After doing a lot of research on how to replace spark plugs and seeing the difficulty, I was debating on doing this job myself. After procrastinating the last 3 months, I got the nerve to start the job today. I have a friend who owns a shop so he let me use his tools and lift. I started at 9:00am and was finished at 12:00pm. ONLY 3 HOURS!!!! I thought this job was going to be a nightmare and I was presently surprised how easy this job turned out to be I am not an experienced technician and only dabble with small projects. It turns out that the 997.2 Turbo is far easier than the 997.1. Here is what needs to be done for this model:

1. Remove rear wheels and inner fender well. Very easy
2. Remove rear taillights (2 screws on each side). Very easy
3. Remove rear bumper. Very easy
4. Remove intercoolers. Easy
5. Remove heat shield (2 screws on top of each side). Easy
6. Remove heat shield that cover plugs ( 2 screws). Easy
7. Remove the VTG on passenger side only. Easy with long extension and ball end allen
8. Remove one torx screw for each coil pack. The forward and rear are very easy to remove. The middle is easy once the VTG is removed.
9. Remove spark plugs and re-install new ones. Very easy

Note that the only difficult side is the passenger's side. The driver's side is very simple. No need to remove the VTG or anything else.

I did not have to remove any oil or coolant lines to the turbo. Just the VTG on driver's side so the coil would back out. I cant believe that both shops and the dealership wanted to charge me over $1000. I am not a mechanic and it only took 3 hours from start to finish. The hardest or should I say, most tidiest part of the whole project was the removal of the bumper, intercooler, and VTG. Removing and replacing the spark plugs took only 20 minutes tops.

Unfortunately I only took pics of each side showing the coils removed. I didn't want to tie up his lift so these are the only two pics. One of them shows the VTG unit that has to be removed. It is only held on by 3 allen type screws. 2 in the back and 1 in the front.

 

I wish the .1 was that easy.....

 

Also keep in mind as 997's in general get higher mileage, you can run into broken bolts like I did, which turn ANY job into a cluster****.

 

Excellent addition Joe!

 

I agree. Read how it was so easy to do plugs on the 997-2 turbo. Did mine and it was quite a pain. I'm sure it's better than the 997-1 but not a quick job.

 

Any one has the part number for 2012 997.2tt 3.8 ( 2010-2012 turbo) updated ignition coils and spark plugs . I have looked for hours online and what one shop says is the correct one the other says does not fit. I called a couple of dealers and everyone is giving me a different part number. so frustrating. I have tried the most popular Porsche specialist online parts stores and they are all mismatching part numbers and a mismatching applications. Only sun coast seems to be trust worthy because they are actually hiding the part numbers and listing their own.

 

These are the ones I installed a few months ago... they may have been superseded by 07 or beyond.



Old vs New

 

Thanks for the write up.

 

Thank you for the write up. Write ups like this help us all decide on doing a job or just paying for someone else to do it. I just finished the job which took me 2 days. One thing I would recommend is to list and picture all tools used and photos. this was my first job an Porsche period. As a hobbyist I have worked on my cars for the past 20 years ( not Porsches) , 2 of which i was actually working at a SAAB dealer as a B tech in my younger days. I would not call this job easy at all for a first timer. It's easy once you have done it once and know all your angels and tools you need to get to those tight spots. I started Friday around 2pm, worked till 10pm with little breaks, then started 10 am sat, finished sat 8pm. It is posible that what took time is the extra tight fit of the oversized Wrek1 intake/ y pipes and the champion oversized intercooler. The clamps were near impossible to get to with a stranded manual ratchet but that is all i had to work with. We are talking a lot of patience working one click per turn in an extremely tight spot. Also the wrek1 intercooler pipes and wreki1 silicone hoses did not have much over lapping so they were zero forgiving. If I was off by 1mm on one end i couldn't get the hoses clamping groves to aline with the pipe clamping groves. Also the Y-pipes and intake boxes required some vudo magic to fit back as they are overlapping in a ( what came firs? the chicken or the egg sort of fit..) That time also included washing the intercoolers thoroughly. I also had to make a trip to the parts store for a couple of tools after spending time trying to get away without them :-). I would guess that the stock parts would have taken half he time at the most. I can easily do it again now knowing what I know :-). But if it is your first time allow yourself a lot of time and patience and get your tools list in place. you definitely need some Torque heads, allen heads, inverted torque sockets ( or 12 point sockets 8mm), 1/4 extensions and swivel. if you have a motorized small ratchet it will save you a ton of time. smallest one you can find. also be careful connecting your VGT back. it can only go one way so be gentle with it. once you mount it back and tighten it. you will need to snap the ball back in the small rod. you will need to move the actuator up to aline them and snap then together. make sure you draw a diagram on a card board with all the screws you take out inserted in it . It will make your life much easier.

 

Thanks for this write up, I am somewhat in the middle of this (waiting for the small allen bit to remove the allen screw of the VTG behind the metal lines) but have a question, do you replace the actuating rod of the VTG? I saw in the workshop manual mentioning to replace them when removed.

Thank you in advance

 

Can someone say which Sparkplugs and ignition coils were used from Porsche Stock ?

Bosch Beru ???

 

Yes, the ones that I got from an online authorized parts dealer, Sparkplugs are Bosch and Coils are BorgWarner since they acquired Beru.
Are you planning to replace the actuating rod?

 

Hello,

i changed my exhaust yesterday and decided to change the plugs and the coils aswell.

GUYS pls if you read this thread ! The change is easy if you have mechanic skills !

I did many repairs on cars and engine rebuilds , it was not a problem for me but if you only changed brakes or something like that forget it !

You need to do an pressure test (boost leak test ) after that if your hoses are fitted good .

 

so did you replace the actuator rod for the VTG? or reuse it?

 

i reused it it was good I sprayed it every time I got the car on the lift