IMS/Crank Case - not the usual question

Probably one for the Hartech team, but all contributions welcome...... M96 engine M96/0366309931. In my 2003 996 C2. Original engine, looking at the paperwork and dated as an 03 engine. I should have the single row IMS in this. My car is in with an Indie to fix the RMS, amongst other work, so was going to have the uprated LN type IMS done at the same time. The Indie, as you can imagine, has done quote a few of these. Gearbox off, done the RMS, BUT........... the IMS can't be replaced, as the crank cases and IMS itself is the later M97 style IMS. This is pretty odd. He's not seen it before, except in a replacement engine, so I am trying work out what might have gone on. I have lots of paperwork, but nothing specific to a crank case/IMS swap. The only paperwork that looks interesting, is an Invoice from Porsche Solihull for a customer contribution to an RMS in March 2007. So, the question I have: Would Porsche have potentially swapped out crank cases/IMS during the RMS swap, if, when they pulled the gearbox they saw the leak was not RMS, but IMS seal. Has this type of thing been seen before (I'm thinking Hartech going through 1000 engines might have seen it if it was a practice by Porsche at the time) I am expecting people to say that it would have been a new engine job, but that would show up on the engine code, right?

Sounds like its had a rebuild previously.

would Porsche have done it on the quiet under the guise of doing the RMS? this is the only point in the history of the car (and it is extensive) where there is a hint this might have been done.

I very much doubt it.

My old 4S had had a couple of RMSs fitted by OPC under warranty by a previous owner. Defo just seals, IIRC the latter one had a different part no so was a modified seal. I can't imagine them splitting the case to fit a modded bearing... Few specialists do the modded 997 upgrade. Hartech and Autofarm are the only I can think of.

...Porsche fit a new engine for free because of a leaking IMS... :floor:

update on this one. Car is in at Hartech having a full rebuild and they have confirmed it is running the later IMS shaft and bearing. The only time in its life where this seemingly could have happened is at Porsche Solihull in 2007. It looks to have gone in for an RMS (receipts showing customer contribution for RMS) and came out with the newer, larger IMS. The only way I can square this, is that it went in for RMS and they identified and issue with the IMS during this work and did the engine work required to replace with the 2007 version shaft and bearing.

How are service histories tracked over there? If you're not the original owner, then a former owner might have hidden this from subsequent buyers. Some people would see 'engine rebuild' in an ad and just put it in the 'avoid' pile because of some implied issues. Or the owner at the time of the work did not appreciate that this was a plus not a minus, hid the work and flipped the car? I'd also find it unlikely/impossible that a dealer would do that level of work and not tell the owner.

The invoices I have is pretty extensive and given how much everyone knows about the IMS issues, I'm sure that anyone that has gone to the trouble of having the engine out and the IMS replaced would want to show that had happened. I think you also give main dealers too much credit. I bought a nearly nee LR discovery from main dealer. Noticed some turbo noise, which required body off and two nee turbos to be fitted. On a car with 30k miles that's embarrassing for the dealer. I got it back from them, with no specific record of the work they did other than a reference to resolving the noise. It was done by the dealer not under LR warranty. I guess LR didn't want to advertise that they had to swap out turbos on a low mileage car. Perhaps Porsche didn't want to advertise an IMS issue and fixed it at the time of RMS to save the warranty issue of a lunched engine