Smac09

I have a 2009 Ford F150 XLT with the 5.4 in it. It has a slight leak in the Right Hand (passenger side) exhaust manifold. It's not very loud but it causes a flutter sound when your on the gas and it's very, very annoying. I have an extended warranty on the truck. I have talked to my stealership and they will only cover part of it under warranty. They still want 350-400 to do the job after the warranty covers what they will cover. I've argued with them till I was red in the face and it has got me no where. So I either spend 400 dollars and have them do it or I spend 150ish on parts and do it myself. My question is this. I have a fully equipped shop (minus a lift) and am a competent mechanic. I also have all data installed on my shop computer. So I have the manual. What I'm looking for is people's personal experiences changing these. Any tips or tricks or deviations from the manual that helped you? And when you inevitably broke a stud off what you did to get it out? That's my biggest fear in doing this myself. Is that I'm taking the liability for whatever happens.