sparkplug change - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

djomlas · 07-29-2007, 08:25 PM

for those who are interested in seeing some pictures from sparkplug removal and installation here it is. its not all that, but the pics speak for themselves.
make sure to have the spark plug removal tool.

1st step is to take the rear wheels off, good idea to give them a nice scrub fromt the inside while they are off.
then you will see this:

obviously, you have 3 on one side and 3 on the other side.
and here is another pic, you can see the caliper in this pic as well, just a diff. angle a little

in this picture here you can see that on the block there are 2 holes, thats how the whole thing was secured, with spark plug inside.
remove those and this is what you will see:

an easy trick is to take a piece of rubber hose, usually used as vacuum lines, and stick it inside, and pull the spark plug out, use the same for re installation of the old one.
here is a picture of the old spark plug compared to the new ones.
i ordered the new ones from sunset imports. quick delivery and good price.

believe it or not that is all, you will just have to make sure to gap them to the right specs. there is a lot of threads on what the specs for torquing the spark plugs should be , depending on your engine, 2.5, 2.7.....and so on
its either this, or pay your dealer $350 to do this, hahahahaah, when i heard that i just couldn't stop laughing, sorry, but thats total BS, since anyone can do this.

986Porsche986 · 11-22-2007, 08:21 AM

Great post. Were those the original plugs? If so, how many miles on them
until you replaced them?
Thanks

djomlas · 11-22-2007, 09:27 AM

i didn't have a record when they were replaced, so i did them.
car was approaching 60K so i included it in that.
in the same weekend kinda thing i did the serp. belt, plugs, oil, and a little while back the coolant. then after that 2 months later or so, pads, clutch and brake fluid (thx Sammy).
now i just have to get some rotors, i think its time for that

turbo23dog · 11-23-2007, 08:42 AM

Sorry, I may be a bit groggy this morning from yesterday's feast... but I'm not clear on what you mean about using rubber hose or vacuum line. I know its something to do with removing the spark plug, but what?

Thanks,

Silverbird · 11-24-2007, 09:13 AM

The rubber hose is used to remove the plug from the recesses of the tube after unsrewing it from the head.

Sometimes needed if the spark plug ratchet doesnt have a rubber plug in it to hold on the the spark plug.

Also a good idea to use when starting to thread in the new plug, to ensure it starts correctly and isnt cross threaded.

Chris

SeattleBoxers · 12-22-2007, 01:42 PM

Good post.

Did you use any anti-seize compound on the threads of the new plugs?

Or, is that not recommended?

Also, what are the best plugs to use, NGK or stock Beru plugs? I tend to use NGKs in most of my cars.

dcporsche99 · 12-23-2007, 08:06 AM

Nice post dj!

djomlas · 12-23-2007, 10:28 AM

i didnt put anything on them.
i ordered the stock ones from porsche

FTD · 12-24-2007, 05:18 AM

very, very nice, dj. Thanks!

Redneck · 12-31-2007, 05:43 AM

Hey, GREAT post, dj!

This is my first post here and after reading your post yesterday, I decided to tackle the job on my 01 Boxster. I bought it about a year and a half ago when it had 50K miles and it's been a phenomenal car! Anyway, it's now up to almost 70K, so it seemed a good time to tackle the job.

I guess the whole job took about 1 1/2 hours. Once I got the wheels off, jack stands placed, and the fender well covers off, everything was right there in front of me - pretty straightforward.

The only thing I would add to your post is make sure you have a 5mm ¼” hex key socket with 1/4” drive ratchet to remove the coil packs. I started out with a 5mm 3/8” drive socket and after I did the first one on the driver’s side, I went and bought a ¼”. There’s just no room in there for anything more than air!

I went with Bosch +4 Platinum plugs in mine, $5.98 each at Advance Auto Parts. The gap is preset from the factory and Bosch says not to change it, so that was one less thing to worry about. (Just a side note here… Bosch has a 3 year replacement warranty on these plugs as well, and since Porsche recommends plug change at 30k miles, it looks like I’ve just bought one set for life!).

I’ve also read several other posts about changing plugs in the Boxster, and there were mixed reviews on anti-seize – Some guys said it was okay, and other posts said to definitely not use it at all. The “Don’ts” seemed to be the majority and they also seemed to be the most outspoken. “Do NOT use any anti-seize compound whatsoever under any circumstances…” – That kind of thing. So no anti-seize for me. We’ll find out if that was a good idea in a couple of years when I do this again – don’t worry, I’ll let ya’ll know!

I’m with you djomlas, on the Dealer price for plug change – Only here in East Central Florida it was closer to $400.00! INSANE! You’re absolutely correct, anybody can do this. The intimidation factor is MUCH worse than the actual job!

Franco · 12-31-2007, 06:08 AM

Hi DJ Great post, I never used anti-seize stuff when replacing plugs on any car and went with the Beru for my Boxster. This is an easy to do project and money saver also, DJ is an inspiration for the DIY guys like myself.

If only i had the time and patience as you do

Thanks

dcporsche99 · 04-01-2008, 08:14 PM

Hey dj,

...bringing this thread back to life....since I have to change mine out soon, just wondering if you changed out each of the tubes (6 tubes total) and the O-rings (2 per tube) when you changed out your plugs??

If so, what did you use to remove them? Is there a specific Porsche tool for this?? Any pictures??

(re: any input regarding this would be appreciated)

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: For anyone else who is interested...did a search on renntech and here's what I found: http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=149&hl=