Why is this Porsche engine so clever?

Describes why the Porsche 981 engine is super easy to maintain and work on, and why what you've previously been told about this mid-engine car is a myth.

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[LooseNut]

I was trained as a Porsche mechanic decades ago, as fortune would have it, I had to expand my repertoire to other marques. It took a while to reach the conclusion outlined in this video, in that many of my colleagues refused to believe that Porsche did things differently but also led me to curse every other manufacturer as a result. I save my most incandescent ire at US manufacturers whose engineering is utterly appalling. I can’t thank you enough for this thoughtful video.

[tomthompson]

Having just spent six hours taking three bolts out of the back of a range rover engine, all of this is very relevant .

[Phantom-pgtv]

I never do my maintenance until i got my 981 S. It was my dream brand to own, i was afraid that the cost of ownership will be very expensive. I can afford the oem consumables but the service i know will be expensive. To cut the story short, i bought all the tools i need and started doing oil change myself, then the air filters, belt, flushed the break fluid, flushed the coolant, change my plugs and never had to send my car to the dealership or to an indy. And im more confident with the work done. I owe it to you and other content makers for sharing us the know how. I love your contents and you’re at the top of my list with no none sense just pure genius. My next job is to change my pdk and rear diff box fluid and im studying your diy for weeks now. I’m proud of myself of accomplishing this much in the last 2 years of my ownership starting from nothing. The car is in tip top shape, i can say with confidence that i did it better than the dealership. Thank you again and continue giving back to our small community in your own special way.

[markdschedler]

The guy that can explain anything to anyone is rare and a treasure. Thank you. I love my 981 Boxster S even more now.

[davidburne]

I’m a motorcycle enthusiast, and over the years I’ve found that ease of maintenance is the key to keeping bikes well maintained. If it’s difficult, I’ve tended to put it off, often to the detriment of the bike’s reliability. My old 80s and 90s Moto Guzzis had their oil filters inside the sump, which involved about 16 cap head bolts, one of which invariably be difficult to remove or strip the socket, and sometimes tearing a sump gasket, creating unnecessary aggravation, so oil changes tended to get deferred. I realised that had to change so I fitted aftermarket sumps with external oil filters, and these days it’s a 15 minute job instead of an hour or so. This results in the bikes getting their changes when they need them, rather than when I can spare the time.
The value of ease of maintenance is rarely discussed and this is a refreshing exception.

[rob]

Agree Jeff, If Mr Porsche thinks you will need access behind a panel, then the panel will come off and go back without any trouble. Other cars I have worked on, panels are assembled for ease of initial production. Having a hoist helps, I need to run the front up on ramps then jack the back onto stands. Doing this has allowed me to do all required maintenance even at the age of 70. All regular maintenance on my Cayman has been accomplished over the last 8 years without the need to remove the top engine cover, except for a look. You do very good videos and I appreciate them, thanks.

[awmjb]

Excellent presentation! It makes me feel good to own a 981 Cayman S.

[tedjohnson]

Thus is one of the best presentations I’ve seen in years! The animations, inline dissassembly clips, arrows and labels on actual photographs of real cars are all “chef’s kiss”! Brilliant editing!

However having said that… I must confess… that I was quite sceptical about the actual claim (of Porsches having easy access for maintenance) until the last few minutes of the video where you gave actual examples. In particular, the intake manifold removal example, and the deliberate angling of fasteners for ease of access were quite convincing.

[lenp]

Very observant Jeff and so obvious when you point it out. People seem very surprised when I say I try to do all my own maintenance but it genuinely has not been too difficult at all. With the right tools and information (mainly your video library) I’m working my way through pretty much every job and saving a lot of money. These cars are built to maintain and last. Thanks so much!

[sidneybear]

OUTSTANDING !!! You know you are an expert ( in any business sector ) when you can simplify complex issues. Great job Jeff.

[MrPepelongstockings]

Having always heard enthusiasts in-the-know laud Porsche for 'the feel', 'the experience', and 'the engineering', it's nice to finally have someone point to some specifics in the build, and highlight how these actually affect 'the feel' for drivers as an outcome.

[docbrian]

Thank you! This was a wonderful presentation. I wish resources like this had been available when I was a struggling college student many years ago.

I once found a guy selling a 1969 Porsche 911s for just $5, 000. The catch? The engine and transmission were disassembled and scattered across his garage floor because he was pressed for time before moving.

I took the plunge, bought it, gathered some used tools, and a collection of shop manuals. I spent quite some time just staring at the pieces, wondering what I'd gotten myself into. Eventually, I began disassembling everything further to really understand how it all fit together.

A month later, I managed to get the car running—and it ran beautifully.

However, that experience led me to believe it was entirely normal to jack up the car, place a hydraulic jack under the engine/transmission, unbolt the unit, and lower it just to pop off the valve covers and adjust the valves. Or to run the engine at 6000 RPM while adjusting the distributor body with a timing light in hand.

Oh my, indeed...

[bakhteria]

Thank you. I don't even have a 981 but enjoy watching your explanations of procedures.

[jeffbrassard]

Thank you Jeff for your wonderful video and creatively simple explanation of the genius of Porsche design. As an owner of a 2015 981 Base Boxster your work here is much appreciated. So far I have done regular oil changes and brake jobs. Up next is coil packs and new spark plugs which, before watching this video I was a little intimidated over but now few confident I can carry out this service.

[mpp]

Great video. I’ve owned 3 Boxsters and this is eye opening.

One big frustration that is counter to your assertions is 718 gt4/Spyder oil change. No access window to filter and drain plug. Have to drop 2 undertrays and remove about 30 screws. Also the filter is way up high on the Spyder vs other 98X’s.

Considering this is the #1 maintenance job and they made it so infuriatingly inconvenient is a real problem

[Matthew-bcmr]

The Mercedes 190e is also a maintenance dream. Made me love working on cars in high school, which I hate now after experiencing other makes and models. When the design engineer takes things into account it really makes a difference.
Now though, big dealerships have lifts and such that standard practice is just lift the car, drop the subframe and pull the whole engine out, do maintenance, put engine back in, do alignment (bc suspension mounts to subframe) then its set. This allows manufacturers to build the cars much cheaper bc they don't have to do extra bends or cuts for things, and allows dealerships to charge more for maintenance bc of the difficulty, which they see as win/win. But for the consumer its lose/lose..

[alshaver]

Thanks for the well thought out video, great production value (including the wood block mock ups) and clear dialogue. Was easy to follow for a non mechanic auto aficionado.
I love my 1998 Subaru Legacy Outback with 250K miles/ 405K kilometers on it. Also a low mounted true boxer (not just a flat, opposed cylinder engine). However, the frame rails in the engine bay are about 2 inches/5 cm from the spark plugs. With my socket set I could loosen the plugs, but then I could neither retrieve the plug nor the socket and extension. I found dozens of YouTube videos showing expensive tools, machinists modifying tools for this procedure and the like. I finally came up with a bizarre disassembly of my tool after only cracking the plug loose. Once I had the technique perfected, it took me 3 hours to change 4 plugs. Based on this video, I think Porsche would have come up with a better solution.

[tobiaskolb]

Thank you very much. I am sooo happy with my 981S Boxster. Good to know that if something is to fix with your help I can manage it. ❤

[juhakivekas]

I have a 996.1 C2. I bought it 2015 and I basically do all the maintenance by myself. I have noticed this same thing. At first it looks the engine bay is very cramped but when you actually work on it you quickly notice that the design engineers must have worked on car at race track pits. It’s good to have a proper workshop manual. All and all I think the car is the easiest car I have had to maintain.

I have taken the engine out twice. First time it took me a couple of evenings. Alot of time when getting the car high enough with simple jacks and stands. Second time it took me maybe three hours. I could probably squeeze it now down to 90 minutes - but now I have lift to make things simpler.
Also with 911 you need to often drop the engine a bit from the two rear mounts - just take the nuts down end of the threads and you have enough room for many “difficult” things. But nowadays if I need to do something bigger I am confortable taking the engine down with my single post lift and a piler. Once the engine down it is so easy. Then you lift the engine back - it is about three hours when no hurry. It does teach you thinking to do many things at the same time like: injector cleaning and cabibration + AOS + Y-cable + starter + oil sender and of course IMSB, RMS, plugs, coils, water pump, thermostat, aux belt.

Ive also done the chain sliders, added X51 extra oil scavenger and swapped to X51 sump, done the whole clutch, swapped cats, wrapped exh headers, added a couple of heat shields.

And again, I find this all relatively easy. I also have a 1997 Audi S8 and it is a pain to work on compared to the Porsche. it is filled with design errors like try to get the lower rear suspension link bolt off at front. You need to lower the whole front subframe/engine/gb combo just to get the bolt off. If that designer had been in front of me at a certain moment … Also change the generator and either you will have to take the whole front in parts or work blind from underneath the car. Something that should be a 1 hour job took me two evenings. Most cars today are designed for the assembly line. With Porsche you get the feeling the designer has spent time underneath the car.

Yet, Im somewhat surprised of the material choices Porsche has made in the water cooled era. The “for life lubed” IMSB is a clear design error most likely based on empty promises by the bearing makes, some cast materials are rather weak. Ultimately I think a Cosworth design is of higher quality than Porsche. It also has the racing pedigree but often more simple solutions than Porsches which are Isak’s churches in many ways - some call it German over-engineering.

But all and all, my 911 has given more good moments than any other car Ive had. To own, drive and maintain one is a joy.

[cemoore]

Picking up my very first Porsche tomorrow. A 981 Boxster. I also have a 93 vette that I do all the maintenence on but sometimes get very frustrated with but because it was "good old American muscle" I just assumed it would be easy and working on my new Porsche would be like, well, reading German! Now maybe I realize I have misjudged. Can't wait to get my hands on it. Thanks!