its done from underneath the car with the car on a lift. its not much easier than removing the bumper but it can be done

 

Gents,

Thanks for all the help. This board is great and I appreciate the support. It ended up being a dumbass moment on my part..the left side intercooler lower hose was completely out of its port. So we know that having such a large vacuum leak will cause an ABS / PSM warning. Doing the sparkplugs without taking off the bumper? Now that is magic!!

 

for at least 4 separate spark plug changes, i stand there and hand sockets over while my dimunitive porsche tech buddy changes the plugs without having to remove the bumper and with the car elevated only by jack stands. the larger you are ( or your help is ) the more problematic this will become. hah.

 

Don't be mad because you took half of the car apart to change plugs, and should only take about 45mim. Ask anyone who works on these cars very easily done with everything intact. But yes I have a shop with a lift, the right tools, and do this full time for a living. Just saying the less things you touch the more potential problems you avoid tearing seals o rings etc.

 

I service a number of 996TT's, doing a plug change with the bumper/IC on is stupid.
Opportunity to clean the IC's of leaves, debris, etc, review O-ring's, etc...and for the 10minutes of remove/install give total freedom at the coils and plugs...

 

It is very common to get boost leaks after disconnecting and reconnecting the boost hoses if you are still using the OEM hoses. Check the tabs on the hoses to make sure they are not crushed. Simply turning the boost hose while it is in the socket is enough to cause the tab to be crushed in enough that it doesn't engage the clip properly anymore. This is why...

 

Thanks for the pic! Appreciated...