Beer Brewer

Hi All:

Just thought I'd post a few data points regarding my 997.1 Carrera and the service I just had done. My car now has 38000 miles, and at the last oil change it was noted that I had a couple of ignition coils that weren't looking healthy. So yesterday I bit the bullet and had my indie perform some preventive maintenance, replacing all coils, spark plugs, filters and oil. The total for parts and labor came to $965, which I felt was reasonable.

When the old parts were out, it was readily apparent that the years and exposure to Northeast winters had taken their toll on the coils. 3 were badly cracked, while the other 3 were looking "beat up." The spark plugs were fouled but not overly so, while the air filter had clearly done its job and given up the ghost.

So, with this work done, and a fresh 9 quarts or so of Mobil 1, I fired up the beast and noticed an immediate improvement in the quality and stability of the idle. beforehand, the tach needle would "quiver" as if it had a touch of palsy, and the engine vibrated enough to shake the unoccupied passenger seat with enough ferocity to create an audible noise. Now, the engine fires up and establishes a more stable idle, and the shaking is significantly reduced. I have also noticed a slightly improved throttle response, and definitely better responsiveness and power delivery above 3500 RPM. In summary, I am glad I had the work done and am enjoying the renewed "liveliness" of the engine. Now, I have to figure out whether to pull the trigger on the 200 cell sport cats...

Thanks, all,

Pete

FiatCoupe

Good to know Pete. My car has done 60,000 miles and the CPO is due to expire in a couple of months so I'm keen to get any issues resolved. I've noticed that my idle isn't very smooth. It bounces around by about 50 rpm. My girlfriend's Honda civic is rock solid. I forget to ask other owers what theirs is like.

It's going in to have it's major service but despite the cost of that it does not include plugs or coils. I'll mention the idle during the service and see if it's anything that can be fixed under warranty. If not then I'll wait until it goes out of warranty and replace the coils and plugs myself.

John

Edgy01

I've got about 73,000 on my babied Southern California car (no salt) and still running smooth and strong on the original plugs and coils. My Porsche mechanic told me one time a few years ago that I should just avoid touching those until I get a check engine light or a misfire--then do it. I'm frankly amazed at how well this puppy runs with 73,000 miles on the plugs!

atcbi5

Yep that is true.

Beer Brewer

I think weather conditions seem to have a lot to do with the health of the coils. Mine looked pretty sore - no doubt the consequence of rough New England winters. I had a couple of temporary CELs that made me question the integrity of the coils. Many say that the coils either work, or they don't... In other words, they don't slowly "go bad" and have a worsening effect on engine management. I can't say, and I am far from an engineer, but it stands to reason that they might have been responsible for the CEL given the shape they were in. The design seems to leave the coils more exposed than they are in other cars. My plugs didn't look bad, actually, but it was cheap insurance to have them done since the coils were coming out anyway. I was thinking about going with a K&N air filter but decided to stick with the tried and true paper filter. Stories of fouled MAFs kinda turned me off...

Edgy01

I have heard and believe that it's cheap insurance to go ahead and replace all 6 coil packs when you change out the spark plugs. Otherwise, you have to go back in again down the road. We would consider that "sunshine costs." While the engine is open to the sunshine, do everything you can while it is apart. Part of Preventative Maintenance.

Lvt19672

Hey edgy have you replaced the water pump yet?

rotesAuto

valuable info; thanx for sharing!

FiatCoupe

It's possible for a coil to fail without a fault being detected by the ECU. One of my plugs failed, I could feel the hesitation on acceleration and the idle was less stable. The mechanic had to swap the coils one by one with a new one to locate the failed unit.

Papa Fittig

Mine at 36+K are no problem. I hope they will be so for another 36+k

FrankyV

So you blew off the scheduled 40K plug change? I am at 41K and the car runs as well as the day I bought it so I am thinking of doing the same.

Spokane5150

I think the coils are overkill at 40k. I did my plugs at 36K since I had it in the air putting on the Fister's. I'll do the coils and plugs in another 4-years if I still have the car.

niner niner seven

plugs are a 60k change and i am shocked Edgy bypassed given hes an aboslute 911 student. I changed plugs only at 60k myself, coils didnt look bad so left in. car is driven in North Carolina as fyi.