sjfehr

We learn by doing! Change your own oil, change your own brake pads, change your own spark plugs, and next thing you know, you'll have the confidence to start making other repairs, too Really cuts down on the Porsche tax if all you're taxed on are the parts.

I changed the plugs on my 986 a few weeks ago; was my first time for this car. Wasn't quite as easy as I'd been lead to believe, but really wasn't all that bad. Took about 2 hours, half of which was puttering about with the rest of the 60k maint while waiting for the engine to cool. (I just changed the oil 3000 miles ago, so skipped that part.) I did have access to a lift at an auto hobby shop at a local military base, though, which makes it a lot easier.

Graufuchs

I do all the wrenching on my cars myself. It saves a ton of cash and you learn the ins and outs of the car. I figure the money i save in labor i can use buying tools and hopefully a small lift soon.

Cefalu

I never really thought about a lift in the past, but I am finding that a lot of the maintenance on Porsches is done from below, so I am looking at getting a lift too.

This one looks pretty good and I think it will fit in my garage. It can be stowed away.

http://www.maxjaxusa.com/

This one is a little chaper and simpler

http://www.kwiklift.com/features-all.htm

gvcap10

Good work! I'm trying to grow the ***** to do more work. Baby steps I guess, but I know I'll get there. Thanks for the play by play.

soverystout

+1 I learned all of my wrenching capabilities growing up in my uncles truck repair shop. We serviced everything from ford ranger to a tri axle Mack, to a Komatsu front end loader.

Coming home from 100+ degree summer days covered in heavy equipment grease was a real motivator to go to college.

My car is at the dealer right now (car is CPO'd) for a coolant tank leak and to see if I need the markII version of spark plug o ring.

When I changed my plugs, one of them was wet and the spark plug tube orings are accessed via removal of the valve covers on a markII.

jasper

Gentlemen - I did this job a week or two ago and for what it's worth I don't think it's worth the effort to remove the mufflers.

I used a 3/8 ratchet, a 3" extension, a swivel joint, and a spark plug socket to remove the plugs. This was the easy part.

A bit trickier were the coil packs. I used a torx bit (a little shorty thing like what fits in the end of a multi driver) and a suitable box end wrench to drive it round. My wrench was a ratcheting type which made it way easier, but it wasn't essential.

In short.....there is an easy way to do this job, so don't get freaked out thinking it will take three days. I found the job a 5 on a scale of 1 to 10, say halfway between changing oil and dropping the transmission.

Don't get me wrong, I still took 4 hours to get it done (from 5 pm to 9 pm on a Friday night) and it's up to the individual to decide whether it's worth paying a shop $200 to save the agravation and skinned knuckles. For me I kind of enjoyed it Zen style.

Cefalu

A 2002 does not have spark plug tubes, and I needed to replace both seals on all 6 tubes, so getting the best possible access was important for me. Spending 20 minutes to R&R the exhaust was well worth the time.

Another minor difference was the 1999-2001 cars use 5mm allen head bolts, not torx on the coil packs. My torx sockets are a lot shorter than my allen sockets so the torx would have helped a lot. Even with the cans removed I had to cut a 1/2" long piece of allen wrench inserted in a 5mm socket because an allen socket is too long to fit the upper bolt on 3 of the coil packs.

For a first timer, spending 20 minutes to R&R the exhaust is a small price to pay to make sure you can clearly see what you are doing. The consequences of a misthreaded plug or an improperly connected coil pack aren't worth it.

Considering how much better my car ran after I changed the plugs, I'll probably change them in 30k, and leave the cans in place.

All in all it's a straighforward simple job. Although my plug change was complicated by a messy oil cleanup due to the failed spark plug tube O rings.

fpena944

I hope no one got the impression from my post that it took me three days to get the job done. It actually took me about six hours to do the real work including cleanup time. The first of the three days was spent studying the effort but not really accomplishing anything. And l split the work across two days so of course when you stop there is the time it takes to get "back in the zone."

If I had to do it again, I'm pretty sure I can do it in the four hours you mentioned. I am curious as to how you managed to get it all done without removing the mufflers. I can't see how you have enough room to remove the coils. But again, I'm not the most experienced mechanic.

jasper

The last inch or so of the coil backs are very bendy. At first I was concerned there wouldn't be enough clearance, but when it came time to get them out it didn't take much bending at all.

It helps that I knew it could be done without removing the mufflers. Once you know it can be done, then it's just a matter of doing it. I'm a fairly risk tolerant person too, sometimes this pays off, and sometimes I end up paying.

rudy1024

Inspirational!!!

I posted giving it a shot at changing out plugs a couple of weeks ago and the hint was to remove the cans. Last weekend I had the car up on ramps (so much easier than jacking the thing up - 2 seconds vs 10 mins) to do an oil change and spent sometime poking around while it was up... I gotta say, the mufflers were intimidating... Certainly if I could change plugs and coils without removing mufflers would be the preference... but the paws I have for hands aren't really made for tight spaces...

It's a good thing the "analysis" I'm currently conducting doesn't go against repair time... or should it???

Congratulations and great job!!! I love to hear these accounts!!!

Rudy

kpl

these are the only tools I used to change the plugs on my car:

The vice grips were used to hold the allen wrench socket to get one bolt on the right rear coil pack where clearance was tight.
I did not remove the exhaust. I had to bend the heat shield in one small place to remove it:

Overall it was a far, far easier job than I had anticipated.

fpena944

Totally off topic but I always thought you had a 997 for some reason until I read your signature and saw it was a C2 with turbo bumpers and 997 wheels. Very nice!

As for removing the mufflers, they look intimidating but really it's very easy. There's nothing tricky about it at all except for accessing the bolts on the upper bracket. But once you figure out where to put the wrench it is quite simple. Oh and make sure to use some liquid wrench to loosen the two sleeve bolts, those are the ones that get hot and tend to rust on.

If this is the first time doing this, I would recommend removing the mufflers because it gives you so much more room. But possibly the next time, I'll try without it just because I'll know what exactly needs to be done.

Wow! I'll make sure to refer back to this thread in 4 years/60,000 miles when it comes time to do it again. I used a LOT more tools, but again it was all trial and error - the next time I can probably cut the total number of tools to a much more reasonable level. I like the idea of the vice grips though, it makes sure the wrench doesn't slip and gives you some leverage.

samba-lee

I do all my own routine/repair work and very much enjoy it I think 996's are now entering the DIY zone and I will need to do plenty on mine around the front and back end to sort the car out.

Just working on muffler removal with very rusty bolts...

Lee

Hurdigurdiman

Been threatening for ages.. So I did the job as preventative Maintenance. I bought plugs and sleeves about a year ago. The car was running just fine anyway but decided to do them. I had no idea when the plugs and sleeves were changed. I did find out on the very first coil passenger side that another screw had been used in that part so obviously these were not the same plugs which left the factory in Stuttgart. Nothing at all appeared wrong with any of the old plugs or sleeves as I changed them. Here is a photo of them. This was probably the hardest DIY I have had to do on the car but I enjoyed every minute of doing it. I jacked the engine as high as the jack would go and used two stands. The back of the car was about two foot off the floor at the bumper. Removed back wheels and mufflers for easier access. Then using a crawler slid around under the car to complete the job. The marine plug on the sleeves worked for me treat. One big glitch and all my fault I tried for like Everrrrrrrrr to put a coil back into where I had put the new sleeve and plug . Oh for two hours before I realized that the plug extractor wrench had been left on the new plug down inside the sleeve. haha. Apart from a slight bump on the forehead I am unscathed. Aching, muscle weary and 6 pounds lighter than when I started the job. Loved it and the car is purring away good. I have yet to put the rear wheels back on and take it on the road.
http://www.ex-lancs.com/web/plugs.jpg

I have since ran the car and the response from the accelerator is awesome in comparison. Its a smoother driving experience all round. When I saw how good the plugs and sleeves seemed as I was removing them I didn't imagine that the new plugs would make THAT much difference but they have. Reading other pages I am not the first person to drop off the plug tool inside the sleeve haha. I am 72 years of age tomorrow. Probably the oldest person EVER to have completed this DIY. My wife was away for four days and I took the opportunity to do the job. I am so tempted to invest in a garage lift. Then again all the rolling around and sitting up and banging my head keeps me young lol. I need the exercise and that's my excuse. Truth is I am a tight swine when it comes to parting with money. lol. That's the hardest DIY I have ever done.

Wausau 911

Well got the last 2 and hardest plugs changed today and the last coil was cracked (no others). Called O'reilly auto parts and they will have one from Imports direct tomorrow. Good news it's $47 instead of Pelicans $90. When on Partsgeek web site just to see what they looked like and it looks identical. We'll give it a try at that price.