First DIY maintenance this upcoming weekend

Hey everyone, I'm psyching myself up to do my first 'real' maintenance this upcoming weekend, assuming all parts arrive by then. On the docket is a driver-side catalytic converter replacement, plug/coil change, and motor mount replacement. I'm working on a 2002 C2 with just under 80K miles. No record of plugs/coils ever being replaced. Driver-side cat throwing a P0420 CEL every now and then (increasing frequency). I've done a ton of research here, as well as Renntech, the 101 Projects for your 996 book, Youtube, etc. No one process looks particularly difficult, but I am a relative newbie on car maintenance. I want to get my hands dirty and learn, so this seems like a relatively good place to start. My very rough plan of action is to do things in this order: Chock front wheels, jack up, get rear on jack stands. Remove rear wheels (loosened up while still on ground). Remove mufflers, hopefully keep bumper on. Remove driver side catalytic converter (take off O2 sensors first) Replace plugs/coils with what I hope is enough clearance for my non-dainty hands. Replace motor mounts while car is up and hopefully relative ease at getting to underside mounting hardware. (I know this is easy to do with car on ground and nothing apart, but figured this may make life easier while up). Replace driver side catalytic converter (DEC direct-fit). Replace mufflers. Does that seem like the right order? Any particular words of wisdom? I've got tools, a selection of ratchet extension wrenches,good spark plug socket, torque wrench, a 1/4" socket/driver for the 5mm coil screws, etc. All purchased based on tips from the various threads I've been looking at. Pretty sure I have all the tools I'll need. It's a California car with no rust, and all the nuts/bolts look to be in good shape. I'll hit them with penetrating oil ahead of the work this week. I've read a lot of threads including those who say it took them >2 days to do the plugs, etc. I really want to get all of the above done in 1 day tops, so any advice or even encouragement would be appreciated. Thanks in advance! -Don

take your time and it'll all go smooth. I'd disconnect the battery first (but make sure to have the radio code handy)

Quotes source post: 12146400

Thanks. The good news on that front is that I replaced the factory CR220 with a Double-DIN Pioneer Appradio 4 last weekend. (Wow was that original radio bad!)

If you do disconnect the battery, place a rag over your frunk latch to keep from locking yourself out of the frunk. I know you can attach a battery to the fuse block, but easier to just prevent the frunk from latching. Also, while you are at it, make sure your emergency hood release wire is positioned so that you can reach it easily if you ever need it. IIRC, you don't need the car raised to do the motor mounts - you just stick the jack under the engine and raise the engine enough to take the weight off the motor mounts. One big nut holding up the weight of the motor on the bottom of the mount and three small ones on top holding the mount in the correct location. Only a one or two beer job I believe. Wear gloves doing the exhaust work as you'll probably be dealing with some rusty parts there and don't want to gash yourself on rusty metal when a stuck nut breaks loose.

Don, I just recently replaced my motor mounts and plugs. Both are pretty easy. On the plugs, I found it really helpful to have a long 5mm ball end allen key to get to the upper coil screws. I also found it helpful to have the 3/8in. "wobble" extensions. This will allow you to go through the holes in the muffler bracket which will make your life much easier. Also, don't do what it did and put on anti-seize on the plugs. I ended up taking the plugs back out and cleaning them. Not to start a whole thread on that topic . Lastly, I think the 2002 has the spark plug tubes, not sure, if so, you may want to have a spare tube and o-rings available just in case. Good luck.

Consider taking the rear bumper and heat shields off. It really is not that difficult to do..maybe 10-15 minutes of wrenching. That way you get really good access to the mufflers/cats. Your order sounds well thought out. The plugs and coils should be a breeze with the mufflers/cats out of the way. The motor mounts will be a lot easier with the car on the ground so you can slide a jack under the car to support the engine. Since you will have the air box out for the right motor mount, consider doing the serpentine belt and a new air filter. Again, pretty easy to do since you will have access. Have fun!

And let us know how it went :-)

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate the feedback. Sounds like I'll add disconnecting the battery, stuffing a rag in the frunk latch, and getting myself a set of wobble extensions to the list. Won't use anti-seize as I've seen multiple references to avoid it. I believe the 2002 does NOT have the tubes on the plugs (at least from what I've read), so I'm hoping I don't encounter them and have to call an audible while I'm in there. DBJoe, good news is that the belt was replaced recently just before I bought the car last month and I changed the air filter within the last couple of weeks as well. Good suggestion for the next time I'm at it though. For those of you who have recently done this, how likely is it that I'm going to break a bolt on the exhaust? It's tough to judge from all the threads I've been reading, but it seems like the exhaust system bolts are pretty likely to break. Can't tell of those are largely specific to rust-prone areas, or just as likely everywhere due to the heat. The ones I can see look largely-rust free, but given exposure to heat, what do I know?

I'll go with 100%.

I've pulled my exhaust off a handful of times, the bolts are pretty big, 15 or 17 if i remember, have some WD-40 handy and go to town! You should be fine.

Quotes source post: 12146589

I didn't break any bolts when removing the muffler. I gave a quick shot of "Pb Blaster" like 30 min before I started wrenching on the bolts and when I removed my mufflers, the bolts came out easy without issues (SoCal car here though). It was really easy , but I had removed the bumper/heat shields.

Quotes source post: 12146732

I'll pass on a tip that helped me a few years back, when disassembling exhaust components: 1. Use PB Blaster instead of WD-40 http://www.homedepot.com/p/Blaster-1...-THD/202597469 2. Spray and soak the bolts overnight. The next day, the lubricant will have "penetrated" the threads a bit, which will make breaking them much easier.

you forgot a few things like... Drop off mufflers at local exhaust shop for Gundo hack and the last and most important step, crack open beer and appreciate your hardwork. hopefully you can leave off the things that I always have on these lists. 1. bandaid 3rd bloody knuckle 2. swear profusely at problem 3. toss those 2 unidentified extra screws into dark corner of toolbox and pray they were not needed.

Plan on 5 hours for first plug coil change.

Quotes source post: 12150516

This is exactly what I'm worried about based on reading some of the threads out there.

What others have said. The 2002 does not have tubes on the plugs, so one less thing to worry about. Make sure that the coils are back on properly - they should snap on. I did not drop the exhaust and was only able to get to 3 out of the 6 plugs (2 on one the passenger side, 1 on the driver side). Others have not had this problem, but when I did the Fister D mod and had the muffler off, it certainly seems that this will give you much better access. It goes without saying that if the engine has been running, stuff down there is HOT so make sure it is cool. I used my air impact wrench on any accessible muffler bolts though I had liberally doused anything that looked remotely fastener-like with Liquid Wrench or some stuff. I'm not going to say "the worse that can happen" because that would be tempting fate, but in my case, for the ones I couldn't reach, I went to my indy to replace them who charged the usual arm + leg.

Looking at the tracking information for my catalytic converter, it doesn't look like it will be here by this weekend. So, I'm leaning towards revising my plan to just focus on plugs, coils and engine mounts this weekend, and replacing the cat in a couple weeks. (weekends are full for a while after this one). I'm really starting to think I'm better off to remove the bumper cover, heat shields and mufflers to do plugs just to make my life easier. It doesn't look like those add all that much time vs. the amount of hassle it seems to be to get at those last plugs. I'm hoping any loosening up of nuts/bolts I do around the exhaust will make the cat replacement that much faster/easier when I do get back to it. We'll see. Thanks again for all the info, tips and even jokes. I'll be sure to report in how things go as I make progress.

Alright. I finished the plugs, coils and motor mounts yesterday. Took me about half the day of somewhat leisurely work. No major surprises since I had done so much reading ahead of time looking for tips/tricks/gotchas. I will say this, those of you who say you can do the plugs without taking anything off the car have to be freaks of nature. I saw absolutely no way to get the various tools or my hands into those spaces without pulling a bunch of stuff off the car. I started by taking off the bumper cover, heat shields, bumper, and mufflers, and that made the job much easier. However, that coil/plug combo furthest back on the passenger side of the car was a real pain. I knew going in that one was going to be tough, so I created a type of electrical tape 'sling' to keep my various wobble extensions and plug socket together, just so I wouldn't have to get creative and fish them out after they got stuck. The plug itself wasn't too bad on that one, but reconnecting the coil and getting that furthest-back 5mm screw back in were probably the hardest part of the whole day. The muffler bracket really is in the way on that side. After the plugs were done, the motor mounts were a piece of cake. I still have to do the catalytic converter on the driver side, but that didn't show up in time for this weekend. However, now that I know the exhaust comes apart pretty easily and the nuts and bolts are easy to get off, I'm expecting that should go pretty quickly once I attempt that one. Pic of the car up on jack stands with the floor jack under the cross-member added just for some extra safety. This was after I did the plugs on the driver's side and put the muffler back on, but before I pulled the muffler off on the passenger side. The old plugs were BERU's, so I'm guessing the plugs were changed at some point in the past, and I just didn't have a record of it. They didn't appear to be in too bad of shape. I put in Bosch's (new one on left) Old engine mount on the left compared to the new one. Looks like it was about time to replace. No leaks, but pretty distended. I will say as others have, the car does seem to idle a little smoother and shift a little 'tighter' in the 60 or so miles I've done since yesterday. Could also be placebo, who knows? I will say I'm driving with a heightened ear right now, listening for any changes (good or bad) that I may have introduced. So far, so good. All in all, I thought it went well. I know I could do it quicker next time. Thanks for all the tips/tricks and encouragement. All were helpful, and I'm proud of being able to get it done being relatively new to DIY car maintenance, and especially so on a Porsche. (Oh, and no busted knuckles. Not bad, right?)

Nice work. I've done the same work on mind and have a few extra tips - the bolts that connect the cats to the manifolds are pretty weak and fairly likely to break. Make sure you spray them well with PB Blaster the night before (as mentioned already). They are pretty easy to cut out afterwards, but the bolts are welded to the cats so if you break them you'll need to improvise - have a helper reinstall the rear bumper. I didn't...and somehow managed to bend it enough to create a few spider-web cracks in the paint. sigh. - while the air-box is out it is a good time to spray some MAF cleaner on the MAF. Only takes a few minutes and might save some debugging in the future. But only use the cleaner specifically for that purpose - +1 on the Fister hack while the mufflers are out. Any muffler shop should be able to do it.