the Walnut Diary

Today an ignition coil on my Cayenne failed in Athens.  The car immediately began to shake and miss.  Fuel consumption went from 11.8 L/100 km to 14.4 L/100 km and the check engine light came on almost immediately.  The CEL reader showed code P0307.  That meant that cylinder #7 was missing.  I gritted my teeth and drove the shaking car the twenty miles home, but a longer trip would have necessitated a tow truck.

Normally a failing ignition coil on Ruby is like a slight toothache, a niggling annoyance interrupting an otherwise serene driving experience.  This one was an outright failure more like a broken ankle.  When I eventually removed the offending coil, it smelled like a burned computer component.

Because a coil can fail at any time, regardless of its quality level or age, I have decided to pack a spare against eventualities, but realized it would do no good if I didn’t have the correct tools to make the switch, so here is the list for ignition coil replacement:

long #30 Torqz screwdriver   does most of the work.

#15 Torqz screwdriver   releases the screw which holds the right beauty panel to the windshield washer fluid funnel

1/4 ratchet with 9″ extension, 8 and 10mm sockets

#30 screwdriver bit in mini-ratchet gets into a couple of tight corners where the screwdriver can’t loosen machine screws

3/8 ratchet with 9″ extension and sockets of 8, 10, 16, 5/8″ spark plug  and 12 mm triple square

second ratchet or 16 mm box end wrench

large plain screwdriver for beauty panels

large upholstery prying tool to remove the coil from its den

error code reading tool

Bank 2 coils are easy.  Bank 1 has less space, and you have to remove an engine mount.  It’s not a bad job at all, but you need to get that triple square nut off unless you have already replaced it with a 16mm nut.  The 5/8″ socket is to check the tightness of the plug when you remove the coil.  I found one shaken loose once.