Just finished Spark plugs.

[mptoledo]

I just finished replacing my spark plugs and it went pretty easy. I would say it was a 4.5 out 10. 1=putting air in your tire, 10=engine rebuild. Actually it was pretty simple except 1 spark plug cover(closest to passenger seat). I would have given it a 3.5 or 4 but I penalized it for the time it took me to clean myself up. good God you get dirty. Oh plan to cut your nails after wards.
Total time about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 1 1/2 if it wasnt for the darned one spark plug.

Tools needed:
1.) 6 spark plugs( I used NGK iridium $6.99 each)
2.) jack/ jack stands
3.) 2 allen wrenches, short and regular
4.) Socket for plugs 16MM
5.) a lot of Frickin degrease soap
6.) and of course Pedro's how to!! Damn that guy is cool!! http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site_3/Change_Spark_Plugs_%26_Tubes.html

Here is How I did it: 3 plugs on each side
1.) Unloosen the lug nuts on passenger rear tire.
2.) Jack one side up( I started on passenger(it is the hardest) and placed support jack under it between the tire and the seat on the round piece right before the tire.( I left the jack up just for safety)
3.) Take tire off.
4.) Take off two "plastic" bolts holding wheel well guard(towards seat). this is a must.
5.) You need two allen wrenches a short(2"-3") and a long(4"-?). this will save you time. Doesn't matter what one you start with(I started with 1st one towards rear). two allen screws need to be removed(hardest part of the job).
6.) Gently pull off coil pack(no need to unhook wires. use socket to take out old and put in new.
7.) Replace coil pack and allen screws and repeat for the rest.
8.) The one closest to the pass seat was a pain. The wire harness unhooked on me(didn't break, just unhooked). The end crept up in the rubber guard. I spent 20 minutes trying to fish it out but I finally took scissors and cut a slit on the rubber. Peeled back the rubber and rehooked it up.
9.) put tire back on (inspect tire first, I found some glass and a small nail). The correct pattern to put the nuts back on( I said nuts) is the star of David pattern or pentagram. top-bottom-top right-bottom left-.....
10.) repeat steps 1 through 9 on the other side. The driver’s side only took about 10 or 15 minutes, it was a breeze.

Over all I was impressed at how easy it was, if it wasn't for the 1 spark plug coil coming off and the frickin mess, I would have given this a 3 out of 10. The old plugs looked pretty worn down and I definately noticed better idling and it seemed to purr a little better. I only started it for a few seconds as I am waiting on the oil change to test drive it to see how much of an improvement there real is.

Projects completed:
1.) Serpentine belt
2.) Sparkplugs
3.) Radio replaced
4.) Tires
5.) Oil Change/air filter
6.) Speakers
7.) throttle body clean

Projects to do:
fuel filter
Battery (spring).

[Jackelfox]

thanks for the instruction. Maybe this will help my somewhat irregular idle.

If you are worried about messy just wait till you get to cv boot replacement, while i have cleaned up, my garage and tools are still feeling the effects.

[mptoledo]

Originally Posted by Jackelfox

thanks for the instruction. Maybe this will help my somewhat irregular idle.

If you are worried about messy just wait till you get to cv boot replacement, while i have cleaned up, my garage and tools are still feeling the effects.

My idle did seem better, but I think the throttle body cleaning would help more
http://www.pedrosgarage.com/Site%203/Clean%20the%20Throttle%20Body%20%20%20.html

I guess i could have worn gloves. They would have to be thin as you need your finger. good luck. it was pretty simple just be careful when you take off the spark plug rubber boot.

[tonycarreon]

hey MP. have you done your fuel filter yet? how'd it go?

[mptoledo]

Originally Posted by tonycarreon

hey MP. have you done your fuel filter yet? how'd it go?

Not yet, Looks pretty basic. I am going to wait till my tank is down close to emty. Just in case I have another oops. I already scoped out the underneath when I did my plugs; you gotta take off the big black plastic housing thing. Rest looks like cake. I will keep you all posted. I am still wondering about cleaning the throttle body, as I have never opened the "hood".

[mptoledo]

bump
to
the
top

[schnellman]

I see you used NGK iridium. How about some input from the group on brands? Everyone has their favorite oil, favorite tires, favorite air filter, etc. Let's hear from the crowd about spark plug brands. Come on guys.

[mptoledo]

Well, I think I overpaid. I really see no difference from the stock plugs that were in there for 60k miles. I used ndk on my bikes for years and liked what I read about iridium holding up, so I thought I would give them a try. I think I could have went with champion and had the same results though. I plan on pulling the plugs to see how they have held up and as a pre-emptive maintenance.

[Mike_Yi]

Thanks for the guide. I just finished mine, and it was no big deal. I think it took me two hours.

BTW, I got my plug tube puller tool (boat drain plug) from Cabela's for $4.

[Frodo]

Couple of questions. Mike: Did the transom plug (boat drain plug) work well for you? (I have read some posts where people seemed to think they weren’t that effective.) How many miles do you have on your Boxster, and did the tubes seem to be in good shape? Pretty easy to get out?

Also (for anyone to answer): How are the cylinders numbered? I thought I read somewhere (I can’t find it again…don’t you just HATE that??) that 1-3 were on the passenger side (1 being right behind the passenger seat, 3 being at the rear end of the engine) and 4-6 being similar on the driver’s side (4 right behind the driver, 6 at the rear end). Is that right? (I ask because I got a “cylinder 1 misfire” CEL recently.)

[Frodo]

Bump.

Wow, is it possible NOBODY knows what the cylinder numbering scheme is for these cars is?

[mptoledo]

Sorry, everybody must be out enjoying the car(like me). I really don't know the answer to that question. You might want to start a new thread in the main to get more looks.

[JDBOXSTER]

Just replaced plugs with Bosch 7413. Changed all plug tube O rings at the same time. ******************************** had best prices.
Got my drainplug from West Marine. Had to wrap balck electrical tape aroung the plug remover for more grip.

JD Boxster
2000 (986)

[stateofidleness]

the OP actually makes me feel like I could do this myself. i'm due for my 60k service but most of the stuff has been replaced already, except for plugs and some fluids.

is it as simple as 6 plugs and some free time? is replacing the tubes a necessity if i don't have any oil leaks? i'd hate to disrupt the harmony down below lol

i had a misfire code for some time (not for a while), but I reckon this might help a bit.

[mptoledo]

I only replaced my plugs, but it is a good Idea to do all the parts. It was fairly straight forward, as noted, I had trouble with the 1 plug nearest to the passanger seat due to the shortness of the plug wire. The drivers side took like 10 or 15 minutes.

as I remember, just take off the two allen screws on each plug(most done by touch, not sight), take out the plug and reverse. Pretty simple.

Hint, don't start with the hard plug. Start with the one closest to the passenger rear of the car. You will get a hang of it by the time you get to the tough one. Then the other side is a breeze!!

[stateofidleness]

if i have the car up on 4 ramps, does it still require removing the wheel? any way around NOT having to remove the wheel?

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by stateofidleness

if i have the car up on 4 ramps, does it still require removing the wheel? any way around NOT having to remove the wheel?

I think it would be tough without removing the wheel. (Maybe could be done if the car was up on a lift?)

I should qualify that a little. I was working on only the two cylinders just behind the passenger seat---switching the coil packs to track down the source of a misfire in one of them. I don't know how I could have gotten to them without pulling off the passenger side rear wheel. I also partially removed the plastic underbody shield in that area. Easy to do, and it made access to that cylinder closest to the passenger seat a lot easier.

I didn't mess with the driver side at all, so I can't speak to that. I assume it would be similar, ie easier with the wheel off.

[tonycarreon]

Originally Posted by stateofidleness

if i have the car up on 4 ramps, does it still require removing the wheel? any way around NOT having to remove the wheel?

putting it on ramps wouldn't help much, i would think.

i removed my wheels and can't imagine trying to do it with them on unless maybe i had access to a lift - that might be more do-able. it was still somewhat of a pain but not impossible and something non-mechanics can certainly do. just follow the write-ups around and you should be fine.

[mptoledo]

You have a better line of sight with the wheels off. It might be awkward but possible with the wheels on. Just take the allen wrench and see if you can reach all the plugs with the wheels on first

[tonycarreon]

Never realized how easy we have it...

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/997-turbo-gt2/196055-997tt-sparkplug-diy-aka-torture-yourself.html

1. remove engine and transmission...

or

1. remove wheels, bumper, lights
2. bend heat shield back
3. unbolt and move oil and coolant lines...