What is the Porsche factory replacement IMS ?

My car is leaking oil right in between the engine and transmission so I assume I have either the RMS or IMS leaking. the RMS was changed 2 or 3 times before but it was more then 5 or 6 years ago, so it could be the IMS flange anyways the gearbox needs to come down for sure. My dilemma.. I have an extended warranty so I was about to bring the car to the Porsche dealer but then they tell me that they don't install IMS aftermarket, they have a porsche updated bearing they can install, that's it. I thought porsche did not have any IMS replacement solution, am I wrong ? Does anybody here have experience with the porrsche IMS updated bearing ? While in there I am thinking to replace the AOS and the IMS, hopefully the clutch is still good. the car has 45k miles on it. 03/2014 transmission / engine base oil leak - YouTube

If you're intending to treat the bearing as a maintenance item and replace at every clutch change just use the OEM. If you want to do it less often opt for the LNE. Mine was leaking in the same place and when I removed the trans the RMS was dry but the IMS seal was leaking - the bearing was fine although I replaced it anyway with a LNE.

That leak is not big enough to me to warrant a teardown.

Imo000, sounds like you may have seen a few leaks. Mine is creating a drip on the floor but not more than a drop or two. What do you consider an amount to warrant a replacement seal or bearing? John '03 Targa

My extended warranty will pay for the repair so I don't see the point waiting for it to be worst. Also I don't feel like pushing the car on the track with something like this happening.

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And they let you to use a non-Porsche aftermarket bearing such as LN without affecting any coverage they provide down the road? Sounds much safer to just use the OE bearing so IF something bad happens to the engine down the road, at least one less excuse from them saying you had an aftermarket IMSB.

yeah I agree, I am afraid I have to go the OEM bearing route. I only have 7 more month warranty on the car but still it was expensive coverage I'd hate to loose it in case something happened. I am just surprised porsche actually has an oem replacement procedure for this Only thing it that I plan on selling the car soon and I know people like to see the LNEnginieering bearing instead... but I assume it doesn't make such big difference.

I see your dilemma now and agree OEM seems to be the best in this case.

I thought to install the updated Porsche bearing they had to split the case?

Porsche does not put the larger single row bearing into the 996. If you want a new Porsche bearing the only thing you can do is put a new OE Porsche bearing in the car. But its the same bearing, just new.

Porsche doesn't sell the intermediate shaft bearing, they sell the shaft with the beating but its $1500. Or so I'm told. I would get a written confirmation from that warranty company befre assuming they will pay for any bearing at all. I think you'll be in for a suprise.

I faced a similar situation...but I found that the 3rd party service contract had two important items: (while it covered everything but the clutch) 1) They wouldn't approve a preemptive replacement of said IMSB, or water pump, or t-stat...etc...they were willing to gamble. 2) My service experience with the selling dealer was unsatisfactory...they are sloppy, and unthinking. (Not a Porsche dealer) So, I spent the money to have all the usual items done by an Indie who I really like. Got the LN double-row bearing, Sachs clutch, AOS, RMS, water pump, and LN low-temp T-stat done...(also did new plugs) NOW, I know where things stand. Reduces my $5000 dealer "extended service contract" to the small items now...wish I had the $5k back, but I don't want them under my hood any more.

Philoo that's a tough spot to be in. The RMS seal that actually seals was introduced in 2005 so if you had yours replaced 2006 or later it shouldn't be leaking. That leaves the IMS & to my knowledge the only IMSB available from a Porsche dealer is the last version attached to the IMS shaft. This requires complete disassembly of the engine to install. If your warranty is not from Porsche I don't think I would do anything. Check your oil filter.

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This is my understanding also. Porsche does not sell the original (sized) bearing anymore, and the only part available is the new, larger (better) bearing which requires the case to be split apart to be installed. This is what was installed in my car ('01 C4) when the previous owner had it rebuilt in 2011.

Some dealers will install the LN bearing. But as it does not come through the Porsche parts system, you might have to buy the bearing yourself, with the warranty covering the labor, etc.

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This is probably the best solution you can hope for.

And this is when it is handy to have a good relationship with your local dealer, as they do have some latitude on things. I have an oil change and my yearly inspection done at the dealer and attend some of their events. This way I am a current customer in their system - and they know me. Stuff like this can be important.

Haven't had time to read all the posts so apologies if this has been covered. The leak appears to be from an RMS leak. However, with these engines there is an IMS end plate/flange and 3 bolts from which oil can leak. It is SOP to when doing the RMS to replace/renew the IMS end plate/flange and its 3 bolts. Replacing this flange/end plate does not have the bearing replaced! Porsche does not offer an IMSB replacement, per se. In at least one case I have I seen a 996 engine in with a failed IMSB and the engine was "rebuilt" with a new IMS and its bearing. The required the engine cases to be separated. It is not a trivial job. If there are no scary ferrous metal bits in the oil filter housing oil and in the oil filter element the odds are high the leak is just the RMS with a chance the IMS end plate/flange/bolts are leaking too. I'd elect to have the RMS/IMS end plate/flange and bolts replaced. I can tell you I just recently had an RMS leak addressed in my 03 Turbo and the leak sign was about what your video clip shows. Actually make that a bit less. The leak was bad enough the bottommost portion of the engine was wet with oil, there was enough oil flow to rinse away/remove the grime (and old cosmoline) but not bad enough to make a mess of the underside of the car after the leak. There was just a hint of spotting on the pavement.

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Porsche SA "rebuilt" my engine since the failure occurred at low RPM. I now have the updated, non-replaceable IMS bearing. 20k miles later no problems.

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Doesn't LN only specify a 50k mile life on their bearing? Most clutches last longer than that.....

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This now a source of concern for me. I did IMS when I bought the car 34K miles I did clutch at $60k miles I found out at 62k miles LN says their bearing has a 50k life

50k is on the high end if you don't do 5k OCI's using JG-DT40. If not, expect 30k. lol Edit: here is the quote from their site:

I think the double row is 75,000 miles.

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Doesn't it also require a few drops of unicorn semen with every oil change? There is no Porsche specified IMS service interval.

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I think I heard the same thing. Now I gotta look in the "good week" thread and look up the suppliers.

I looked at the LN website as I am getting another LN bearing put in my rebuild and it says the service life of their double row for the 99's is 75K miles (as long as you use the proper oil and have the engine certified prior, etc). But still trying to sort thru it all because as far as I can tell from the website they don't offer any kind of warranty, so not sure why they say you have to do all that. Now if the site said follow these procedures and use one of our installers and if you have an IMS failure we will pay for the repair, that would be different

If the dealer installs the IMSB (or any factory part, for that matter) it should come with a two year warranty on parts and labor. That should be plenty of time if you're thinking of selling in the near future.

I lubricate my IMS daily with my right foot