davesnothere

Having been inspired by many of your DIY threads, I've finally decided to stop procrastinating and do my upcoming major service myself. I've owned the car 10 years now and while I've done my share of minor DIYs and repairs, this will be the most significant maintenance work I've done myself on the car to date.

I plan to do:

• plugs
• distributor cap & rotors
• air filter
• cabin filters
• belts
• fuel filter

and will likely do:

• valve cover gaskets (lower)

and may also do:

• plug wires
• valve cover gaskets (upper)
• timing cover gaskets
• oil change (just had one done in the fall, but we'll see how things look)

Believe it or not, this will also be my first time getting the car onto jack stands, even though I bought a full set of ESCO stands years ago from Steve D'G. I plan to follow the "Cactus method". Honestly, in some ways this is the part of the job I am most concerned about.

Obviously, I've been reading the various DIYs and threads that people have posted here over the years. I've also got Adrian's book and the Bentley book for reference.

I'm ready to get dirty! Updates to follow...

- Dave

phoneyman

I tackled the major service myself also soon after I bought my car since it didnt come with the best documentation under the previous owner. I had never even seen under a Porsche, but had wrenched a lot on Audis. Obviously the core concepts on how a car works were the same, but diving into the Porsche was essentially a brand new experience.

I changed the plugs, dizzy caps & rotors, air, cabin, and fuel filters, oil change, along with a lot of other modifications all at the same time. It was fascinating, frustrating, and overall saved me a lot of money.

You will have fun doing all those DIYs. A lot of it is common sense, and all the pitfalls and roadblocks are mostly addressed in the awesome DIYs posted on RL and p-car.com. Also I had a Bentley which helped a little.

Good luck.

KBell

Take your time
Do not rush.
Enjoy the process.
Rennlist has your back.

swmic

If you get yourself in a jam, I could swing down and give you a hand. I'm in the Doylestown area.

P-daddy

10 years and never put on stands before? Nice list you got there. Should keep you busy for a while. Keep us updated.

mpruden

You got this. I agree with everyone else.

1) Be patient.
2) Trust your gut. Stop and reassess the situation if you are doing something that seems unnatural
3) Have fun.

You'll appreciate the car that much more after you're done.

IainM

Plan on it taking 5x longer than you think
You have to take a lot of stuff off together access
While you're in there you'll want to clean things
But it's a hand built car and simply a joy to work on enjoy, take pics and share here

bcameron59

It's gonna be big fun.

What's your year and miles?

EMBPilot

this

Kein_Ersatz

Subscribed, share the story and enjoy the journey

95_993

Excellent plan. You're inspiring to tackle the plugs and wires as my car just hit 60k miles.

davesnothere

Not much to update over the last two weeks. I prepped my garage space, got my big box o' parts from Pelican, and did finally manage to the get the car on jack stands. Here's proof (ignore the bad curb rash on the wheels):



I had attempted to raise the car some years back (when I first got the stands), and ran into trouble when the floor jack I have didn't get the back end up high enough. I followed the "Catcus method" this time, but I was still short by half an inch or so. I lowered the car onto blocks, then put a pad under the jack and raised it again, this time with plenty of clearance. Raising the front end didn't require nearly as much lift height, so that was no issue. In all likelihood, I will buy a new jack before it's time to put the car down, as the blocks worked but I wouldn't be comfortable doing it that way regularly.

So now it's time to get to work. I'll take a few "before" pics before I start cleaning and replacing stuff. Next step will probably be to remove the airbox and blower motor assembly, and start to loosen the bolts to remove the mufflers and rear bumper.

Thanks for all the encouragement thus far. It's good motivation knowing that you guys are out there following my progress and waiting for updates. With two kids under 4yo in the house, my "car time" comes in tiny chunks, so you'll need a fair dose of patience to follow this thread, but hang in there!

And, since bcameron59 asked: car is a 97 C2 with 88k miles, largely stock.

ilko

Very cool, enjoy your time under the car. It's very therapeutic!

I know all too well what you mean!

Yep, that last picture certainly looks like the stock ride height

bcameron59

In fact, my wife calls it "mechanical therapy"!

phoneyman

it seems almost comical how high the jack must go to get the ESCO jacks under the car at first. But once you figure out your method and get it up on the top perches, well then you realize why people buy 2 post lifts. The working room under the stands is amazing. I can actually use tools, while on a creeper, without my shoulders and elbows cramping up after 3 minutes.