16 captured repliesDiscussion pagination complete · Source accounts, not a confirmed diagnosis
THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
Discussion summary
YOUR RESEARCHIMS Failure--Preventative Action
Leading reported evidence
Replace the ln bearing goes in, too
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
Therefore, this winter, when the clutch gets replaced, the LN bearing goes in, too.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Best preventative action, other than replacing the bearing, is good oil, frequent oil change intervals, filter or pan inspection for metal at oil change, and actually DRIVING the car frequently.
Leading evidence: 'Replace the ln bearing goes in, too' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, the most frequently mentioned possible cause is 'most robust retrofit/repair' (1 discussions; 0 report identifying it and 1 suggest it). The most frequently discussed action is 'Replace bearing, is good oil, frequent oil' (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.
Source reports, not a diagnosis or a success probability. Counts refer to discussions and can overlap.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that suspect a cause
1
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Suspected cause
This one that Flat Six offers is probably the most robust retrofit/repair:
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Best preventative action, other than replacing the bearing, is good oil, frequent oil change intervals, filter or pan inspection for metal at oil change, and actually DRIVING the car frequently.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
He just told me it SHOULD be a maintenance interval item (not his words), replaced as you would the clutch (and, not coincidently EVERY TIME you replace the clutch).
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Factory M97 - Don't worry about it unless the car is tracked, and if it is pull the engine down and replace the IMSB with the LN Ceramic M97 retrofit upgraded to a machine in triple row.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Replace bearing, is good oil, frequent oil
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that contain suggestions
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Best preventative action, other than replacing the bearing, is good oil, frequent oil change intervals, filter or pan inspection for metal at oil change, and actually DRIVING the car frequently.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
He just told me it SHOULD be a maintenance interval item (not his words), replaced as you would the clutch (and, not coincidently EVERY TIME you replace the clutch).
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Factory M97 - Don't worry about it unless the car is tracked, and if it is pull the engine down and replace the IMSB with the LN Ceramic M97 retrofit upgraded to a machine in triple row.
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
metal chip detector instead of the obsessive-paranoid IMSB replacement, plus changing the IMSB any time you drop the transmission for a clutch or other work...
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Best preventative action, other than replacing the bearing, is good oil, frequent oil change intervals, filter or pan inspection for metal at oil change, and actually DRIVING the car frequently.
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.
16 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.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261027T022239Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
My 2003 996, purchased new, has been driven less than 24,000, is perfectly maintained and in immaculate condition. I intend to keep it indefinitely. I am concerned about IMS failure and am prepared to bite the bullet and take whatever reasonable preventive action necessary to avoid this from occurring. Is there now an "updated" consensus as to what that final preventative solution is-- ie. new bearing, if so which one; new fitting, etc…..has Porsche prescribed an “official” remedy for this problem..?? Any information regarding this will be greatly appreciated.
I've put together a VERY detailed answer to your question.
It's too long to type into this box, so I made a link to it:
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=IMS+bearing+porsche+996
YW
This one that Flat Six offers is probably the most robust retrofit/repair:
The IMS Solution is the first and only permanent IMS Retrofit for model year 2000-2005 Porsche M96 engines. Invented by Jake Raby of Flat 6 Innovations and Charles Navarro of LN Engineering, the IMS Solution omits the problematic sealed ball bearing and replaces it with a pressure fed oil lubricated journal bearing, just like those found in aircooled Porsche engines as well as the GT3 and Turbo.
OP's question was:
"Is there now an "updated" consensus as to what that final preventative solution is-- ie. new bearing, if so which one; new fitting, etc…..has Porsche prescribed an “official” remedy for this problem..??"
The answer is NO. There is no definitive answer. Just the same old circular opinions, which is why I posted the Google link.
Best preventative action, other than replacing the bearing, is good oil, frequent oil change intervals, filter or pan inspection for metal at oil change, and actually DRIVING the car frequently.
Conventional wisdom is that a 11 year old low mileage garage queen is more likely to have bearing issues than a frequently driven car.
Personally, I'm a fan of installing a guardian jr. metal chip detector instead of the obsessive-paranoid IMSB replacement, plus changing the IMSB any time you drop the transmission for a clutch or other work... That solution has fallen well out of favor though.
Price point, primarily. Keep in mind that there's over 1,000 bucks of cost difference between the classic retrofit kit and the IMS Solution. We offer a trifecta of retrofit components from the Classic Retrofit, to the Single Row Pro and the IMS Solution. Each of these has different prices and require a different skill set for the installer, and some even require my Faultless Tool to install.
Its called full market coverage, and its important, especially when all the band wagon copycats jump into the game that we started over a decade ago. Heck, today we have knockoffs of knockoff components now being sold on ebay. Once people start copying the copies, it becomes mass hysteria.
To think, in 2007 when I developed the IMS Retrofit procedure people told me extracting the IMS Bearing from an assembled engine was impossible....
No, it is called "confusion" in the minds of the customer. Do you really think any buyers will be back if their retrofit fails? C'mon, you know better than that. We're talking about a $24k engine, so there is no best bang for your buck here. $1g is negligible. If you are that confident in the solution, drop the retrofit and charge $1000 to $1200 for the solution.
It is unfortunate that the distribution of products to major suppliers leads to these products finding their way to ebay. There's nothing that can be done about it, because the items are purchased through shops and then are sold by shop employees and etc all too often.
The units are marketed only to shops and if an item is bought through any other means there's no warranty, no support and no exchanges or returns. The distributors set those policies up- not us.
Luckily, no one ever buys them on ebay or etc.
Its not confusing unless someone owns 3 cars, of all 3 generations of IMSB fitment. Most people own one car, and they have either one, or two choices of our products based upon their engine's model year and how its outfitted from the factory.
One product won't cover it all- no way. For example a guy with a 97-2000 engine only has one choice, a dual row, "classic retrofit". Thats all thats offered for his car. A guy with a 2001-2005 engine with a single row fitted IMS assembly has the most choices and thats three, either the "classic single row" (our first single row offering) or the "Single Row Pro" (dual row bearing that fits a single row shaft) or the "IMS Solution". That said, the "Classic Single Row" has lost momentum with the offering of the Single Row Pro and it's 90% higher load capacity. Because of this these have gone up in price to the same cost as the Single Row Pro and I'd expect them to be non- existent in a couple of years at the current rate.
Someone with a 2005-2008 engine thats equipped with an M97 IMSB has only one choice, and thats a teardown of the engine to allow for a deluxe retrofit. These are generally not needed except in situations where engines are tracked (at all) where the bearing has proven to overspeed with it's 26% greater surface speed.
I don't know.. We've carried out 414 retrofits here, to include #1 and we've never had a failure. Never say never, because I am sure our first one is just around the corner- its the law of averages when you get to these high numbers of interventions.
Thats your opinion. Its not the opinion of everyone, as the "other" retrofit products sell at 10X the are of the IMS Solution. Its a price point concern, and the products all have a solid track record for providing long term service.
The IMS Solution costs more than 1,200.00 to manufacture. Its a very expensive component to make as all the surfaces are heat treated and then ground to size, not simply machined. The busing material is very expensive as it is a custom order from Alcoa and on top of that its all made in the USA.
I had to be convinced to even sell the IMS Solution to the open market. Originally my invention was only to be used in my reconstructed engines; and it probably should have stayed that way. I like having what the other guy doesn't and ensuring that he can't get it- thats what I patented it.
All that said, IF we dropped everything except the IMS Solution, all the band wagon guys who have jumped in with cheap knock off products would profit from the occurrence. Taking the wind out of their sales means more to me than any amount of profit. Now we are seeing people copying the copy cat products, I just received one today that came from Romania. To think, 7 years ago to retrofit an IMS Bearing was believed to be impossible and when I released the first procedure to support this process I was told by most everyone that I was lying...
Also, IF we dropped the Classic Retrofit and only had the IMS Solution, no factory dual row engine could see our products as the internal real estate within a factory dual row engine does not support the fitment of an IMS Solution. The compromises of the design to make it "fit" are not something that I am willing to accept. I have developed a dual row IMS Solution, but it will never be marketed as its not optimum with the 3/8" longer factory dual row IMSB assembly getting in the way.
Its simple. If your engine is a:
factory dual row- Retrofit with a Classic Dual Row kit
Factory single row- Retrofit with a Single Row Pro or IMS Solution
Factory M97 - Don't worry about it unless the car is tracked, and if it is pull the engine down and replace the IMSB with the LN Ceramic M97 retrofit upgraded to a machine in triple row. You'll want to do that anyway, before your track service snaps a rod bolt in half and you'll be wish that all you experienced was an IMS Bearing failure.
Rennlist NEVER disappoints. You should know that by now.
Plus anytime there is a broken engine, IMS, cylinder scoring thread, you can always be assured it will be followed up with an infomercial.
This is a great place to be.
I should have specified that I was referring to the factory single row fitment. I still disagree with having both offerings, but I think your full explanation of the products here is beneficial to all readers.
Cheers.
Not with MY mechanic. He just told me it SHOULD be a maintenance interval item (not his words), replaced as you would the clutch (and, not coincidently EVERY TIME you replace the clutch). He says his rule of thumb is 80k mi. is the breakeven point in the life of this part.
Therefore, this winter, when the clutch gets replaced, the LN bearing goes in, too.
TC
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