240's are exactly the same but the gap between the firewall and the block is smaller.
The price was trade rate from my local Volvo dealer and included VAT.
RE approach, stories of people lying on top of their engine bays (And more recently lying underneath and hugging gearboxes?) confuse me.... I think people may be winding you up?
It really isn't that hard to get to, the sensor is just there looking right at you. I simply leaned over and undid it, I can 100% assure you both feet remained on the floor at all times. I probably could have done it less that 10 mins if I hadn't been taking pictures.