I have been reading the horror stories on plug changing, I am pondering changing my plugs myself or should I save myself the headaches that could arise?

I am plenty mechanically inclined, I am a HVAC mechanic by trade.

It is a 02 F150 with a 5.4l 75000 miles

 

you dont have anything to worry about when changing your plugs. its the 3v plugs(04-08) that that are tough sometimes because they break. yours has the 2v 5.4 which has the chance for blowouts. just use a little piece of hose to slide around the plugs to start them, and torque them to 30 ftlbs dry to prevent blowouts.