what is the best way to remove heater from freezer?

I have one of those fisher and paykel smart defrost fridges ( 520 ltr )with the top freezer and bottom fridge. ( over 9 yrs old )
Fan is working okay but still icing and now I want to remove the heater element which is snug under the freezer coils.
Can anyone suggest the best way to go about this as I just want to replace the complete element and cutoff switches if they test no good with my multi meter which I can only properly do once I have removed it.

robert s
February 2012