Exhaust manifold help needed/question

In the middle of sorting my blowing manifold due to a bust flexi pipe, plan is to order up the 2 new 2.5inch x 100mm flexi pipe cut the old ones out and weld the new ones on.

The problem/question i'm asking is i'm at the final stage of removal ie trying to worm the manifold out everything needed ie subframe ect is lowered problem is the steering rack, I've undone it from the subframe and track rods but its still blocking me from maneuvering the manifold out. Do I have to disconnect it from the steering column and lower it completely to remove the manifold and if so how do I do this? Hope some one can help me out
 
I disconnected the steering column and completely removed the subframe. For the little amount of extra effort it's worth it for the extra room.