therock88

I posted over on 6Speed, so thought I would do the same here. Put together a DIY also, that I hope will help slay this beast

DC

POST:
997.1 TT Spark Plug / Coil Change (DIY ATTACHED)
HI Guys...

One of the most difficult maintenance items on these bad boys is the spark plug change! And as many of you know...When we tune or otherwise mod the cars for performance, it decreases the life of the plugs/coils.

Well...Yesterday, while it was a toasty 9 degrees outside, with nothing else to to, I got all the plugs and coils changed !

I had been considering doing it for a while and already had the parts....Last time, I took it to the dealer and forked up about ~$1K! So I figured I would give it a shot.

I have read on many forums, how it is very difficult / impossible / painful / torture / etc..

While it does take some time (for me anyway), with some patience and the right tools it can be done!

So when I get additional time I will be posting a few tips I learned in the process, and maybe some pics....To help others that want to give it a try.

I used some tips I have seen on various posts, information for Porsche WS manuals, and suggestions and tips from Scott Slauson of Softronic Software!

First few big tips are these:

Remove - Air box, Rear Wheel Apron, Rear Bumper Cover (and Tail lights), Intercoolers, and rear bumper heat shield....

Lower motor, by supporting it, and loosening the (2) motor mount nuts.

Unclip the hard boost pipes in the engine compartment (you will be able to move them more easily near the turbos)

Remove actuator motor on Passenger side

Have some wobble extensions, ball end torx and allen tools

TURBOS AND/OR OIL LINES TO TURBOS DO NOT NEED TO BE REMOVED.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OK....Figured I better try to knock out a DIY soon, before I started forgetting

So I spent a great deal of time trying to illustrate and use photos and text to guide anyone that wants to try it.

CAVEAT : This is how I DID IT...and it worked. If you have a better way...Knock yourself out...This is in the spirit of helping others, not to debate the best way or what I did different or wrong.....

Too big for me to upload here apparently... About 4.5 MB .pdf, so get it here:

997.1 TT Spark Plug Change DIY HERE: How to change 997.1 TT Plugs and Coils Link Here

Hope this helps!

DC

aa909

F'ing awesome. Thank you for the DIY!!

ilko

Great write up, thank you for putting this together!

atcbi5

Gracias my friend! Printed all of it and put it in a binder! I will be doing a Coolant flush soon with all the Porsche approved coolant and new coolant cap.

therock88

Excellent! Glad it may help some of you out!

Best,
DC

Boeing 717

Thanks DC.

Psup4s

Thank you, great write up
Did you have to gap the plugs or did you install them the way you got them?

therock88

Thanks. I used Denso Iridium IK22 and gapped at .025. After reading a bit and speaking with Scott at Softronic and others, that seems to be the recommended gap for higher power cars.

I used the gauge to check each plug before installing. I noticed the ones I pulled out, that the dealer installed last time (same Iridium Denso IK22's) were gapped almost twice as wide...probably helped shorten the life and caused my more recent sputtering as they wore out.

While at it, I also replced the stock BERU coils, with same style Bosch coils for good measure. I did not noice any cracking or anything,,,but what the heck, while you have access.

DC

therock88

You bet!

therock88

OK......Good news! I have been waiting for a fuel filter bracket so I could button up the car and see if it would actually start!

Bracket came in today,and I put the new fuel filter on....Also, as stated, I put new plugs, coils, semi-solid transmission mounts, semi-solid RSS motor mounts, and headers.....I got it all put back together,.....put the key in and it fired right up and sounds great....warmed it up and revved it....very crisp and smooth....no header or tubing leaks.....and idle is perfectly steady!

So apparently my method works....what a relief....Good luck to any others that try it....

DC

phillipj

You are awesome. Thank you for such a great write up with so much detail.. I'll be interested to hear what you think of the new motor and tranny mounts..

Thank you!

therock88

Thanks buddy! And you are welcome. Waiting on a Eibach Rear Sway and maybe about 2 feet of snow to melt then I can test it!....It cranks and runs great so far...Guessing if I screwed something up it would have missed, popped, hissed, or something

Only thing left to do is upgrade to a VividRacing "VRT Tune" next from our buddy Dan, for some REAL horsepower! Haha....NOT!

Take care, and if you ever try it I think you can do it with patiience...Sounds like you really take good care of your P Car!

Take care,
DC

therock88

Final update! Weather cleared up (a little) Sunday, so I was able to actually take the car for a test drive.

You can definitely feel the difference with the RSS motor mounts, and Torque Solutions Transmission mounts...You feel the engine a lot more, and the transmission also. It snaps much crisper when it shifts...and no engine sloshing any longer. I will say that the motor mounts and transmissi0on mounts that I took off looked perfect and unworn for any thinking you may need to change for age or mileage....Likely NOT.

Fuel filter changed...So it was empty...turned over a little longer than usual the first time as it primmed and filled with fuel..but since then....fires up instantly!

Headers....Installed Schnell headers. Fit was good, and I was listening for hissing, or popping, or an old chevy truck sound, as I have heard before with leaks...Got none! You can hear the exhaust a bit better and it accelerates very well (Also have Softronic 93 Octane tune, Fabspeed MaxFlow 3 exhaust, HJS 200 CEL Cats)...

Plugs and Coils.....No popping or missing, and I torqued them all to specs very carefully, so install was good! When I got some WOT and boost....no more hessitation feeling or sputtering like I felt before, so I am thinking that solved the issue! Runs like a beast. Streets are still pretty cold, and when I really got in it, with the cold streets, and the car breathing that nice 28 degree air.....It was very squirmy...the wheels had trouble gripping at full boost and the car would go all over the place, even in a straight line shot! Pretty cool!

What I AM NOT running, and WOULD NOT waste your time and effort (and $$) on, is any BMC oiled filter...just a fresh clean OEM breathes fine, and does not let extra particles in or oil up your expensive MAF. NOT running any aftermarket diverter valves either...the OEM's look and perform perfectly..And I tried the Aluminum Forge valves, and one locked up in only a couple months...plus, other than a little extra noise...did absolutely nothing! And no one has honestly ever had problems with OEM...Just lots of speculating??

Anyway....Hope this helps with the assessment of the plug and coil change and other parts added. Very happy with the way the beast is running now and no hiccups, leaks, or CEL's on (YET!).....And most importantly....no extra parts! Not even a washer or screw!

DC

aa909

excellent job, happy to hear everything went well!

TT-911

I rep'd you over on 6 for your great DIY. But would like to thank you here once again. Making that tutorial must have been a lot of work and is very much appreciated !