I think that the 2000 exhaust headers are more similar to the headers from the factory on my '97 Mountaineer than the manifolds that came from the factory on the '96 Explorer V8, but I'm not sure.
Anyway, I didn't remove my tires or jack of up the vehicles. I just unbottoned the inner fender well aprons, and I ended up doing all but 1 or 2 plugs from the wheel wells. I remember using a universal adapter or two on many of them. It's not that bad, especially in comparison to a bunch of imports.