IMS idea

This is an idea -- comments please It seems lack of oil causes IMS failure. Suggestion: 1. Remove the IMS bearing seals to open the beaing to oil. 2. Identify the usual engine stopping points, any auto tech that has replaced a few ring gears worn by a faulty starter bendixs will know that engines usually stop in certain places, for example, not at the top of a compression stroke, note this is not a certainty, just a more likely than not. 3. Identify a location along the IMS shaft/tube that receives constant splash oil from the crank journals. 3. Drill a hole on the IMS shaft/tube in line with the splash oil from the crank and at a point that is not likely to be at the very bottom when the engine stops. 4. Turn/force the trailing side of the said hole outward to form a small scoop to collect the splash oil whilst engine running (and there would be other ways of forming a scoop). Then, hopefully :-), when the engine is running enough oil will get into the tube and will drain out through the IMS bearing back to the sump, and, when the engine stops the said hole more likely than not will not be on the bottom and the oil in the tube will drain out through the IMS bearing. Also, having seen engines idle with sumps removed (to ID journals with no lube) I can attest to the constant stream of oil that spins off a crank journal. Regards....

How about trying this idea on your car, and then let us know how it works out. relinuca

Since the IMS is such a problem, we should just remove them.

Hi Gonzo, good idea, but Porsche beat you to it

Sounds like a plan worth trying but you have to split the case for this. I'm already running an experiment on mine (Hybid double row with seals on and the tube filled with 390ml of Rotella T-6.

I'm not sure your idea would be much of an improvement over the seal/seals off method. Theres a lot of splash oil generated in a motor. I don't think you method would significantly add to the oiling produced by the motor already.

Keep the oil pressure up by never letting the revs drop below 2500. You will probably find that will take care of the oil supply to every part of the engine.

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How do you do that when you're stopped at a light and then taking off? Also, if you're in 2nd and you're slowing down for a school zone or something do you just jam it into 1st at 20mph? Just wondering, not being facetious. I get it at normal cruising speeds, just not the very slow stuff.

Reading the web, I know many suggest removing the bearing seals for lubrication. However, I really wonder if that's the issue because had it been, wouldn't Porsche just supersede the IMSB with one without seals? I know Porsche has done many wrongs but this would have been a simple fix if it was the solution. Hence, I do not believe removing the seal(s) is the solution as this type of bearing requires grease, not oil, so it boggles me that people who had removed the seals have not reported failures. We keep reading people in the trade recommending regular oil change and driving harder without giving detailed explanation on why. Ok, some said driving harder to keep oil pressures up but the IMSB does not get oiled in its original form, so that would be a moot point. Based on many reports that IMSB appears to have failed a lot on cars that have never been tracked, have low mileage (mostly start-stop driving?), pampered and driven mostly on low revs, my own conclusion is that these cars are used mostly under rich fuel mixture and the oil never gets hot enough for the gasoline to evaporate. Remove your oil cap and sniff inside the oil snorkel after a short morning drive. Smells more like gas than oil. This high gas level disintegrate your engine oil very quickly and causes it to become acidic. In return this acidic oil starts to attack your IMSB seals and contaminate the grease inside. Bearing no longer gets the lubrication it needs and begins its journey to failure. Lucky owners would get a visual warning when they replace their clutch. Some say tip cars see higher rate of failures maybe because they don't have to replace clutches and loses this opportunity to catch a failing IMSB? My advice to myself, if no one else, is to change oil more frequently than Porsche recommends and to cut the filter element for inspection at each oil change. What a bummer to have to deal with this.

Thanks for the comments, some good thoughts. My car came to me with 70000 klms and now has 176000 klms and so far as I can see has never had a clutch or even had the tranny removed, only had new plugs at 80,000 klms, oil and filter changes at 4000 to 5000 klms, always cut the filter open and inspect, was in the early days getting a sprinkle of ally flakes, stopped now, absolutely clean the 8-10 changes. There is paint on one bolt that looks to be factory so I think the tranny has never been off, and when I visited factory years ago I did see paint pen being used underneath, cannot recall exactly where. Car gets driven as hard as I can, keep to the speed limits but try to get there as quick as I can, only time the rear main leaked was immediately following the 80000 klm service at the local Porsche dealer (go figure), leaked on and off for a year, no leaks now, only failures were ignition switch and oil pressure switch. Really good car and a joy to drive, love the Targa top, would not go back to a coupe now, suitcases and the rear seat of a coupe just do not work, and the Targa wide open on a crisp starlight night through the hills with a woollen cap on is a buzz. Have purchased a LN Ceramic bearing and install kit and have a clutch and latest RMS all ready for when the clutch finally wears out. Am thinking of purchasing "the solution" just because it's perhaps better but do not seem to be on the market here on Oz. So, I'm happy with the car, not in any way concerned about an IMS failure, have never even had a flat tire so it's a charmed car, although all the P cars I've had have been ultra reliable. The idea was just something that came to mind, and I did not even realise that you had to split the engine to do the job. Thanks again, good to be able to think out loud and not get hammered 'cause it's not a brilliant thought.

TuneRS in South Florida already developed something similar. They drilled a hole in the flange and directed oil to the bearing. There was a write up on this in the May edition of Die Porsche Kassette by Pedro Bonilla.

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I wonder if they bought the patent from the Pelican member that originally prototyped and developed it? There's a long post on the Pelican forums about it.

How come not even a chirp about this here?

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Because there are less talkers and more do'ers over there.

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Sorry I thought you would have been sharp enough to realize above 2500 whenever possible. Not literally. you didn't seriously expect me to rev up to 2500 when I was standing at the red lights did you? haha. Or jamming the car into first gear. No... I am English and very used to driving geared cars. Unlike many drivers on here who learned to drive in an automatic car haha.

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I'm plenty sharp but just wanted to be sure of what you really meant, not everyone on here always dispenses good advice...I did learn on a stick and to top it off I actually learned to drive on the correct (right) side of the road as well. :-)

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I've known about this repair for months but I don't post Ixx threads. Miguel at TuneRS showed me one of his spec boxsters with the setup. His shop did my 3.8 rebuild. Excellent mechanics over there.