I have changed the spark plugs in my other sports cars: and I am wondering how difficult it is to change the plugs in my 1999 Porsche 996? Does the engine have to be dropped?? Can I get under the car and change them myself??? Everything is so tight in that engine I cannot even locate them. Thank you for your reply.

 

Lol, they are accessed from underneath. It is about an hour job the first time around. I have a link to a how to at www.turbo911.com in the "how to section." (It was done for a boxster, but the procedure is virtually the same).

 

I've done lots of plugs in the past but I just did my 1985 911 for the first time. It looks kinda scary since the plugs are deep into the engine.

I did remove the AC pump on right side for easy access.

I used the Porche toolkit socket which has rubber insert to hold the plug. It had a 10mm hex hole in the top. I then used a 3/8" breaker bar with a 10mm hex to break them loose, and used a 3/8" racket to fully remove them. On installation I used the 10mm hex wrench from the Porsche toolkit to do final tighten ~22ft-lbs.

Here's the scary part...one of the plugs broke off and left the treaded base. There appeared to be a hair line fracture which snapped (the mechanic that put it in had tighten too much). Imagine a threaded plug base deep (6") inside the engine with only a 1-2" access hole. I went to local parts store and got a "easy out" bit set for $12. Using a 3" extension and a socket to connect to easy-out bit (wrapped in duck tape to hold together) it came right out after using the breaker bar.

Photo on www.rennlist.com forum

 

The older 911's are a completely different story. I use a spark plug socket that has a built in swivel, and that takes care of it. No need to remove anything up top to replace them, unless you have the smog equipment on the drivers side, of which you can remove the hoses to make it easier.