one in for a couple months now and have had no problems with it.
Here are a couple of pics I took of things... It took about 2 hrs in all... and that was with me cleaning things up and such.
Looks like a 94-97 in the photos