Just did the sparkplugs - no lift, only the factory jack. Probably would have let the dealer do it if they would have budged one bit off their insistence it was an 8 hour billable job plus $100 for the plugs (which I bought for about $5 each). Not really that a difficult job, only time consuming, especially the first time. There are over 75 fasteners, clips and clamps to deal with - I was most concerned about forgetting what went where! I will offer a few tips in addition to the excellent instructions available by searching:

- After the bumper cover is off, the next step is to basically remove everything else within the fender well. This means the entire intercooler assembly in one piece including the ducts and bracket after the hoses are loosened or removed.
- I did find some leaves on top of my intercoolers which certainly were not helping airflow. I flushed them with a hose, but in hindsight there was still enough crud left I probably should have disassembled them for a more thorough cleaning. I know airflow is marginal through this design to begin with.
- Don't bother with the wheel well liners until that tire is removed (remember I did one side at a time with the jack) and replace it prior to reinstalling the wheel. Mine didn't want to budge and I had some factory installed fasteners that turned but didn't loosen which made things interesting.
- I bent the heat shields out of the way (a few less fasteners to deal with) which makes access to the coil units a little tighter. In fact as a warning, getting the wire leads unclipped off the coils in those tight quarters is probably the hardest part of the job. I could definitely see someone with big hands or limited dexterity giving up here.
- When I searched for tips, there seemed to be confusion over the coils "clipping" onto the end of the plugs. The contact is a spring, only the wire connector snaps on and locks.
- If I could do it again, I would definitely replace the 6 hose o-rings and the turbo hose clamps. A couple of my rings were suspect and the clamp was so corroded it was hard to judge how tight it was. Cheap insurance against constantly wondering if your losing some boost at a hose connection. I actually did get to my local dealer's parts counter right before they closed on Saturday and they didn't have any, so plan ahead. (The factory hoses look fine, I don't see how you could get any benefit from upgraded hoses!)

So the verdict: my plugs at 34k miles looked fine, no erosion although the gaps were noticably wider than the new ones, light carbon coating - not enough to foul them, probably would have gone 50k. Car ran fine before and now has a slightly crisper throttle response (or maybe not). Since Porsche is recommending this work as a standard service every 30k miles (possibly ever couple of years for some) it was surprising to see so many painted steel, rusting fasteners, some prone to easy stripping. Not sure I want to be the one dealing with them at 60k+ miles!

But for now, I'm

 

Timely post. Thanks for the added info. I am about to tackle this next month.

 

Oh heck........

Just take out the engine!

I am putting in Boshe plugs. They come recommended as better than stock ones.

 

Tim,

Perfect time for an exhaust change

 

Guys you don't need to remove the back bumper, I did the plugs on mine on the floor on my back is 3.5 hours and it was the first time I have ever did the plugs on a TT. There is only one thats a real PIA to do..

 

Doing the plugs from below without removing the exhaust (catalytic converters at least, but it's one assembly) or possibly even the turbos, the first time without being able to visualize what you're touching but not seeing would seem to be impossible to me!
Anyone who has accomplished that