A Cracked Oil Pan Destroyed This $10,000 Porsche 911 Engine: Video

A teardown of the 2012 Carrera's flat-six reveals beautifully preserved components and the catastrophic consequences of running without oil.

Photo by: YouTube / I Do Cars

By: Jeff Glucker

Nov 1, at 9:00am ET

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Porsche and flat-six engines go hand in hand. The automaker has used them since the mid 1960s, which means there's been plenty of time to make them more reliable and more powerful.

In 2008, Porsche introduced its 9A1 flat six. This unit replaced the older M97 engines, eliminated the potential for intermediate shaft bearing failures, and ushered in a massive upgrade in overall reliability for the 911.

Still, you can break one of those mills. Especially if you starve it of oil. Which is exactly what happened to one unfortunate 2012 911 Carrera owner. If you've ever wanted to see what the inside of one of these looks like, today's your lucky day.

No Oil Equals Bad

YouTube channel I Do Cars was gifted a 9A1 from a 991.1-generation 911. The engine oil issue arose due to a cracked oil pan. When you crack the pan, your oil goes on the ground instead of to all the rotating, spinning bits it needs to be. And that's how you ruin an otherwise healthy engine.

The channel host, Eric, goes through all the steps of taking the engine apart. Even though it's a nearly 50-minute video, it flows nicely with Eric explaining what he's doing along the way. You get a good look at all of the parts that are still in good shape. Eventually, though, we get to the stuff that's toast.

What do you think?

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Comments

As someone who has a spun bearing sitting on their desk from their own blown motor, I feel this Porsche 911 owner's pain. Though his problem was a lot more expensive than mine, blowing a motor in my '91 Montero.

Still, the main takeaway is that Porsche has built a robust, powerful flat-six engine in the 9A1. But there's not much you can do if you hit something in the road and your oil leaves the chat.