DIY IMS Upgrade (with clutch/RMS/LWFW and a new slave cylinder)

So I've ordered everything... I think ultrarev Aasco flywheel $687.63 drivewire Sachs Clutch Kit $487.11 pelicanparts Engine CrankCase Bolts $12.00 Flywheel Bolts $14.00 RMS $14.50 Clutch Alignment Tool $8.85 LN Engineering IMS Bearing Puller $135.65 LN Engineering M96 IMS Retrofit Kit $595.00 Total Just over 2k in parts **Update I've also ordered the clutch fork update (~$100) oil ($100) misc tools ($100) and transmission jack ($80) total is now about $2400 ***Update I'm doing the fister muffler mod while I have the car in the air don't know pricing yet. Is there anything I'm forgetting? I'm going to run over to harbor freight to pick up a transmission jack. What is the best reference to get a list or torque settings? Do I have to drain the oil for this? I'll post some pics when I get started

I'm planning DIY IMS replacement this winter for peace of mind. Please post details as you go along!

I definitely will!! these are the writeups I'm basing mine on rennlist link renntech link c-speed flat6

I'd do the aos, and also a new style main tensioner is available. If I were to dobit again. Maybe even a starter.

Omg, yes u have to drain the oil, please please please read the instructions for the ims. If you don't and u pull that ims flange before removing the tensioners you can kiss your *** goodbye

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the IMS kit is supposed to arrive tomorrow, so I haven't had a chance to look at the documentation that comes with it. Are you talking about replacing the camshaft tensioners? I was hoping to avoid/delay that What is the reasoning behind replacing the AOS? Is it just preventative maintenance while the trans-axle is out? BTW is this the part you are talking about 996-107-023-55-M100

Per Jake Raby (and I trust his judgement) light weight flywheels are not good on these engines. http://www.flat6innovations.com/broken-crank Rick 99 996C4 87 944S

By the way I got the torque settings here www.cannell.co.uk/Manuals.htm

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Thanks for the info, but I'm not really worried about it. I wouldn't even be doing the IMS except that the clutch needs to be replaced. Pretty much all of the examples in that link are from track cars with the 3.6 and 3.8 engines and one had 12k track miles. A lot of people are going to the single mass flywheels when doing their clutches and they almost all seem to be happy with them.

if you have not looked at my thread about this I suggest you do so. I think it was called "i'm going in alone"

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lol I think I've read your thread about three times!! Very inspiring! I've already copied your tool design for locking at TDC

A wise reference book would be the "Bentley Boxster Service Manual". It's comprehensive and has the necessary torque settings listed in the process. Well worth it IMHO.

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At least you are informed. Lots of people are going to the LWFW because its cheaper and of course its lighter. As long as you understand the negatives up front thats fine. FWIW, I have no issue using the LWFW on a 3.4 engine with it's 78mm stroke crank. The issues we have seen most come from the 3.6 engines with longer strokes and weaker cranks due to that. I still won't install one on my Porsche, so I won't recommend it to others when directly asked.. Even our Spec Boxster is going to run a stock weight flywheel and thats due to the data I have gathered, not from the broken crankshaft stand point

Well technically you don't HAVE to drain the oil but you won't be happy with the way your floor is going to look once you pop the flange to the IMS. Don't forget to lock the pulley. If you're using jacks, make sure you have a fail safe device also, a solid wood support or what not. It may feel stable but we only hear about the guys who didn't have a problem, we rarely (see the 914 forum) hear from the guys who had a problem that posted the details...... I'm on the fence about the AOS. Depending on the mileage, and year of the car, it might not need it. And FWIW I ended up replacing mine about 4 months after doing the IMS and I really didn't see the advantages in having the transmission pulled. I would think that the AOS is still a bitch coming from underneath the car. Update the clutch lever arm on the transmission if you have the old one. Also get a new lever arm clip. According to Sunset, the chain tensioner update isn't recommended unless you update the chain guide inside. So I didn't do that. If you have a hard on about replacing them, you'll need a 24mm(I have to check the correct size) socket? Order the grease for the throw out bearing and clutch too. Buy some go fast parts too, blend them into the project so there's no questions. "Yes Honey, The rollcage is an update to the clutch system."

Every one of our spec boxsters (13+) have lightweight flywheels and we have had zero problems...but we also balance the assembly to a .10 of ounce...

I must agree with Jake on the LWFW... I watched several motors meet their end this summer while PCA CR... Each had the LWFW... Myself, I did not make the switch... Run as hard as these 2 gentalmen (who lost the motor) at the limit of rev's... my car as of yet is still happy & strong! From my years for racing with AMA, SCCA & now PCA... You either balance everything or don't bother messing with it!

I know one person who lunched 3 engines in a 10 month period, all with broken cranks and a LWFW.. He never listened to me. BTW- I've LOST power and lost tune when going to a LWFW in the past, thats even with an assembly balanced on my CN balancer to .2 oz/in. Its not been just one or two engines either. You have to run a standalone data acquisition system to see why this is, lets just say that harmonics have a way of retarding ignition timing. The 72mm stroke Boxster cranks are the strongest of all, less overlap and stronger fillets than any other.. Their is a reason why the 3.6 crank has been revised 7 times, run a LWFW on a 3.6 on the track and you might just find it. Many people have, even with balanced assemblies.

I have a thread out there as well.. https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...-complete.html

The Gain of the LWFW is minor when compared to the Cost of a lost engine!

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I'm having second thoughts not on whether or not to go with the LWFW..... I'ts not that big of an improvement in acceleration overall. Maybe I'll return it and get exhaust instead Should have some pics soon btw

FWIW I se a bigger gain from an under driven crank pulley than most any other bolt on, even a 3K buck exhaust system. The LWFW doesn't increase HP, it increases throttle response which does increase acceleration.

With any performance change you need to tie all the changes together... just swapping out the exhaust will not produce great gains (just big grins!). The quicker throttle response can be a lost leader! Learn to drive the better, control the rpm range thru the corners and... Bingo Bango your are accelerating faster. JMTC

For you guys that have done this... Did you pull all of the spark plugs to rotate the engine to TDC? Also, do I need any replacement seals/o-rings for draining the oil/spark plugs etc?

You don't need to remove the spark plugs to rotate the engine. I removed the serpentine belt and used a socket on the pulley bolt. You will need a new washer for the oil drain plug.

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Thanks! I'm off to a bit of a rough start. None of my floor jacks will fit under the car. I'm going to borrow a low-profile one tomorrow. My plan is to use the rear lift points to lift the side of the car enough to get a jack stand under the front lift points then jack up from the rear crossmember to get jackstands under the rear lift points. It's pretty obvious they never designed this to be worked on without a lift

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I don't recommend trying to put jack stands on the jack points on the car..

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where do you put them on the rear?

Jake brings up some good points that we never thought of and I have the highest respect for Jake and L&N... Getting the car on jack stands is not fun....

Its all about thought stimulation.. That usually leads to wise decisions being made. :-)

So I've made some progress.... I've got all the bolts out of the bellhousing except this one: The one on the top really is a bear to get at!!! Nothing I have fits, I've tried allen wrenches like mentioned above with no luck. Does anyone know where to get this tool or what it is?

is this the tool?? pelican parts link

12 point, I foret the exact size. Very common, you can get it at NAPA, Pepboys, Autozone, etc.

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Thanks! picked this up at pep boys

Made some pretty good progress today just about to drop the tranny: In a couple the other threads people were speculating about whether or not you could drop the tranny to get easier access to the slave cylinder. the answer is yes: there wasn't enough room to get the tranny out while still on the transmission jack so i used a little jack to lift it off and slide out the transmission jack from underneath I do have a couple of questions..... when I wasn't looking the pushrod fell out of the slave cylinder so I'm not sure which end goes in... Is this the right hole to pin the engine? I think it is the right spot but it's hard to tell. I'm sure I'll find out when I try to get the pressure plate off tomorrow.

Got everything taken apart. The RMS looks pretty good. I don't think it's leaking so I think I'll leave it alone: There was some random washer wedged down in the bottom: Got everything exposed (beware, a lot of oil comes out when you pull the tensioners): OMG it takes a lot of force to get this bearing moving!!!! Enough to get you pretty nervous as you are doing it Here's the old bearing and what's left of the keeper ring that gets destroyed when you pull it out. The old bearing seems totally fine, although there was a bunch of oil that came out of the tube when I pulled the bearing. A couple of thoughts so far... I know it's stupid, but one of the hardest things so far has been getting the car off the floor. The second thing that really sucked were the bellhousing bolts... I had to use a breaker bar on most of them, and they are retardedly hard to get at. Oh, and one DOH moment. I didn't drain the oil until after the transmission was out... when you have the floor jack under the engine it doesn't leave a lot of room for a bucket!!! I just had my local guy change the oil to the tune of 275 bucks... poured it right out today haha

Great thread! Thanks for the updates and keep them coming. My clutch is about due for a replacement and while it's being done, I'll replace the IMS bearing and the RMS.

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How do I determine if I have the old style clutch lever arm??? I'm thinking I'm going to pull the mufflers and get the firsterd mod done while I'm at this

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I found this tech bulletin for 2000... http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/.../Grp3-7-00.pdf Since mine is a 1999, I'm going to assume I have the old style and order it.

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I did a little more wiggling on the crank pulley and the 5/16 rod slid in. It feels solid. Like most things so far it requires some elbow grease

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There's more parts in addition to the lever arm, but I've spent the day with the kids halloweening and I'm four beers in to calling it a night. I'll post the additional parts needed tomorrow... (Or call Sunset Porsche and talk to Jeff Clark. He knows the extra parts you need.)

Nice job, I ran into the same problem with clearance. I had to roll the tranny off the jack underneath the car and drag it out. It was a pain the the A$$.

A question I have is when you say "Got everything taken apart. The RMS looks pretty good. I don't think it's leaking so I think I'll leave it alone".....why? You have the whole deal apart and staring at you in the face. Even if it looked good why wouldn't you do it while you were there?

I have to adree with Sneaky pete here... When you have it all apart you should do the RMS update as well.

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Big +1. I find it amusing that you paid $275 to have someone else change your oil (not that long ago) and you decided to tackle this job. A bit back asswards I would say.......

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Well he does a lot more than just change the oil. He washes it too! I'm just concerned that I'd introduce a problem. If it hasn't leaked for 90k miles why would it start now. Although, I do already have the parts to do it.

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I'm glad you posted this because I was missing the ball journal and sealing ring 996 116 712 04 Release lever (modified) 996 116 716 02 Ball journal 996 116 741 00 Retaining spring (clip) 996 116 743 00 Sealing ring

I did a search for "going in alone"... nothing came back. Any suggestions on where to find this thread?

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going it alone

I wish I had realized what these were before I pulled the old bearing. It's not included in the instructions at all. I guess I didn't have to make my own TDC lockout!! I definitely would have used the camshaft lockouts had I realized that's what they were...

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FWIW I replaced my lever arm with 997-116-712-01

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Those were just included in the kit a couple of weeks ago.. The instructions are being re-written and my video can now be finally edited to include them.

Got the IMS bearing in... Going to do the RMS tomorrow. I need to stop by the hardware store to mcguyver up an install tool.

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Yes this is the one I ordered: 997-116-712-01 in the other post I just listed the what was in the bulletin

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Did you go through Sunset? They're pretty good at walking you through updated parts...

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All my parts were ordered off pelican parts except for the clutch and flywheel. They have a warehouse is in LA so I get my parts next day.

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Good stuff. It's either one or the other for me depending on the order.

I found this link over at renntech, really helpful!

So can anyone see what's wrong with this picture?????

So here's my super awesome RMS installer Got the case bolts in and the RMS I'm obviously stuck for now on the flywheel until I get a new torque plate... we'll see how long that takes

Try flipping the torque plate over the holes are offset

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I didn't realize the holes were offset!!! thanks!

offsets? where?

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The flywheel bolt pattern is not symmetrical so torque plate will only fit in one position.

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Kinda like a clock. If you have a second clock face you can't fit it on top and have a 2 on top of where the 9 goes and the 7 on top of where the 2 goes.....

My Clutch fork update parts arrived today. So I should have some more progress soon. I'm hoping to finish this up in a day or two.

After deciding to Re-Do the rms I've now got everything just about back together. It was pretty hard to get the transaxle lined back up with the flywheel. I'm currently getting it sucked in with the bell-housing bolts. I can tell already that getting the slave cylinder back in is going to be a huge pain.

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I installed the slave cylinder prior to reinstalling the transmission.

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I definitely should have tried this. I didn't because I didn't want the slave cylinder pushing the clutch fork forward while I was trying to align the transmission input shaft. Here's my kluge of extenders to get the top bell housing bolts in... All I have left for tonight is to put the skin on and put oil in.

Updateing the Clutch fork is very important to prevent the fork from making a creaking noise. Update all parts that come in contact with the clutch fork.

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I did this update just because I had the transmission out, but I don't know if I would do it over again. The old clutch parts were fine and I didn't have any problems with creaking noise. I get more noise from the assist spring under the dash I think.

My parts looked fine also, but I have the creaking noise. I will be updating this winter and the AOS. Looks like you did a Great job. Didn't see if you used new fly wheel bolts, they are a special stretch steel or something like that. I didn't use new ones but it sounds like you should since the bolt is stretched during torque.

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I bought new stretch bolts but ended up not using them because I went with the LWFW. It comes with some shorter bolts.

After putting it all back together, I've found a problem with the slave cylinder/clutch fork. I'm going to have to pull the transaxle back out to investigate. Not exactly happy about it, but it is the way it goes sometimes.

What is the problem?

Sorry to hear your having an issue that requires another removal of the trans. I'm guessing it won't take nearly as long this time.

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I think when I installed the slave cylinder AFTER bolting up the bellhousing I didn't get the pushrod aligned in the slot. So when I pushed the clutch to start the car the helper spring yanked the clutch pedal to the floor. I think the pushrod just went off to the side. I'll know for sure when I get it apart. I just hope I don't have to bleed it... Yeah it kind of sucks, but how else do you learn right?

I would undo the front brace on the tranny, using the transmission jack I'd lower the transmission to give you some more room to get the slave off. You didn't open they clutch hyd. line at all did you?

The 2002 Clutch slave has a rubber boot on the end that keeps the rod in place. To bleed the clutch is simple.

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That's what I'm thinking.

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No I was just concerned that the hydraulic piston my have come all the way out. I'll find out tomorrow when I tear into it again.

Don't pull the whole trans off!

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I ended up just taking the transaxle out again. I wanted to make sure no clutch fluid got on to the clutch disk. The rubber boot on mine wasn't holding the rod in place. I didn't realize this was a problem when I installed it because I hadn't seen one that wasn't broken... I think this what caused my pushrod alignment problem. In this photo you can see that the boot goes all the way to the end of the pushrod. On mine the pushrod wasn't being held in by the boot and didn't go to the end of the pushrod. This is the way it is supposed to look.... Anyway, with the pushrod out of alignment it got shoved out crooked and the piston wedged in the end of the cylinder. I think I could probably straighten it out with a press, but I think that it could be scored or out of round so I'll probably just replace it. I think it will be really easy to bleed once I get it all back together again. Also, getting the transmission out was so much easier the second time, but I just about had a heart attack when I saw all of the hydraulic fluid on the floor under the engine!! I thought it was oil leaking out of the IMS/RMS or something...

Well we all learn from each others mistakes/mishaps. Make sure you follow the proper procedure for bleeding the clutch! Renntech has a good post on it.

yeah I think my thread warns of how freaking hard it is to put the slave back on the tranny after it is in..i was almost in tears from the pain in my arms and the thought that I may have to pull the tranny back out. The only thing that allowed me to get the slave back on was the adrenoline of my getting sooo pissed off that I could ignore the pain. Yes being you didnt bitch about it, I know you didnt have it on right. You see, the slave pushrod wants to extend out when not under any load. So you have to use blunt force (both hands) to push the rod back in and then hold it there with one hand while you try to blindly line up the hole and put the bolts in. Well while you are thinking about that, your arm gets tired and next thing you know the rod has slowly pushed out again and now you have to repeat the process. I was seriously almost in tears my forearms hurt so freaking bad and I thought I was going to have to pull the tranny to finish....

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That makes a lot of sense. I can say for certain that it is easier to remove the transaxle a second time than to try to put the slave cyl in with it installed. Hopefully someone will learn from my mistake... I mean I meant to upgrade the slave cylinder all along... haha

Your doing it right, don't take any chances...

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I couldn't find this post, does anyone have the link?

Here is a word document of the procedure.

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http://www.renntech.org/forums/index...-instructions/

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Thanks!

It looks like I need to get a brake bleeder. Has anyone bought one in socal? I could order one online, but my new slave cylinder comes in tomorrow and I don't want to wait.

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I bought at Pelican. PM sent.

Got mine from Paragon... Check a local Auto Parts store...

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Got one from pelican.

Sweet.

So where does the clutch fluid go? I want to bleed it, but all the instructions just say attach the power bleeder... never where? Is it shared with the power steering or something? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills.

The clutch and brakes share the same reservoir.

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haha of course they do is this the right fluid? Pentosin CHF 202?

The clutch shares the brake reservoir. My bleeder replaces the cap on the brake reservoir and puts air pressure in it. Then you just open the bleeders screws, either on the brake calipers of the clutch slave cylinder. Make sure you watch the level of the fluid in the reservoir between bleeding each device, particularly if you are trying to flush the fluid. If this is the case you should siphon out the old fluid in the reservoir and put in fresh fluid before you start the bleeding.

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Nevermind I'm off to the porsche dealership to find some DOT4 Porsche

Apparently you can buy porsche brand dot4 synthetic lol

So I finally get the new slave cylinder installed and bled and....... DEAD BATTERY

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Stop right now and start drinking....

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WAY ahead of you!!!

SUCCESS!!! Engine starts no error codes or weirdness... I had to pump the clutch to get it to come back up so I'm going to bleed it again tomorrow before i put the belly pans back on.

Awesome! Good feeling, yes?! Every time you drive it, just think how much money you saved in labor. Well done.

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And the 5 man points earned.

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Haha thanks! it does feel good to be done. Honestly though, I don't think I would do it again knowing what I do now. It was a seriously hard project. Not really technically hard, but every little thing seems designed to torture you on the way. And just for context, I put a small block chevy into a datsun... Not as hard.

Finally out of the Garage!!

Good to see you got back into the daylight...

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The clutch feels so different now, super light like a honda civic or something.

Congratulations and Thanks for sharing.

Good job for tackling it as a DIY and sharing the details, enjoy.

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Thats VERY important info... So bleed the brakes too!!!!