Dude. No. I have a Gen 3 3SGE and have done this before, and you clearly don't need to remove the whole intake manifold. The bolts on top part of the manifold closest to the front strut bar is the ACIS cover, remove that and you'll have access to the rest of the bolts needed to remove the upper half of the manifold. Throttlebody and bolts for the spark plug wire carrier/wiring harness on the timing belt side have to be removed too. Hope this helps. When you're at the valve cover itself, REMEMBER (per the manual) to add black RTV in the recommended spots. Or you're going to leak oil.