IMS Preventative Medicine?

I acquired my '03 996 in February '15. With 33k miles on it. The place I purchased it from had just done an oil change. When I had the PPI done, they removed the oil filter housing and looked inside for any traces of metal filings. They found none plus very clean oil (no surprise there). So I got to thinking: The car is not ready for a clutch. So I didn't want to incur the expense of doing a "preventative clutch" simply to get at the IMS. Instead, I've been thinking - why not just do say 2 or 3 oil changes/year. I doubt I'll do even 5000 miles/year. That way, they can look "inside" for any metal filings and hopefully catch a problem before it becomes a $15k or $20k expense. Any comments?

If you are going to change the IMSB at all the time to do it is BEFORE any metal pieces are found. Once metal is found there it's probable that it has went thru the engine and has started to ruin many different bearings. You may replace the bearing in time for it not to cause a total disaster but it will have already done more damage than you are likely to be able to fix without a complete engine teardown. You could just wait until you do the clutch and hope for the best, the odds are in your favor. The 03 have the single row bearing and they have the highest failure rate but they don't ALL fail. Its frustrating to say the least.

Your car is I a high risk category - MKII w/ very low miles. Just remember that any advance warning will be 3 seconds before things really get F-d up. If it was a higher mileage car (>60K), I'd've told you to wait. Bite the bullet and do it. IMHO.

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You do not have to do but one oil change per year. If you want to do several "filter" changes per year. Remove the filter housing and dump the oil and filter out into a clean drain pan and look for scary bits. If you find nothing then clean the housing, install a new o-ring and filter element, and fill up the housing with fresh oil install it and be on your way. You can do this as often as you want. Given how quickly an IMSB failure can proceed I'm not sure what a safe interval is. If you do this say just once per year -- between the oil/filter service -- on average then you are going 2500 miles between checks for any thing in the oil. Or you could do it twice a year and cut the miles to around 1750. Or every 1500 miles. 1000 miles. Pick a number you feel ok with.

Do whatever is going to let you sleep at night.

Just add some WD40 , you'll be fine.

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+996 And in only one sentence...Nice!

The IMSB paranoia has already burrowed itself in your brain. The prudent PREVENTive medicine is getting an IMSB upgrade while your oil/filter is STILL METAL PARTICLE FREE. N.B. Even this does NOT guarantee immunity but might give you some peace of mind

If you're that worried about it why not take it to a shop and have them replace the bearing and check to confirm the clutch is fine? Nothing says you have to replace a good clutch - I didn't when mine was in. Although my car was at 70k, no record of the IMS and no record on carfax of a new clutch since 15k. With stop and go driving I was a bit more worried about the clutch than you are. IMS was good and replaced, although it was sent in to LN so I didn't get to keep a paperweight Clutch was good at around 75% new, so it stayed in. For what it's worth I'd have no problems running it and checking the filter every few thousand miles.

Please don't kill the planet. I agree with Macster and would rather have you change/inspect your oil filter a few times a year instead. KK did several oil changes and was one of the best customers of DT40. He's racked up barrels and barrels of clean oil which I'm still trying to source from him. But since he lives in TX, it's not worth the shipping costs.

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My shop put the oil right back in after filtering it... One of the owners and I were talking about the IMS a month ago at a local meetup. He had a 996 and was using it as a daily driver for a year or two. It went from one oil change that was clean, in early summer I think, to that next spring it was showing signs of a failing IMS. He said they happen fast, but wasn't pushing me to do it right then and there the next day. I have a really hard time thinking that the bearing will chew through it's seal, cage, and race in less than 1-2k miles between checking the filter.

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If an engine filter went from free of debris to having debris of the IMSB failure kind I would not delay in getting this addressed pronto.

If this issue is consuming your time and thought process so that every time you start your car you're worried; every time you stop your car you are worried; every day and every mile you rack up you're worried; you find yourself posting on internet web sites about this issue; you begin to question your sanity and that of others about the best solution; then once this issue has burrowed into your brain the only solutions are: 1) Valium 2) Prozak 3) Copious amounts of alcohol 4) Sell the car 5) Just pay the man and get on with it

In theory, the area where Porsche designed the bearing to sit is supposed to be dry. However, after years of use within the engine, it would appear that oil and contaminants from the engine seep past the bearing seal, wash out the original lubricant, and become trapped inside. The result is that the bearing now operates in a less-than-ideal environment and begins to wear prematurely. Read more about the IMS bearing failure here , which provides good insight on possible replacement bearings. -Luccia

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Yes, that's the whole reason for checking filters...

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Is there an option for 3 and 5?

What about the IMS Guardian -- not that I installed one...but it could give you a better night's sleep.

"Do whatever is going to let you sleep at night." Good advice: I went the replacement/upgrade route. Mine has 50k miles, oil looked perfect, but as noted above, it's best to do it Before the metal bits start piling up.