It didn't seem any more difficult to turn than the others, if anything a little easier at first. I only gave it maybe a 1/4 turn to loosen then turned it back, both turns gave me a similar feel/sound, and the resistance didn't seem to change while turning.
I'll take another look at it in the...
Follow up: Was able to finally remove everything to get at the plugs easily, just took a little extra elbow grease :) I replaced the wires and all the plugs except one...when I turned the #4 plug to remove it, it gave me a grinding feeling and sound, when I turned it back right I got the same...
About to give the plugs and wires a go tomorrow on my '01 @ 180k mi. After a little toying around today it seems the air intake is not wanting to let loose at the throttle body (released all the wire clips), any tips on getting it loose or just brute force it by hand?
Thanks!