Unless you've got a lot of experience changing spark plugs on a 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo, I think that statement applies to both you and the GP. It's reassuring to think our problems are harder than those of other professions, but it's not always true.
If it takes longer than a week to change a spark plug on a 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo, I'd be shocked. If it takes longer than a month, I doubt anyone would ever bother. A year? Unimaginable.
For software, on the other hand, I have seen all three.
If it were between fixing an unknown issue with said car and fixing some code, then I would say it might be a wash. Fixing that particular issue with the car though? Regardless of the difficulty in fixing it, at least you've got a book that tells you what to do (I assume. I would be very surprised if that wasn't the case. From the sound of it, it looks like he knows what needs to be done). Diagnosis and design of a fix will almost always be more challenging them implementing a fix, be it with cars or code.
I'm still going with merely knowing that your job is to replace the sparkplugs gives you a leg up. You seem to have a pretty firm grasp on how complicated the task is and what is involved, which is already a head start.
In most cases no. You do have an idea of what you have to do (as in software), but nothing too exact. Worse when its an European brand that pleases itself in over-engineering everything.
Well as I said, "If it were between fixing an unknown issue with said car and fixing some code, then I would say it might be a wash."
If we're comparing an unknown with an unknown, that seems reasonable, but comparing a known (replacing spark-plugs on that particular car) with an unknown seems foolish, no matter how physically difficult that known may be.
You can remove the manifolds (and turbochargers and all related shit), or you can lower the engine a bit and get your hand in there with a collection of flexible 3/8 ratchet joints, a shaved spark plug socket (if its too long it wont work), and lots of patience. The issue is that the upper head faces the frame rails.
By the way, I love the SC. Very nice car. I dropped a 930 engine into one, but it keeps breaking transmissions (600+ HP). :)
I have to agree, the spark plug task is pretty deterministic in that a shop manual will specify the number of hours to charge, which a well-practiced mechanic can easily beat and often pocket his share of the difference.
I have not done so myself, but I always imagined that it would require dropping out the engine. As such I'd call it a tedious but well-defined task for someone with a lift and plenty of time. If the job can actually be done without removing the engine, yes that sounds incredibly frustrating.
The 993 series in general is still a fantastic car today but the turbo model in particular looked absolutely stunning when it was introduced. They gave up a lot of character when they re-tooled in 1999.
I agree. The 996 was just too bland, but still sold much more units than the 993. Go figure.
OT: I once tried to talk a client into dropping a 3.6 993 engine into a 996 Carrera. Everything lines up, but he was afraid of the resale value of the car. Would have been a fun experiment. :)
I've done both and while it's a bit of an exaggeration, changing those spark plugs were a giant pain in the ass. I still have the scars.
My new benchmark for self-inflicted pain is trying to get IPSec up and running from an iPad to the house going through dd-wrt terminating in a Linux VM. Still pounding my head on that one.
Famous last words