Would you spend the money on IMS fix?

I know we've got mostly Cayman owners on here, but I always appreciate the advice and comments. I priced out the LN engineering IMS fix for my '05 Boxster S and it's going to be about $2,000, including an oil change but excluding tax, at one of LN's recommended installers (a trusted mechanic that I used to take my cars to before I moved some distance away). I'm looking at about $2,172.50 out the door. I originally thought it would be about $1,500. Would you do it if you owned my car (now worth about mid to high $20K range), or would you let it go and take your chances with the engine as is? Since I've been a masochist and have used dealer service in the past, I'll save about $200 on the oil change ($150 vs. $350), so that's some benefit. Plus, I think I'll have some peace of mind that I can keep my car and end my thoughts of selling it. And my car is too old for a decent extended warranty. BTW, I feel for '06 owners who might want to try the LN fix. Instead of quoting an installation time of 10-14 hours for the '05 (for which I would be paying $102 an hour for 12 hours of labor), the site just says that the '06 engine has to be entirely torn down and that it's "very expensive." Ouch! I never thought I'd feel lucky to have an '05 (although, as we know, the common wisdom is that the '06 bearing is more durable). Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.

This is an old topic already. If you plan to keep the car for some while (3+ yrs from now), I would do it without hesitation. If you plan to trade or sell within a year or two, maybe take your chance. $2k is pretty cheap for what it's worth. I'm going to do it as soon as I get a 996 C4S. I have my eyes on a few low mileage 04 model. The 1st thing I would do if I get the car will be the IMS upgrade and oil change. The bad thing is, the Cayman will have to go. I would do it on my cayman if it didn't require the whole engine coming out.

Although well reported the failures on the M96 engines the failure rate does not make it an easy decision as it is not a large percentage of the total cars out there, so i can see where you'd struggle. No easy answer on this one, although looking at what we spend on an exhaust to give some extra noise and a little power I don't think $2k is a massive amount for a mod. Especially when it gives you a piece of mind and therefore makes your enjoyment of the car that much more....which I expect it will. Now consider a catostrophic failure and the costs, which are obviously in the back of your mind. You obviously think about a possible failure and that is not a nice way to enjoy a car, so maybe it's time to pull the trigger. I'm not sure if more regular oil sampling than normal could detect an issue with it prior to complete failure.

Let me register a dissenting vote, I would not , unless you track the car. If it is a street car , I would change the oil at 7k and servicing as required and leave it at that. Cheers.

I bought my '99 Boxster with 74K miles and the first mechanic I took it to warned me of all the horrors lurking in the motor the IMS bearing being the main one. I decided to roll the dice and see if I really wanted to keep the car so I drove it for another 10K miles tracking and AXing it. I decided I really liked the car and wanted to keep it for several more years so I invested the $1,800 (that was the install price three years ago for a Tip) and now have the peace of mind that I've extended the motor life, as far as the IMS is concerned, by about a 5:1 ratio. I made my decision solely on extending the motor life to enjoy the car longer. You will have to make a decision based on what you want to do with your car.:cheers:

$2k installed? Sounds like a sweet deal to me. I'd do it. I'd rather spend $2k on the IMS and track the hell out of my car than spend $2k on NA bolt on mods.

My 05 Boxster S has a build date of 03/2005 and it has the updated larger bearing. You will not know which bearing you have until you drop the tranny. I had a new clutch, RMS and lightweight flywheel installed, but no IMS bearing . Good luck!

Longislander - Don't your usage of the car and your long-term plans have a lot to do with your decision? I know you don't trust your engine -- I don't, either, but my car is an 08 and the LN upgrade is out of the question. I am still under warranty until next February, but after that my only option to keep it and have peace of mind would be to buy an extended warranty, but I am on the verge of ruling that out. Warranty or not, it annoys me that I'm driving a car with an engine defect that might ultimately destroy it in one fell swoop. I always feel like, "Man, I am driving a $50K car that really turns heads -- and I am really going to feel like an idiot if the engine blows." Silly me, I thought driving a $50K car would give me more confidence, not less. Even if the warranty pays for it, I have never had a car in nearly 40 years that gave me this feeling and I don't like it. It may be unreasonable but that's the way I feel. Apart from that, we decided the Cayman really doesn't fit our lifestyle anyway. Apart from being beautiful, the principal advantage of the Cayman is on the track, but we don't go there. On the street, 98% of its performance characteristics are wasted due to traffic and speed limits, aside from the fact I just don't drive all that fast. And it lacks the same luxury features on my 2012 Focus commuter car that cost half as much. Again, this doesn't give me a warm fuzzy feeling. A couple of years after the purchase, I am wondering what I was thinking at the time. I have retirement and a big move coming up in a couple of years. Since I still have some warranty left anyway, we will probably wait until then and sell both the Cayman and the Focus and replace with a new SLK or Z4 or something similar for retirement. I don't really care how fast it is, I want luxury features and a bulletproof engine for worry-free joyriding on the street. Given your own expressed doubts about your engine, I have to wonder why you would bother with the LN upgrade. You'd spend $2000 with no guarantees for a 7-year-old car that will soon be developing other problems due to increasing age. You don't track your Boxster, either, do you? So why not just sell it and get something you actually trust?

Thanks to all for the advice. Mine has a build date of May '05, but according to its engine number (compared to info posted on here and elsewhere as to which engine numbers have which bearings), it shouldn't have the updated bearing. I'm surprised that your car does, although I've also read that Porsche's system for installing engines has been kind of screwy. Now, I'm confused as to whether my car really needs the upgrade. At 15K miles, it certainly doesn't need any other work and it runs absolutely great.

Thanks for your thoughts. You and I are very much on the same page. We have the same mistrust of the engine, I don't track the car and I'm getting closer to retirement. My daily driver is an '08 Subaru Legacy with amenities that my Boxster doesn't have. I'm more interested in handling and braking than speed, given Long Island's congested roads. Since I'm obsessed with saving my pennies to have a bigger retirement pot, I prefer to limit my expenditure on another sports car to what I can get for the Boxster -- probably the mid- to upper $20K range. I don't fit well in a Miata and that amount doesn't get you much else that's interesting these days, even if you go used. I've thought about a Subaru BRZ, but I don't know if I will fit and I would prefer a convertible. I've also thought about wrapping the Boxster and Legacy for sale in exchange for something like a lightly used Audi S4 (I still want AWD as long as we live in the northeast). Then, I realize that everything I want -- except the engine defect -- is already right there in my Boxster, at least until the humongous repair costs kick in as the mileage rolls up. It's an interesting dilemma.

You could also install the advanced warning system for IMS failures from Flat6Innovations Home Page It's a clever, simple solution.

I would install this in any car that has an engine with a midshaft period. Cheers.

No. Not to say i don't care about my car, i polish it within an inch of its life, but i think we have far more cars running around without an issue than we have with an issue. I work in the motor trade and all cars have inherent problems whether its porous heads, simple handbrake cable issue or VAG water pump failures. I just follow these simple rules, Don't over rev, don't neglect the oil, don't track it too often... TBH i have used the same philosophy on all my cars over the years without problems. Just my opinion...

I have an 05 BS and decided I will likely keep this car 10 years, so I did it. Saved on some labor doing a clutch and RMS at the same time.

This IMS issue is too much at times.... I have a good friend who just sold his 911S for a SL500. He said he was tied of worrying about the IMS . He kept his 07 turbo only because he never drives it!!! I have a warning sensor installed and just drive the hell out of the car... It is like a heart attack, you can spend you life worrying or just enjoy it.

I would do it for $2000. In addition to peace of mind, it should increase resale value a bit when/if you get rid of the car.

The turbo uses a dry sump motor so completely different to the 987 and rest of the 997's other than GT3's and 2's. I think more to the point is people make too much out of the IMS issue and on the 987 (excluding 987 Boxsters with the M96 3.2) this is not a big issue, and folks continue to mix old issues with new.

I have a 2005 Boxster S 52,000 miles, original owner and the IMS issue just took out the engine. I am weighing options right now.

Sorry to hear. Can you give us any more details? Is the failure confirmed to be IMS ? Did you track your car?

I think the 05 Boxster is in the class action settlement group. It would be worth it to look up that thread and see. There might be some assistance there for you.

People really over complicate this whole thing. If you have an M96 then do it. If you have an M97 then don't because THEY DONT HAVE IMS ISSUES.

Not absolutely correct. There have been a *couple* M97 IMS failures.

I don't have the right words to show my sympathies toward your situation. It must be harder than most things that most people encounter. I wish you all luck in things working out as best as possible.

The IMS failure is confirmed. I did not track the car nor drive it hard. It blew in first gear at 6 mph. The noise was not dramatic. It sounded like a pebble being shaken in a beer can. It is still at the dealers.

Re: 2006-8 imsb. These year engines do not necessarily grenade the entire engine. They give ample audible warning and ONE that I heard fail was gently driven 8 miles to the home garage. It had 145,000 miles on it! I can now change this bearing IN THE CAR so DON'T PANIC!!!

Sorry, did I hear $2000 or $20000? $2000 on repairs for IMS Vs maybe ten times more on an engine overhaul, the maths is simple.

Exactly, "pay me now or pay me later!" If I still had a car with an IMS engine I would be taking precautions against failure immediately!

Jake seems like both a great guy, and a great mechanical mind. He can do a lot of things...if you have the cash. It really comes down to what one is willing to sink into a 10 year old car, vs putting a nice down payment on something new, or newer. I believe his stage 1 3.4->3.6 package is around 20k, but don't quote me on it. That's not a racing motor though. His upgrade packages for existing 3.4's are a little bit cheaper.

He's kind of "stream of consciousness" when you talk with him. It's a very big commitment and I'm not sure my car is worthy. I'm doing some checks on it to see if anything outside of the drive train also needs work. When I get that info, I may take the plunge. He's got a 14 month waiting list at the moment. Because I do DEs, he says I should get Stage 2. He also says the best, solidest Stage 2 is his 3.8L build. He goes up to 4.0. If I decide to do it, I'll go with his 3.8 Stage 2. I have a quote for it. That's more money than 20K, but not a ton more. You get Stage 1, it's NO DE's allowed, just like a stock motor. He won't warranty Stage 1 motors that have been tracked. My car has all the oiling mods which were done very early in the engine's life, a power steering cooler, an under-drive and has had about a dozen DEs. No over-revs and has 94K on it. Runs very well. :cheers:

Skip the fix. If you experience catastrophic failure, steer car to ditch. :burnout:

Re: the 2006 IMSB update fix for earlier engines. The IMS is not machined for the larger bearing so you'll still have to split the cases n buy a new IMS . RE: My bored out 2006 CS 3.4 fix. It has 10,000 street miles on it and i plan to be at CMS in October for D.E.

^^Good info.

Hello, on July 5, 2015 my 2005 Boxster S with 52,000 miles on if suffered the IMS failure. After a lot of thought I had the engine rebuilt with a new engine block. On December 31, 2015 I took possession of the car. I am very happy to have it back. Any opinions on an engine break in period?

Sorry to hear about the damages but great to hear you have the Boxster back... In a nut shell, either you do subscribe to the procedure or you don't. If you don't, carry on, if you do then find a copy of the 2005 owners manual and follow it's recommendations. Search the forum as there are a few threads on that subject!!! Best not to re hash all of that content here.

You didn't mention the engine builder. If the Porsche dealer I'd expect that the manual procedure will be the mantra. If you had an independent builder, ask them. I'd expect them to have very specific notions on how they want you to break the engine in to match their experience.

I'd also go with the manual for recommended break in. Don't panic when you open the filter at the first oil change. There will probably be some silicon shiny chips and even some metallic chips. There should be almost zero on the second oil change, Did your engine have the larger IMSB? Was the engine builder totally informed on the possible details that contribute to the imsb failure? Best wishes and hope to pass you on the road some day