As a retired mechanic, I have it on good authority, that at some point in the late 1970's an automotive engineer caught a mechanic sleeping with his wife, and everything he designed from that point on was revenge. It's a joke lol

All automotive engineers should have to perform basic maintenance on the car, change a water pump, alternator and some gaskets to every car they engineer before it is allowed out the door. Then when done a similar mechanic needs to do the same and collaborate. lol

I have heard that the first step to Porsche repairs is "remove engine"

My father and grandfather were engineers at Opel for their entire careers and lived by the mantra of all German engineers "WHY MAKE IT SIMPLE WHEN WE CAN MAKE IT DIFFICULT "!

My dad and I used to work on cars together. My dad, who was an engineer, had an expression when we’d encounter things like this, “I’d love to get the part red hot and lay it in the lap of the ‘engineer’ who signed off on this design”.

“BMW doesn’t do stupid stuff like this” apart from running oil through an alternator bracket 😂😂

A transverse engine Mercedes is the stuff of nightmares. At least with the 911 there was a reasonable excuse as to why the spark plugs were where they were.

Jonny, love the extra effort you have to go through to make videos.. We really appreciate the hard work mechanics have to deal with.

Japanese engineers make complicated thing simple. German engineers make simple things complicated.

Every car is now designed for ease of assembly. Not service and repair.

I'm and engineer and I agree, some of the crap in these cars is simply amazing. I looked in an Audi engine compartment and said, NO WAY, what a mess. Your skills are amazing. Great videos, keep up the great work.

i do believe they design these things to make dealership shops money

You gotta have lots of patience and control as a mechanic to let yourself be filmed working on cars especially European cars. I could never do that in 13 years of being a mechanic.

I remember the days of my very early (1966) 911. Spark plugs? Just put a jack under the engine, remove two motor mount bolts, and lower the engine being careful not to lower it so much that you bent the shifter rod. 10 minute job. I could pull the engine and transmission completely out of the car by taking out the two motor mount bolts, the two transmission mount bolts, disconnecting the 10mm bolt on the shifter, two electrical connections and one fuel line. Then the two heater hoses, and the big hose connecting the dry sump oil tank to the engine. 20 minutes max. Needed a ratchet and two sockets, a 10mm wrench, a screwdriver, pliers (for the fuel line clamp) and a crescent wrench for the big (22mm?) dry sump hose. When I see what's involved in taking the engine out of one of these new water cooled Porsches... makes me glad I sold my last Porsche 15 years ago.

I'm so glad it's not just me - that a professional looks at this and wonders "Why would someone design it this way? Are they trying to make service almost impossible on purpose?"

dude just watching jonny change the spark plugs had me raging. That man has way more patience than I do.

Marketings geniuses: CRAM EVERYTHING TOGETHER SUPER TIGHT, so we can use it in future chassis we havent thought of yet

Work instructions for a 911 turbo show to remove the rear bumper and intercoolers. Having done this it seems like a lot of work but it's actually quite easy and then you will have a straight shot to the coils/plugs. Also the struggle is real on the mercedes wsterpump. There is a tool for the belt removal so you don't have to remove the engine mount or anything, also I find it helps a lot to evacuate the AC and remove that one line in the way.

I used to work on airplanes... Calluses on my pinkies, mirrors and all 1/4" drive sockets...sometimes some 3/8" stuff for the really big bolts.

My dads favorite saying, “If I ever catch the SOB that designed this…” and he was an engineer…

Here are two laws that I think need to be passed. 1. An independent 3rd party must determine what the billable hours are for a warranty service are. And the auto makers are required to use a minimum of three separate independent companies to determine this, whom also provide technicians with service and repair guides, and collect actual repair time reports to better refine these guides. This keeps technicians from getting screwerd on warranty work. 2. These companies also get to torture test designers, by reviewing preproduction models and identifying areas that will become service and repair problems for technicians, and then require the actual designers of those components to preform the service in vehicle. If they designers fail to complete the assigned tasks in the assigned time period, they have to redesign the area so that it is serviceable. This is to prevent cars like the PT Cruiser from entering production.

Ninja, the spark plugs on a 996tt are easy to change when you remove the bumper cover and the inner coolers. Removing those takes about 30 minutes or less and then the spark plugs are easy to access. I first attempted to do this job on my 996tt they way you just did and it seemed impossible. I’m very impressed you got it done that way 😂

Wow, Mercedes used to make it easy for people to do routine maintenance. I had a 2002 CL500 and it was a pleasure to maintain, I’m even able to flush the ABC suspension and power steering because everything is easy to reach. Serpentine belt, tensioner, water pump are all easy to access. It was a very reliable car and a pleasure to drive but maybe because I’m the only one that drove it and I have a garage.

Gotta love Brother Johnny! Humble/simple! Works more, and doesn't do too much talking! That's the difference between a real technician and a KZfaqr! 👍💯🌟💫

Jonny should invite an automotive design engineer to come and observe one of these difficult jobs and then get his reaction for the video.

There is a specialty tool for the belt tensioner that you use from the bottom of the car to remove the belt.

Most of the engineers I know also work on their own cars so we don't want it this way, either. However, between management, accountants, designers/marketing, and regulatory compliance get theirs, we have little left to work with. And, some cars will have more than a dozen different engine/transmission combinations that have to fit in the same engine bay.

It was designed by Renault/Nissan but built by Mercedes Benz and used in all Mercedes models except the S class and some infinity cars and SUVs as well

What I do when removing belt. Pull the belt by hand from The bottom of the car Then insert a Allen wrench. (Or pry it )Alllen must be The angle ones the smaller angle to the tensioner hole use like size 6 mm angle Allen wrench. And use a long needle nose pliers to insert the angle Allen wrench into the tensioner hole I recorded one video. I’m post it. I usually don’t post aloot. But this one I think it’s a must saves u aloot of time

The motor mount thing is pretty common on transversal engine. Even on my mother's Fiat Panda, to access to the timing belt tensioner (and to replace it) you need to do the same. Not to for the accessory belt I think I remember tho. Think there are cars (see the amazing Delta Integrale, but also others where the engine is crammed against the frame) that require engine out for that job...

I had to laugh when you said, "I stopped filming because I was cussing so much". Sounds like me on many of my jobs! I loved that Porsche Turbo though...

To be honest … I did one recently and it wasn’t that hard. I just pulled on the belt and then locked the tensioner from underneath. I didn’t remove the motor mount but I did remove the alternator and loosened up the ac pump which allowed me to easily remove the waterpump. Which was all in the book.

I sometime believe that the Engineers are told by the manufacture/car companies to make it difficult to get to parts requiring replacement so they can upcharge the maintenance cost. You know there is no reasonable reason for an engine out to replace the belts.

Love the outro. I hope you can continue throwing in some humor after a long day of wrenching.

yay, more car ninja! so happy you're back!

Totally agree with comments around German manufacturers expecting customers not to keep their cars long term. I had a 2006 Audi A8L, $82,000 new. Great car except for maintenance and the standard answer whenever I questioned a repair cost was “why do you care you bought an A8.” $600-700 oil changes, etc. The last straw was around 49,000 miles when it started to run slightly hotter than normal. I was told the thermostat probably needed replacement and I was quoted $1800-3200. The OEM thermostat was $18 online. When I questioned the cost range quote they told me they never replace the thermostat without replacing the water pump, belt and pulleys because the front clip needs to be removed to access the front of the engine. The higher quote was because they recommended replacing the timing belt while the front clip was removed. That BS caused me to break out my tools, fabricate the specialty tools to remove the clip and align the cams. Was it a PITA? Absolutely but all the parts, the thermostat, pump, belt, pulleys and timing belt cost me just over $600. Probably took me around 8 hours fiddling around with the front clip and assorted body parts but the way I figured it I was paying myself around $250/hour. I had that car for more than 13 years and it never saw an Audi dealer again.

Just spent the morning installing a new dishwasher in the kitchen. Old one out in 5 minutes. New one in 4 hours. Talk about over engineered and poorly made/ 10 lbs of ish in a five pound bag. Pay extra for a stainless tub and the water feed fitting is made out of cheese. It’s fancy and works great, but damn!

I’ve done that many times like a first time job on my cars but after you do it then you just add more knowledge to your internal database for repairs. I know I cus a lot while working on my own car and it’s super frustrating but then after you feel like dang I actually fixed it.

I had a 2003 Passat v6 for 207,000 miles. I changed the water pump twice. I got faster the second time, but it was still a whole weekend. The dealership wanted to charge me 12 hours. I expect a competent mechanic would have done it a lot faster.

I lived across the street from a great guy in the early 90's who had numerous el Camino's that he worked on regularly. He told me numerous times if he met one of the engineers that designed them he was going to beat their a**.😅

I did the exact same water pump on a 2014 B180 M270. You don't need to take the engine mount or the cat off. To take the belt off, raise the car (or go under it if you have a pit), have a bent piece of thick fence wire ready to push into the tensioner. Pull down with one hand on the belt until you retract the tensioner fully, then stick the pin in, then release the belt. You can then take the belt off and you didn't need either the special tensioner tool or take the motor mount off. Then to replace the water pump you take off the cat heat shields, turbo support arm, turbo water and oil feed and return lines, charge pipe between turbo and intercooler. Then loosen the stainless steel water pipe from the pump to the thermostat by taking out all the bolts for it, then loosen the small water lines that go from the water pump over the timing cover to the oil cooler. Then you can loosen the water pump and take it out from the top (tight fit). Before reassembling, clean out all the o-ring seating surfaces and lubricate with silicon grease. Replace the turbo oil and coolant pipe orings because they'll definitely be bad. To clean out the turbo o-ring hole push a piece of paper towel in so no dust falls into the turbo or it will ruin it. A small wire wheel on a dremel will grind off the rust. Then reassemble. It took me a whole day to do it, being that I'm not a professional mechanic and it was my first time doing this particular job. It is a NIGHTMARE, and the design of the plunger on the pump that corroded and destroyed its seal is so bad it will surely happen AGAIN in the same time, because the new pumps don't fix the design issue with it.

Always enjoy your videos, you are a talented mechanic.

I use to work in Auto-glass repair I remember we had 1987 Ford Taurus what a sob to change the windshield my manager said I love to have 5 minutes in room with those engineers who design that beeping car lol, some auto engineers forget a car will need repairs or smoking some stuff in the design room

Always good when a new video is posted!!

If MB is committed to building their cars in a fashion that makes repair near impossible, then they should consider building better quality vehicles that don’t break.

newer chevys do the same thing with the serpentine belt

Legend has it that the first time a Porsche mechanic took a look at the engine bay of one of the very first 356 Carreras, he just slammed the lid shut again. Who can change eight spark plugs they can't even see, let alone get at?

Makes me appreciate my 25 year old small block chevy.

A man who works only on German cars. Now there is job security if I ever seen it. Talking engineering, removed a knuckle assembly on an 08 Corolla recently. What a dream to work on and cheap parts. Would have been nice if the wheel bearing did not require a press, but just bought the whole knuckle assembly. You can tell it was high quality for an economy car, and I drive Dodges. No wonder people love that generation of Corolla, although it is a shitbox lol.

Servicing ease is at the bottom of the list of priorities of Designers and Engineers. Whether we like it or not. But we decide what to buy. So some research is recommended. I like to do most repairs. Bought a W212 3.5 NA V6 M276.

Great content as always. Just a quick questions do clients negotiate on the labour rates since you show how to fix their cars and how long does it takes to do the job. Referencing from the Porsche cayenne with thermostat repair, cause the repair instructions stated that you need remove the whole front end of the car but you found the quicker way of doing it reducing the amount of time to do the job.

There are a few CLA 250s on the road in my area. Every one I've seen so far has an AMG rear license plate frame, a fake AMG decal on the boot lid, or both! I laugh because it's not an AMG; it's an expensive, hard-to-maintain, fast-depreciating alternative to a Honda Accord!

There are few men who truly help customers in a hurry and do a great job at it also. Engineers should have a baseline for a car by now so maintaining them should be easy. But no,why bother cos they don't care about environment so people are forced to buy a new car again... whatta waste🤬🤬🤬 Thankfully there is hope for a car ninja in every city by 2030 🤣🤣🤣 Keep up the good work 👍🔥🔥

When I have to deal with a particularly tough and stupid bit of German car engineering I claim it's revenge for various losses. Like the Battle of the Bulge, sinking the Bismarck, Battle of Britain, the Tirpitz, North Africa, etc. I haven't run out of them yet, but expect to soon. I don't work on French cars, but Mers el Kibir is ready.

Regards from Athens Greece... congratulations...

Because its a Renault not a Mercedes-Benz 😅

i like how you actually work on cars the same day people drop them off lmfao my mechanic takes weeks to even look at my car looks like i need to find a new one

I had to get my a/c done on my 30 year old Camaro this summer. When I picked it up the mechanic said "now I remember why I hate working on LT1's". And I said "now you know why I wanted to pay you to do it".

100k subs , here we come

Honestly these vids are far superior Than Hoovies “I am idiot”, look what I bought Check my wallet” vids

In reference to the dumbest design choices, Carninja hasn't seen those Chryslers with the battery located in the wheel well 😢

It's good to know your able to use expletives when the task requires you to retain sanity. Lol

The water pump isn’t electric? Man, they really made this a difficult job for no good reason.

I never realized how good your eyes have to be to see WHERE to play the wrench or see where certain parts go - especially when using extensions. Man, you work hard for the money. 🤓

Cost reduction, weight reduction, lowering of centre of gravity, pedestrian safety and emission abeitment equipment.

Some of it is lack of afterthought, bust most importantly, marketing people took over in 80s-90s and they basically dictated to make everything more diffficult to maintain and the materials flimsier to sell more spare parts.

9:11 we all swear at some point- normally when you lose the skin off a knuckle or two, but engineers do test the patience.

Every ford explorer/Edge/Taurus made in the 2010s has a similar setup.

German engineers purgatory is working on the cars they design! 😈👹

A I / CAD design are not human and won't do any wrenching only patches and reprograming.

Watching these videos and thinking that the modern cars are designed to make the mechanic cry. I've just realized that before I decided to spend some a bit more money on a decent car, my choice was not based on how reliable it was, but how easy it was to fix !

This is what happens when engineers don't communicate. The guy making the compartment just knows the size of the engine and just provides the space for it. Then an engineer makes a mount that allows the engine to sit in that space. No one looks at the engine components

Johnny is a man of the people✌😎👍

Love your videos. I learn what cars as DIYer I will not buy hahaha. Which is most of what you work on.

This is done on purpose to maximise time (service costs) to replace basic consumables. If you can afford to buy a MB/ BMW/ Audi/ Porsche make sure you can afford to run it.

Moral of the story: Don't buy any of the vehicles featured here unless you have a lift or a lot of money.

Snap on costs too much to throw around 😂

The three pointed suppository strikes again

The problem is drivetrain reusability to cut costs. Same engine goes in both FWD and rwd architecture cars. In RWD applications there wouldn't be an engine mount to remove belt and wp. It's not the engineers it's the bean counters trying to sell all sorts of models for the cheapest cost possible. You end up with this nightmare.

I’m looking at this thinking that German engineers do this on purpose. A water pump replacement on a Toyota 4 cylinder is a 30-45 minute job. It’s as if they know that at some point a mechanic is going to need to replace parts.

I'am no mechanic but will tackle the basics but needing a lift to change the plugs is insane.

The #1 reason I feel the engineers don't care about the difficulty of the repairs is because they don't have to work on them when a part breaks down, I own an Audi and it amazes me how they put that engine together SMH

There are thousands of people involved in developing a model of a car. The revisions engineers make for ease of maintenance sometimes do not make it into the final product as they run out of budget $$$ or its simply too late in the development process as tooling has already been completed. As my dad would put it be thankful for auto engineers as they keep mechanics in business.

at 10:23 ....there is no time to think ......engineers has to poop out drawings for the production...... automotive bussines is a nut case on itself. always late , never works, endless recalls, and hardly making any leftover money.......

People want complicated things otherwise they would have chosen none complicated

The Mercedes CLA looks like a nightmare to service

Lol Johnny rinsing Ben for sneezing, funny gear mate

I have not yet done Porsche H6 spark plugs, but they look very much a similar pain in the ass to certain Subaru H6 and H4 turbo engines. The NA subarus are cake to do plugs on however. Also, for mental optimism I count the replaced plugs like the count down of work days in the week. Just one of those things to help not get too frustrated.

I've done the water pump on a 2020 version of that Mercedes and it's not too bad took me about two hours but they made revisions to Kane the job easier then on the first gen

He should try doing a motor mount on a 2018 BMW X1 gotta pull the bumper the headlight and remove a/c lines

Well he obviously hasn’t worked on a Cruze 1.4 where the belt goes routed through the engine mount. You’re right about engineers hating us 🤣

Hope you had a good weekend Jonny.

'I'm just being dramatic' 😆well yeah, a bad located tensioner is cheap close to some quirks some bmws can do

Ben didn't look shocked at all!

How do you feel about old Porsches, Ninja? 944s and other transaxles?

Those water pumps suck. I worked at the dealer when they first had issues. They sell a special tool for the tensioner so you don’t need to remove the bracket

Jonny needs to have an "Only Fans account so we can hear him swearing about the design

I liked the older E63 design so much better than this one where everything was in front of the engine instead of on the passenger side.

Good design for maintenance does not sell cars. Good design that simplifies build and thus lowers costs helps manufactures, if the design causes more work for dealers than everyone other than the mechanic and the customer is happy. This is the way.

johnny cursing that would make for an interesting video. Go for it !