Third-Reef

I have heard, plugs every 30K for normal use and coils with every second set of plugs

manimal

Thanks for this thread. Planning to do mine as part of the "60K" service soon.

"02996ttx50

i tend to fry plugs ( 1.2 tune ) but not coils. i change at 10k miles. coils at *maybe* 25k miles. swapping plugs so often allows me to inspect for cracked coils often.

pfbz

30K is the factory spark plug interval, but tuned cars should do it at about half that... Maybe even sooner if an aggressive tune.

Coils don't need to be changed as frequently, but since they are relatively inexpensive, known for micro-cracking and leaking voltage (more so on the early versions, but I think it can happen even with the latest versions), and a HUGE pain to swap (unless you are already doing plugs, in which case it is zero additional effort), it makes sense to inspect them carefully every plug change, and maybe swap them out preventatively fairly frequently just for piece of mind?

Latest style Beru zs178 coil packs are $220 delivered for a set of six at RMEuropean...

"02996ttx50

and gear oil change interval is recommended at 90k. you trust that? me either. the better bet is lowering porsche factory intervals recommendations for maintenance, by half.

especially as these cars age. if driven, of course lol.

Dock

How did you come up with that?

"02996ttx50

8 ball says. ask again later.

Dock

Once should be sufficient, don't you think?

pfbz

lol...

FRUNKenstein

my04996tt

Take your time, it's not too bad, awhile ago someone here, said they could change the plugs without removing the bumper... I tried for quite while with no luck, even on a lift, was unable to reach in (don't see how it's possible, maybe smaller hands)? Someone also said they could R&R bumper, plugs and coils in about an hour. Spent probably close to 3.5 hours, but was in no rush and got to spend some quality time..

jhall

10K plug changes seems excessive. Does Porsche recommend more frequent plug changes on X50 cars? I realize the turbo is a performance engine but plugs are made much more durable than years ago. Even since the 996tts were made.

"02996ttx50

no, they don't. x50 service intervals are no different than k16 cars. the point is, tuned cars tend to fry plugs. i have a 1.2 tune and run 16/24's. my change interval of 10k +/- works well for me. you don't often *know* the plugs are toast until you (a) swap them and (b) immediately notice the difference once you do.

i both aggressively drive as well as maintain my car. my spark plug change interval, might seem excessive to some. i understand that lol.

jeffreysurfs

Today i finally took the plunge into the world of plug/coil replacement. I read many of the posted DIY's on this and made sure i had all tools needed....i.e. Torx set, driver extenders, plug specific socket......etc.

Pleased to report that it was not an extremenly difficult endeavor and took me about 5 hours for entire job.

I have 103k on my 02 996tt and recommend replacing the pre cat o2 sensors if you are in these guts and have a higher mileage car.

The coil packs i replaced were the older 996 part and im not sure when they were last replaced....... i have owned the car for last 6k miles with decent records from pervious owner, although the info on the 90k service was m.i.a.

Only issue i ran into were the clips on the coils......i accidently broke the clip on one of the connectors and am praying this will not create issues down the road. Be careful with the clips....they are pretty simple once figured out.....push towards the top to release ...you will hear a click and they slide off easily.....replacement is the reverse,....slide on....and push towards bottom of clip and wait till you hear the desired click.

The intercoolers were easier than expected with the slight difficulty of making sure the top hose is slotted well and approaching the clips from the front and from wheel well....a flashlight in my mouth assisted in seeing what the clips were doing and if the seating of the hoses were fully slid on

When removing the tailights....be delicate with the plastic screw holes.....they are very fragile and i saw them bending....i super glued the parts while i was working and let them set.....they seemed much stronger after that.

I bought a code scanner to clear the codes i had..... o2 pre cat was randomly throwing CEL's and i dont want to bug my friendly local mechanic with more code reads and clears..

First drive impressions are a much smoother accell ......so much smoother i was wondering if i had lost some boost.......and then i looked down at sppedo and i was well over 100mph .....

For anyone who enjoys auto repairr and is a bit hesistant to get this "deep" into the car....i say ...go for it.....the removal and replacement is pretty straight forward....and with some patience and the right tools, it is money saved and a great way to get deeper into the passion of P car ownership.

jeffreysurfs

a couple more comments from my experience

i kept seperate zip bags with the parts from each section....intercooler parts passenger and drivers side in individual bags......wheel liners, rear bumper......etc.....this helped a lot during reassembly

one of my upgraded coil packs BERU 997.xxx. was missing the new bolts......luckily my local P dealership is open on Saturdays and I was able to buy two 6x40mm bolts for $0.58 a piece (needed 2 for a grand total of $1.16.) Moral of the story.....make sure the replacement parts have all the needed items before beginning the work.

I noticed a small amount of oil in the lower turbo hose drivers side (none in passenger side)......i wiped it out and hope this is not a sign of a leaking turbo .....pressure test is in my future.