Picture of my spark plugs - 99 boxster, 59k miles - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

JoeFromPA · 01-16-2011, 08:02 PM

Hi all,

Pulled my plugs out last night. This car makes it very easy - the only thing i'll say is that you absolutely need an allen wrench-sized bit in a socket for the coil packs. I had to rig something up that worked, but if you don't attack those bolts with a ratchet you'll hate life.

Took me about 2 hours, most of which was simply lying on my back trying to line up coil pack bolts and get them in and out and torque'd.

Anyway, this was my father's car. He is great at keeping on top of maintenance, not so good at keeping good records. So I'm guessing these are not the original plugs (unless Porsche used "Beru Ultra").

Here's a pic:

Whaddya think? FYI, car ran absolutely fine before and after. One of those plugs was on a side with a bad o-ring/plug tube which is leaking a bit of oil.

WhipE350 · 01-16-2011, 08:38 PM

My 2000 'S' has 54k miles and I just did mine, they had previously been done at 33k so really didn't need it but I wanted to check for leaky tube rings and check how the plugs looked so I figured I mine as well have plugs on hand to install.

I'll take some pics of mine and post them for you, they look similar to yours in terms of color and build up, maybe mine are a little cleaner but in comparing to the Bosch website looked exactly as they should.

Maybe it is your pics (very clear) but you seem to have oil on the threads on more then one of them, I don't recall that on mine...I'll check though.

I found both the coils and the plugs easy to remove. Like all these projects I've done for the first it took extra time (couple hours too, I cleaned things so I can check for any oil leaking in the future). Like everything else on the Boxster after you do it once it takes about 1/4 the time the next time. I did the last 3 in about 20 minutes while teaching my girlfriend, we were working fast cause we wanted to take a spin before dark.

Topless · 01-16-2011, 09:53 PM

Looks like she is running well. Good mixture and no obvious contamination issues.

dirkdiggler · 01-17-2011, 12:22 AM

I changed mine recently. Mine had 60k on the original spark-plugs. after replacing my car idled 100x better and doesnt throw misfire codes anymore.

JoeFromPA · 01-17-2011, 03:18 AM

All of the plugs had an even coating of oil around the threads. It wasn't old oil either - it was wet and light. It didn't appear burned or otherwise troublesome.

Honestly, I've never pulled plugs out of boxer before so when I saw the oil I figured "Ok, probably normal when the plug is horizontol in the cylinder."

If the threads should be dry, then that's something for consideration.

kpm · 01-17-2011, 04:41 AM

Does anyone use anti-seize on the plug threads ?

JoeFromPA · 01-17-2011, 05:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpm

Does anyone use anti-seize on the plug threads ?

Porsche recommends not too, and for the best reason I've ever heard: they are concerned that it interferes with the excellent grounding of the plug and thereby might cause an occasional misfire or other incorrect operation of the plug.

I can' speak for others, but assuming my plugs were in for 30k...they came out very nicely, with barely any seizing, and they have no evidence of anti-seize on them. I'm guessing by 60k they'd be a bit more stuck, but not horribly so....I suppose that's age dependant as well.

WhipE350 · 01-17-2011, 06:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

If the threads should be dry, then that's something for consideration.

I stand corrected Joe, I took mine out and looked, the threads looked dry and oil free, then I took a picture with a flash and as you can see it creates a nice oily shine

.

Our tips look similar though, mine just have less miles on them.

Idaho Red Rocket 3 · 01-17-2011, 09:12 PM

I am ready to change the plugs on both cars. Base and S. Is there any advantage/disadvantage between the Bosch Platinum 2 tip and 4 tip plugs ?

JoeFromPA · 01-18-2011, 03:42 AM

Any of the pelican-parts recommended spark plugs are good, which include bosch 4-tip and NGK 2-tip and Beru Ultra 2-tip (like what were in mine).

I was impressed by the NGK quality of construction. Instead of the threads going into a flat sealed area with an aluminum crush ring, they went into a tapered cone with a very nice tapered & thick crush washer.

Whether or not this makes a damn bit of difference in regular use, probably not, but I'm guessing the strength of the seal is enhanced because of it.