I just put mine in offroad mode, crawled underneath and did the work. No need to drop the spare or remove the heat shield. And, yes, I did cut on the driver's side to remove it in two pieces.Good luck. Did mine last Friday and it wasnt too bad. If you are doing it from the floor, recommend dropping the spare and taking the driver side heat shield off. Also depends on if you are trying to not cut the stock one off and remove it in 2 pieces like i did.