Soon to be 996 owner in Tokyo

Hi all,pretty much decided to get a 996 and have done a whole bunch of research on the seal issue and the intermediate shaft issue. As it will be a car basically having lived most if not all of it's life in Japan it will have been serviced to death/health which ever way you look at it. First thing I will do to put my mind at ease with the car I choose is oil change and tear the paper filter apart to check for metallic debris. My question is how long before failure would I expect to see metal inside the oil before the failure? If I see no metal in the paper filter would I be good till the next service period? does the problem slowly build up or does it happen within the space of a 3-6 month service? Also, any recommendations for a good Porsche mechanic in Tokyo other than the dealers who would sing the "no ims bearing problem" song. thanks in advance Tokyopav

If you are so worried now. Don't go any further, you will drop dead of a heart attack. Not the car for Japan roads anyway. I can't imagine it ever seeing 6th gear. Get yourself an automatic Japanese car instead lol.

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Not super worried just working out the best way to approach the issue as most owners of the 996 would be and have yet to been able to work out after all my internet searching the duration between first signs(if you are looking properly) and failure. It will definitely will see top gear and high revs, not daily but weekly for sure. Lot's of fast curvy and straight roads not far out of town, actually even the major highways that come into Tokyo are fun. Automatic Japanese car.... no thanks...

As far as I am aware, the duration between first signs and failure is often negligible. I've seen some postings where people said they were just riving along, then, wham, bam, engine is toast. Hard to say how big an issue the IMSB is, but best guesses put it at somewhere between 5% and 10% of 996's. I haven't seen any breakdowns of the percentages by model year. If you are worried about this issue, you can just get the upgraded bearing done when you get the car. Seems to make way more sense trying to stave off IMSB failure this way, than by looking for metal flake in the filter paper.

My wife is from Japan and I've been many times to visit, all I can say is that they've got some of the best roads I've ever seen over there. The Japanese do everything to perfection and that includes their roads. Wish I had my 996 while I was there... Best of luck to you, I'm a recent owner also worried about the IMS, best just to put it out of mind and enjoy the car or else get the LN Engineering bearing put in if you can afford the preventative maintenance.

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RE: IMS in Japan read the post regarding Porsche Japan http://www.renntech.org/forums/topic...-2#entry231135

Thanks everybody. Appreciate the reply's.

I see that in the Google translated portion of that letter from Porsche they only cover (model years 2001-2005 made before February 21, 2005 after the date of May 04,). No mention of earlier 996 models with mainly the double race bearing. That says to me that the double race is not prone to failure as is the single race bearing. Just another reason why I do not loose sleep or even bother having mine replaced. I think I would have it replaced if I owned a car made from Feb 21 2001 to May 4th 2005. Even when my clutch needs replacing I wont replace anything else. I do the jobs as they come up. Preventative maintenance is a good thing but the 996 crowd go over the odds into obsessive maintenance. Many seem to have more money than common sense lol.

Get the car in good condition and enjoy it. Remember, at the end of the day you are buying a $15-25k 8+ year old car. Just for the reference, cheapest new car you can buy in US before taxes is a $13k Nissan Versa aka soapbox with manual window winders. Every 8+ year old car will have its quirks, some rock chips, etc. Don't look for perfection in a 8 year old car, it will not happen. I would question the sanity of previous Porsche owner if his car has no rock chips, low mileage, and no red line hits. There is a lot of hysteria about treating P-cars like they are made from fine glass. Porsche is a tough vehicle, keep it maintained, drive the car at least 3 times a week, rev the engine past 5k RPM at least once on every drive and most importantly enjoy yourself. I owned my p-car for a month now, I drove it everywhere I took my Acura. Shops, lake, ghetto roads, bad roads, dirt roads, work garage bumps, walmart lots...and it handles everything just fine. Porsche is meant to be a daily driven car, so treat it like one. Scratches, dings, bad drivers are all a reality of life; you can't let the worry about "scratch" or "mechanical noise" dictate how you live with your car. Drive the car hard, enjoy it, and smile every time it revs past 5k RPM.

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cheers looks like I will be getting a C4 today as long as I can get a fair price. You comment is exactly how I will roll with it. Pretty excited, should know in a few hours.