ChristopherG

I am shopping for a cayman s or a 996. Both look like great cars and I am trying to figure out the details in caring for either and the common repair issues.

Does the cayman require a lift for pretty much all work? Is the only engine access from underneath?

I am used to putting audi vehicles in service mode and taking apart way too much of the engine bay to get to things.

Is it any worse to work on or just different things to take apart but the same amount of work?

Thanks for any information.

Bill Lehman

The carpet under the hatch is removable giving access to an aluminum engine cover which is held in place by 5 torx screws. This allows air filter and power steering fluid access. With a little more work, the carpet behind the seats is removable giving access to another cover and the front of engine. A set of ramps gets you under the car for oil and filter changes. You don't need a lift.

Macster

Since considerable servicing is done from under the car a lift in either case would be a plus.

Some report they get by with a floor jack and jack stands or even just some Rhino Ramps (at least for oil/filter services). (Me I use the Rhino Ramps for changing the oil/filter and O2 sensors on my Boxster and oil/filter services on my 996.)

Believe it or not I use the factory scissor jack (two in fact -- I bought a 2nd one) when I do the brakes on the Boxster and when it comes time to do the 996 brakes I'll probably use them then too.

Anyhow, the problem to me with a jack and jack stands is where the car should be lifted is where it should be supported with a jack stand. I do not like to lift a car or support a car with jack stands at any point other than factory recognized lift points/support points.

If I had a garage -- my servicing is done in the shipping bay of where I work and on an weekend -- and was doing my own servicing I'd spring for a lift.

Nothing as fancy as what the dealer has in its service bays but something that safely lifts the car -- either by its tires or by the lift points a each corner -- into the air high enough to give me plenty of room under the car. The Rhino Ramps give me enough room -- just -- to change the oil/filter but to anything further up the clearance gets tight.

You can access the Cayman engine from the top but there's not much up there. About the only time I expose the engine of my Boxster is when I'm changing the air filter, checking fluid levels, or once or twice when diagnosing a problem that had me looking at the MAF or the throttle body and once when tracking down a noise that proved to be coming from the water pump.

All things being equal the Cayman will be a bit cheaper to service. It is a less expensive car than the 996. Generally the rule is the more expensive the car is to buy (new) the more it costs to service/fix. I have not worked on my 996 but I know second hand (from here and from taking to Porsche techs and from viewing 996's in the air in various stages of dis-assembly (engine/transmission out stage)) the 996 has its hardware packed pretty tight. The Porsche designers did an excellent job of packaging the hardware but it is packed as I said above, 'pretty tight'.

But I think maybe you are ahead of yourself. The Cayman and the 996 are rather different cars -- though both fine cars (I drive a Boxster and a 996) -- and I think you need to decide upon which model you want: Cayman or 996?

Sincerely,

Macster.

ChristopherG

I definitely want to get some driving time in both before making the final decision between one or the other. Any purchase is still about a year away I'm just in the early shopping phase at the moment.

As far as tight engine bays go I'm used to it with my S4 any turbo issues require motor removal and changing the alternator this last fall meant taking off the bumper and pulling the whole lock carrier foreward.
Repairs aren't fun but the car makes me smile every time I drive it so it's worth the hassle.

Thanks for the advice.