snaphappy

I didn’t remove the manifold either

workhurts

I don’t recall having to remove anything but I did do mine with both mufflers out (I think).

HenryPcar

No need to remove the intake manifold or the exhaust manifold. However, I had to remove the side mufflers to gain access to the coil and plugs.

Vincent713

You guys must have magic to replace the plugs without removing the exhaust manifold. How could you even remove the heat shield without removing the manifold?

Wayne Smith

Remove the two bolts that hold the heat shield. Lift the shield straight up until the bottom of the shield clears (just barely) the lower sheet metal piece. Pull the bottom toward the outside of the car. Slide the heat shield straight forward and then tilt down to slide it out.

This (removing the heat shield) can be done with the mufflers on but it is quite difficult to remove the rear spark plugs without removing the mufflers. IMHO removing the mufflers is pretty easy and worth the effort.

Vincent713

You guys are all 997.2 owners correct? The 2 side mufflers are totally out of the way, not sure why you would have to remove them and not the exhaust manifold.

Wayne Smith

Warning ... Posts are constantly getting mixed up and cross assigned and truncated on my Android phone so it is very difficult to be sure who posted what but I've entered and exited this thread multiple times (yes the screw ups are inconsistent so I use multiple entries to help me ascertain things) and it looks like Vincent is having trouble getting the heat shields off as well as not understanding why the mufflers need to come off.

The heat shields must come off and the mufflers are not in the way for this. No problem there as long as you get the bottom of the shield up and to the outside first.

As for the mufflers ...

Doing a friend's GTS 80K service a ways back I was frozen on removing the clamps for the PSE (yeah ... my stupid!!!). So I looked very closely at changing the plugs with the mufflers in situ. I figured I could get the rear plugs out but was not confident I could safely and accurately torque those same plugs properly with the mufflers in the way. There just didn't seem to be a good way to get a hand to the head of the torque wrench to stabilize it. So with Forum help I got the PSE vacuum hoses off and then off the mufflers came. But if you feel you can do it with the mufflers on then go for it. Worse comes to worst you can remove the mufflers when the time comes.

FWIW ... Here in California exhaust bolts don't tend to freeze (corrode) on. Removing the mufflers is simple. For anyone in more corrosive environments Vincent's point may be worth looking into.

My plugs come up for their fourth change in another 27K miles. Once again I'll be removing the mufflers. Once again I'll wince and groan as the threads creak all the way out 8(

Vincent713

Thank you for your input Wayne Smith, I guess this is one of those things where different people do things differently. I applaud and give my hats off to those who have change the spark plugs without removing the exhaust manifold or muffler. As long as we achieve our goals, life is good.

HenryPcar

I like to see how in the world one can remove the coil and spark plugs on a 997.2 without removing the side mufflers. More power to those we were able to do it. I just can't see how ?

KlausS98

Thanks to this thread my 997.2 got new spark plugs today
Mufflers needed to go out first, no way with them on IMO
All else, not much of an issue based on the DIY input 👍

Thanks
Klaus

loungin

One more data point on 997.2. This is the second time around for this car on this thread, but the first time for me. (bought the car from lurchphil)

In the middle of doing this with workshop manual on one hand and this thread in the other.

Workshop manual recommends taking off bumper cover and then detaching the side mufflers from the front and rear mounting points (2 nuts each) as described in post #60 as well as the sleeves (2 nuts each side) attaching the center muffler. No need to touch the cat bolts. But it doesn't describe how to reach those points and the description for removing the heat shield seems kind of off. (BTW if you remove the cat bolts, workshop says you need to replace the triangle gasket part 997 111 113 30, kind of like a crush washer. Didn't want to mess with that)

Based on post #60, I went ahead and removed the side heat shields (several 10mm nuts/bolts) and now the side muffler brackets are in clear view. PB blastered them and hopefully things go smoothly tomorrow for the spark plug / coil pack R&R. I haven't even had to remove the wheels yet, or the rear bumper bar.

so, so far my steps are
1. remove tail lights (2 screws from engine compartment)
2. Remove bumper cover aka "rear apron"
3. Remove side heat shield frame assembly


It also wasn't obvious to me how to detach the wiring harnesses, but apparently pulling up the tab as shown here causes some kind of lever action that releases the clip and then you can just pull it off.





Update:
I managed to get the left side plugs replaced without taking off the wheel. A full complement of straight and wobble extensions of various sizes and lengths are immensely helpful when attempting this, which I had anyway for working on the Cayman, but with the appropriate extension I was easily able to get the torque wrench on all plugs. To get the heat shield off it was necessary to unclip the coil packs. We'll see if everything can go back on without taking the wheel off.

So steps subsequent to pb blastering the exhaust bolts above:
3a. Loosen the bumper cover panel support (strut?) to be able to rotate it out of the way removing the muffler, etc - 10mm socket
4. Unbolt the side muffler bolts : 13mm socket
5. Loosen the exhaust sleeve in the rear connecting the center muffler to the side muffler: 13 mm socket, don't need to remove, just loosen.
6a. Pull off the sport exhaust hose from the nipple on the muffler.
6b. Slide muffler off the mounting bolts and out the sleeve.
7. Remove the heat shield as Bruce says below, very fiddly. I think it was 2 E12 external torx bolts, unclip coil pack connectors as needed to free up clearance to slide it out towards the front of the car. Right side is very fiddly indeed. It got stuck on this plastic sensor in the block. Had to force it through which is ok as long as you’re careful not to stress or cut any wires in the way since it just appears to be an aluminum bbq tray and somewhat malleable.
8. Disconnect coil pack connectors - Remove the coil pack screws T27 or T30. Mine were stripped (thanks Phil) and somewhat corroded so this job is on hold until I get new ones.
9. Pull out coil packs.
10. Remove plugs
11. Replace plugs, hand tight until bottomed out, torque to 30Nm aka 22 ft/lbs. Unlike the Cayman, which ends up at a quarter turn after contact, this seemed less than a quarter turn.

anything that is a small screw like the coil pack screws I’d be hesitant to torque much beyond initial contact. It’s hard to find a torque wrench that will accurately do 7.5lb-ft and the screw just bottoms out without much give. Probably just contact + a tiny squeeze beyond to make sure it’s tight.

Now to order some replacement coil pack screws: same part number as for 981 Cayman: 999 073 103 01

no need to remove rear wheels, rear bumper bar or exhaust manifold.

Bruce In Philly

2009 C2S 161K miles

I am about to do my fourth, DIY plug and belt change (40, 80, 120, 160K)..... parts on order, will do next week. In doing this work myself, no lift, I do the following (see loungin's post above... great pics!):

1- With two jacks, lift the full rear up and remove wheels (place wheels under rocker panels for safety should jacks fail)
2 - Remove bumper and side skirts
3 - Remove side mufflers
4 - Remove heat shields (fiddly)
5 - change plugs

There are folks who claim that you don't have to remove all that stuff... they are better hacks than me. I find removal of all of this stuff so darn easy and fast, why mash your knuckles and curse way beyond what is necessary.... well cursing is always good entertainment, so go ahead regardless of the difficulty. I never removed the exhaust manifolds and see absolutely no need for this.

BTW, I ordered the blue Bosch plugs (~gasp~). I contacted Bosch's USA distributor and asked them why green (Porsche box) vs blue (Bosch box) same part numbers.... I sent them both an email and online-chat. The online chat referred me to Germany with a German phone number. On email,see below..... I did not call them... just gave up... anyone want to try?. BTW, the Euro website does not have any "contact us" email but did have the online chat I did use. The Bosch on-line store showed blue plugs in their catalog, no green on there whatsoever.Why blue vs green? I suspect... only my wacky opinion.... is that either the green is old stock to be changed to blue, or car makers want some difference to drive more sales to dealers. I believe with my whole heart, sole, and multi-voices in my head that they are the same plug.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

VT Blue

God bless your patience, @Bruce In Philly.

Totally noob question, but what size socket did you use to remove the spark plugs themselves? Was that a 3/8ths?

Thx!

Bob

Bruce In Philly

Whatever spark plug socket that came with my Craftsman socket set worked fine. Don't know the size. I think my set has two different sizes.... I think they are some simple, common standard.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

venom51

The answer is this simple. You couldn't get anyone to pay 12 dollars more for the same plug if the markings were in blue as well. I physically and electrically tested both plugs. They are the same in every aspect except the color of the labeling on the plug.