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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHLN IMS leaking or RMS? Pic inside.
Leading reported evidence
Install incorrectly due
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
You can tell it was installed incorrectly due to it not being plane with the surface.
Leading evidence: 'Install incorrectly due' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Install incorrectly due' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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1
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
IMSB was replaced at 16k miles with an LN retrofit.
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Discussions that contain suggestions
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Suggestion
Might want to take off the sump pan and see whats in there, cost you nothing more than an oil change, an hour or 2, and a little sealant...
Replace any ims bearing, you must follow the pre-qualification procedure
Suggestion or failed attempt
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
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Suggestion
But before you replace any IMS bearing, you must follow the pre-qualification procedure before wasting money on the bearing replacement.
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Suggestion
As you already know, these are extremely expensive engines to rebuild/replace, best bet is to act accordingly...
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Suggestion · Original poster
Am hoping to have it back and running before the first anniversary of his death, but if this is an imminent IMSB failure I�ll have to store it for awhile as I can�t afford the parts at the moment.
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
10 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
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Generation: 20261026T174436Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
IMSB was replaced at 16k miles with an LN retrofit. Car is currently at 55k miles.
I noticed there is definitely a leak from the RMS. You can tell it was installed incorrectly due to it not being plane with the surface.
Doing a general health checkup on my late father�s C4S. Am hoping to have it back and running before the first anniversary of his death, but if this is an imminent IMSB failure I�ll have to store it for awhile as I can�t afford the parts at the moment.
Actually, it looks like the two case halves are not perfectly lined up which may explain why the RMS is leaking oil and may also explain why there is oil residue around the IMS bearing flange.
When was the LN bearing installed?
I unfortunately blew my budget on refreshing all of the coolant and AOS hoses, variocam solenoid, and a few other things.
Do you think I�d be good for another 5000 miles before I�m able to take care of it in the fall? Otherwise I�ve gotta put her back in storage.
bradgillette, go to the LN website, here:
Does my car have it already? – IMS Retrofit
and enter your VIN to see if the bearing was registered and if it was, it will tell you when it should be replaced. The retrofit currently has a 6-year replacement suggestion. The ones installed in 2013 may have an even shorter life.
I see what you mean; it looks like seepage at the case seam, not leakage from the mating surface between the seal and the crankshaft. Interesting. I wonder if that explains why Porsche was simply replacing engines for "RMS leaks" back when they were under warranty...
Well, welcome to the world of m96 owners....
Unless you're looking to dump the car in a fast sale,,, No way I'd put that back together looking like that.
Might want to take off the sump pan and see whats in there, cost you nothing more than an oil change, an hour or 2, and a little sealant... Would tell you a lot more about the imsb than looking at the badly leaking/seepimg rear of the engine. Which already tells you you need both RMS and IMSB(from imsb's age... at the least). Was the clutch/DMFW oil fouled..?
Could also send out an oil sample.
As you already know, these are extremely expensive engines to rebuild/replace, best bet is to act accordingly...
jmo
Here are my thoughts on this subject. Oil leaking from the IMS bearing flange doesn't mean that the bearing itself has failed. This just tells me that the flange seal has been compromised from a not-so-perfect install, another problem impacting the sealing of the flange, or age of the bearing. The bearing has been in service for more than 10 years. That's way overdue for replacement. (ref: the attached picture) Has this engine been rebuilt? The excessively applied black silicone sealant coming out at the case half is concerning. Unless someone has some inside knowledge on the subject, the factory doesn't use black silicone to seal case halves and so that would tell me that an oil problem was identified, or someone rebuilt this engine and used a black sealant on the case halves.
In my opinion, since the engine is out of the car, then it's a no-brainer. Pending further inspection, replace the IMS bearing even if you have to wait because budgetary issues. You also want to replace other items (e.g. RMS, AOS, crank position sensor, Oil cooler, Coolant Expansion tank, water pump, etc.) that are easy to replace with the engine removed. But before you replace any IMS bearing, you must follow the pre-qualification procedure before wasting money on the bearing replacement. That starts with a sump and filter inspection for any metal debris as well as a cylinder bore inspection for any traces of bore scoring. The M96.03 is very susceptible to the bore scoring problem and you need to rule it out before moving forward. A bore scope inspection can be easily carried out with a $30 bore scope off Amazon. Follow Jake Raby's procedure on YouTube. It's part 4. I'll attach the link below. All the best moving forward with this project. And, my sincere condolences with the passing of your father.
You Tube
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