My '08 C2S hit 47,500+ miles so I dove into some maintenance items this pass weekend. This is my 1st p-car. I purchased her 3 months ago with 46K miles on her. I've done most/all my own maintenance for prior vehicles so I was looking forward to cracking open my p-car to see what she's made off... My wife was nervous about the whole thing but given what the "stealership" likes to charge for this type of work I wasn't about to go there. Good news... it wasn't tough at all to change out the sparkplugs and replace the coils. It took about 4hrs from start to finish. I followed the instructions on RennTech: http://www.renntech.org/forums/tutor...-instructions/

The only thing I would add is to remove the exhaust manifold so you can get the torque wrench in there for the proper sparkplug torque setting. Some have also mention to remove the exhaust but that apprears to be unnecessary. I tried both methods... 1st I took the exhaust and exhaust manifold off for the passenger side then tried it with just the exhaust manifold off for the driver side. It was tight but this still gave me enough room to remove and install the plugs and coils. Next time I'll save at less an hour by just removing the exhaust manifold... hope I remember this in another 48K miles. BTW, the coils looked to be in good condition but I replaced them anyway while I had it all apart. The sparkplugs came out easy... even the exhaust manifold bolts came out fine w/o breaking a sweat. I had worked them over well with Mechanics Wrench and Kano Kroil(my favorite) for the pass few weeks. Total cost was $300 for all 6 spark plugs + coils from Pelican Parts.

Results were noticable and immediate once I fired her up. Previously a cold start would result in some sputter and rough idling until she warmed up. Now she sings like a Diva from the get go. Very statisfying... thank you Renntech.org for the instructions.

Note: I replaced the air(with a K&N) and cabin filters when I purchased her 3 months ago. The dealership replaced my RMS and oil/oil filter as condition of my purchase. My PPI found an RMS leak..

Next job will be drive belt replacement... the pulley's look good so I may leave those alone but then again... while I have her open why not take care of it all at once. Need to also bled the brakes.

48K miles are coming up so I'm knocking out all I can before the Major Maintenance Checklist by the dealership.

 

Great job. My plugs were just done by the previous owner of the my car, which is kind of too bad, because I rather like doing these things on my own. My only comment would be, in my own opinion, I'd rather have the OEM Porsche air filter element in there rather than a K&N.

 

IslandS52, force of habit for me... I have K&N's on all my ponies. I know there's minimum if any hp benefit but I like being able to clean them during routine maintenance vs. replacement. I really enjoy working on my own vehicles(especially these types of rides) plus I'm always a bit leary of what the someone else(like the stealership)is doing to her. Hang Loose brah... I'll be in Honolulu myself next month visiting dakine family.

 

Great job USMC_DS1 and thanks for the Renntech link !! These instructions are for the 996 . . . does anyone know if any of the torque specs may have changed for the 997 or 997.2 ? I suspect that they would be unchanged.

Dave

 

The 996(02-04 MY) and 997.1(S) use the same spark plugs: Beru FGR 5KQE0. I've verified this with Pelican Parts. "Loren" the Admin on Renntech indicates we should follow the same procedure for the 996: http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic..._1#entry174141

 

Thanks for posting this as i am about to undergo the same. How did you manage to remove the exhaust manifold without removing the exhaust system? Or did you just loosen it from the head so you can get access with the sockets/tools.

 

Just remove the 3 nuts connecting it to the exhaust. No need to actually remove the exhaust itself. Then the 6 bolts holding the exhaust manifold to the engine. Make sure you pre-soaked all the nuts n bolts with some type of mechanical oil. Mine came off w/o a breakbar... now u have room to remove the heat shields. I recall that its two t40 bolts. Coils n plugs easily accessible afterwards... small elfish hands would be a + at this point or a neighborhood teenage p-car enthusiast.

 

Did you replace the exhaust gaskets when you put it back together?

 

For those of you who've replaced ignition coils, what symptoms were you seeing prior to the replacement?

My '09 997.2 has a somewhat uneven idle even after being warmed up. I'm also noticing intermittent hesitation after a 1-2 gear shift. It's almost like the engine cuts out for a fraction of a second before responding to the throttle. Fuel economy and power are fine, however. My car has ~40,000 miles on it, so I'm thinking that's about time for new coils based on what I've been reading here. For the 2nd gear hesitation could there be another cause such as a throttle pedal issue?

Thanks for any insights!

 

If you decide to go the route of removing the exhaust manifold then make sure to replace the exhaust manifold gasket. GL and post some picks afterwards.

 

Is your car stock? any mods to the intake and/or exhaust? I noticed a hesitation after adding an FVD exhaust systems, IPD comp plenum, and GT3 TB intake. An FVD ECU remap tuned the car for my mods and took care of the hesitation.

 

Yeah, it's stock so far as I can tell. After seeing the pictures of cracked ignition coils, it seemed likely that driving in the rain might cause some issues. It's a pity you have to dismantle so much to even look at the coils. By the time you've got it stripped down, you might was well replace them!

 

BTW, the coils may be compromised even w/o showing any cracks externally. I did my plugs at 47K+ miles... No issues with the coils at the time but it was an additional $240 for the set from pelican parts so it seemed like a no brainer to swap those out as well since I've already done all the labor up to that point. Plus $300 in parts for a DIY plug and coil swap puts you well ahead of a $1,200 p-dealer plug swap... then another $1,200 later for a coil swap when those finally go.

 

Hi Guys,
I honestly think that removing muffler cans gives you more / better access to spark plugs. Just detach them from the holders. See three (3) openings in the bracket in front of the heads (out of focus). I did not even remove the rear wheel.

Here is one of my pictures. All exhaust components are removed



You can clearly see the coils. Passenger side shown, which is more difficult to work on.
Having a lift (any kind of lift) is a huge bonus. I am very fortunate with my Nussbaum. Saved me a lot of $$$ in the process. Friends love me too.
Have some more if you are interested. Sorry if the picture isn't great, this area is not easy to photograph.
Part of installing Cargraphic 200 cell cats and TÜV mufflers.
Cheers,
=L=

 

Here is another angle.
James, please forgive me for hijacking your lovely thread....



Looking from the rear wheel towards the rear.
#6 exhaust port clearly visible in lower right corner.
Cheers,
=L=