Just wanted to give people an update after I did the sparks on my 2008 CS. Overall not a hard thing to do. Slight differences I wanted to point out. There is a very good tutorial on pelican parts, but that was the 4.5 liter V8. The newer 2008 4.8 liters have a slightly different design making doing the sparks a little easier. Also the coils are red in color, I think it's a new design, all of my coils looked brand new and I have 54k on my car.

Driver side: There is no secondary air pump. Just remove the cover and go. Only annoyance is the back most plug, there is a wire there blocking you. If you look closely there is a torx screw holding the wire holder, just remove that and the whole thing gets out of your way.

Passenger side: The infamous torque arm, if you see in the below picture there is no torque arm bracket anymore. The torque arm attaches to straight to the engine, they molded the bracket into the metal. When you remove the cover it's pretty straight forward.

Overall just be careful of tight spaces, also DON'T drop anything (ask me how I know), spent 30 minutes fishing out a socket.

 

Do you have more pictures on the DIY here? Do the little plastic covers over the coils just pull off?

Thanks

 

I recently changed my plugs. The covers have tabs on the top. So, you lift from the bottom and then pull so the tabs come out of their slots. I've attached a pic below where you can see the tabs in various states of removal and also of the location of the screw to remove to make it easier on the left side.

 

Wow, that's a heck of a lot easier than it is with the 4.5L engine covers!

 

is there a battery kill switch or does the drivers seat need to be removed to access the battery
???

 

You can pull the battery ground without pulling the driver's seat. Just lift the plastic cover in front of the right side of the driver's seat, and unbolt the ground strap. Then place something under it to keep it from making contact (I used a thick piece of foam pad).

 

If the key is out of.. does one need to unplug the battery? Never did that when I changed plugs on the ML.

 

Why would you need to disconnect the battery for a plug replacement?

 

IDK the dudes above are talking about battery grounds and I got mental.

 

Oh I wasn't suspecting you were the one with the issue EC.

I'm thinking kosmo just found a thread and asked the question, XR4Tim answered his question and now we're going sideways, but..
Nothing wrong with going sideways, we do it almost as much here as we do it in OT....

Just want to make sure there isn't a requirement I don't know about or if there's something diff. w/ the 4.8's that requires it. No worries.

 

No, I've never disconnected the battery just for a plug/coil change, though most manuals will probably list that as the first step (just in case).

 

Can someone please confirm what specific tools I would need to complete spark plug replacement on my 2009 Cayenne GTS ? My mechanical prowess is somewhat limited but I like to do (at least try) as much as I can myself.

 

Torx T30 bits to remove the covers from the top of the heads.
My torque arm is secured with a 5/8" bolt.

I dont remember what size socket is required for the coils, I'll let someone else chime in there.

Generally speaking though, a little kit like this will come in handy when working on these vehicles.

I'd also get a set of Torx screwdrivers.

One tip: When you attach your spark plug socket onto the extension, be sure to secure the two together with a wrap or two of electrical tape. There are times when the spark plug socket doesnt want to let go of the plug (there is some rubber in the top of the socket itself), and without the tape holding the two together, you'll end up with an extension in one hand, and the socket still in the head.

 

It's uber easy. I did it as part of replacing the coolant pipes last weekend. Bunch of Torx wrenches is all it took. The only issue I had was some of the coil torx bolts wanted to go in at an angle. Just had to be "careful" with three of the eight. Easy Peasy...

 

Thanks for the replies. Is there a "standard" spark plug socket that I should buy or do I need a proprietary size for the Cayenne ? This is the first time I have done plugs on any vehicle. I have a Torx set so I am good there.

How tight should the new plugs be once they touch the head ? I don't want to over tighten.