About a month or so back i changed the fuel injector hoses and wanted to clean the injectors themself so i brought a small ultrasonic cleaner and removed the fuel rail. Not difficult and the only pain was removing the injector cable clips as they are covered by a small possibly melted piece of plastic to hold them in place. While there i decided to change my plugs as well. I had also read on many sites they were a real pain but like the first post has said i removed the bellows, moved the compressor out the way leaving the lines attached ect. It is not hard work if you take your time and maybe some pics. I found it easy in the end and maybe that was due to not having a fuel rail in the way lol.

I will say this though make sure you have some compressed air or a way of blowing lots of air as the spark plugs are recesed so far in that you will end up getting dirt or water down the hole when you remove the plugs. Maybe the hoover would work but compressed air even if its from a can will be a must.

Last do not over tighten the plugs and i would aply some anti seize like copperslip or something to help next time you need to get them out