Hi Rick,
You do not have to remove the door to change the door stopper(9203196 for a 1998) but you'll have to remove the door panel. Not so difficult, only a couple of screws and it mostly unclips from the door. You might want to get a couple of spare clips(8641613) once you're at the dealer in case you break any. There's 2 nuts to undo from the door stopper and a torx screw on the door pillar. Sometimes the torx is on a little tight so you might want to hammer on it a few times with the use of the torx socket and a ratchet extention. I ended up breaking my socket because the screw was on so tight but it snapped loose after a few hard shots. You can wiggle out the door stopper through an access in the door. Don't forget to grease the new unit. I paid $47.00 Canadian for the door stopper from Volvo.
Six months after i repaired my door stopper, the weld broke in the door pillar, creating a nasty cracking noise everytime opening and closing the door. In that case, the door will have to be removed in order to drill into the door frame. Common weak area in these cars, again you can do it yourself but be patient and don't rush.
Ari, 98 S70
05 S80
03 Odyssey