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THIS DISCUSSION / SOURCE-DERIVED OVERVIEW
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YOUR RESEARCHMy $1700 IMS paper weight
Leading reported evidence
Replace (also had everything detailed)
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
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Unsuccessful attempts
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Read evidence and context
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Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
They replaced the IMS with the LMS Retrofit kit and while in their the clutch had less than half of its plate left so it was also replaced (also had everything detailed).
Leading evidence: 'Replace (also had everything detailed)' (no explicit attributable resolution; this is a reported action or suggestion). Across 1 matching discussions, The most frequently discussed action is 'Replace (also had everything detailed)' (1 discussions). For that action, 0 discussions report a resolution and 0 report an unsuccessful attempt. No action has an explicit, attributable resolution report under the current rules. These are forum reports and suggestions, not a confirmed diagnosis.
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Replace bearing was fine and everything works flawlessly
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
The replaced bearing was fine and everything works flawlessly with the retrofit.
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
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Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
They replaced the IMS with the LMS Retrofit kit and while in their the clutch had less than half of its plate left so it was also replaced (also had everything detailed).
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed
FWIW, Porsche used lightweight flywheels from the factory on their 996 Club Sport versions(however this was also on a mezger motor).
Explicit resolution reports before identified causes, performed actions and suggestions. Within each level, matching component labels precede direct query mentions and inherited thread context; successful versus unsuccessful discussion counts, owner confirmations and independent discussion support determine order. This is not a probability of success.
Discussions that contain suggestions
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Suggestion
Funny how the 924/944/968 crowd accepts a $1500-2000 belt/roller/water pump change every 45K, but in the 996 world we whine, knash our teeth, and argue endlessly about IMS bearings.
These are separate views of the same evidence. Frequency alone does not establish a fix, and these counts must not be added together.
Replace (also had everything detailed)
No successful repair reported for this finding.
0
Reported fixes
0
Unsuccessful attempts
1
Discussions
Read evidence and context
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
They replaced the IMS with the LMS Retrofit kit and while in their the clutch had less than half of its plate left so it was also replaced (also had everything detailed).
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Funny how the 924/944/968 crowd accepts a $1500-2000 belt/roller/water pump change every 45K, but in the 996 world we whine, knash our teeth, and argue endlessly about IMS bearings.
Discussions that performed work without a confirmed outcome
1
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Performed · outcome unconfirmed · Original poster
They replaced the IMS with the LMS Retrofit kit and while in their the clutch had less than half of its plate left so it was also replaced (also had everything detailed).
0 original-poster resolution reports. Counts can overlap; they are not unique people or a success rate.
0 discussions have direct query context; 0 report a fix in that context. Other evidence may inherit the discussion’s subject.
Suggestion
Outside of the I*S expense I think 996's are very cheap to run, I spend all of my money of stuff that in reality doesnt need fixing.....i just enjoy working on my car
Counts describe captured discussions, not unique people or a diagnosis. Author identities are not reliably stored. Exact duplicate evidence is counted once across matching discussions; one discussion counts at most once per action/state. Multiple repairs reported together remain a combination. Suggestions and failed attempts do not establish a fix. Matches cover whole discussions and can include related faults, model variants and incomplete threads.
26 eligible posts · 0 unverified posts · 1 discussions match the subject in their title or opening post.
Rennlist: 1 discussions
0 evidence records excluded for query context · 0 excluded by outcome qualification · 0 adjusted by outcome qualification.
0 acknowledgements have no verified action link; they do not establish a repair result.
Generation: 20261026T052503Z · outcome-qualification-6. Deterministic extraction; no AI model inference. How we use sources
After much deliberation and wanting a sense of security, I opted to have my 2003 996 IMS bearing replaced.
Arbormotion / Rennstatt Racing with Tim Pott as the sole proprietor, runs an outstanding independent Porsche repair business in Ann Arbor and during the winter months hosts a "Time with Tim" for the local Rally Sport Porsche region. One meeting this past spring, Tim spent time talking about the IMS failures and in addition to reading all the online posts, I felt I needed get the upgrade done for peace of mind. My '03 has only 28k miles on it and has been well taken care but the low mileage probably makes it a candidate if something should happen.
They replaced the IMS with the LMS Retrofit kit and while in their the clutch had less than half of its plate left so it was also replaced (also had everything detailed). The replaced bearing was fine and everything works flawlessly with the retrofit.
Hard to believe how small the replacement bearing is and its currently going to be used as a paper weight. Great peace of mind now knowing I don't have to worry about a catastrophic failure due to the IMS bearing...
Enjoy
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Sounds like you did your homework and made the decision that was right for you. I purchased an 02 C2 last year with 28K on the odometer. Made the same decision as you, but went with the Solution. RMS was leaking anyways.
Mine looked fine as well. No regrets at all.
Good decision.
Funny how the 924/944/968 crowd accepts a $1500-2000 belt/roller/water pump change every 45K, but in the 996 world we whine, knash our teeth, and argue endlessly about IMS bearings.
Just do it.
Tim's a great guy as well. You should have lots of worry free miles now. Going to join us at Grattan?
2002 Turbo - Basalt Black Metallic / 2003 Carrera 4S - Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 - Rust Red
Thanks for the post, I'm in the market for my first 996 and am agonizing over this issue since my target cars are right within the years for this potential failure. Ralph
Same for older generation Audi's with sealed for life transmissions which need oil and filters at $450 every 40-60k or a $4-5k rebuild, or timing belts services at $1200 for a 4 pot family car!
Outside of the I*S expense I think 996's are very cheap to run, I spend all of my money of stuff that in reality doesnt need fixing.....i just enjoy working on my car
I can't begin to imagine the force required to snap a crank like that...truly amazing! As a long time air cooled Porsche owner I'm glad to see some solid IMS options if/when I move to a 996.
Cut the bearing open and look at the races and *****. It could be smooth even with spalled ***** (heh,heh) and worn races, but well on its way to failure.
Howdy..
That severed crank pic is from Flat6Innovation's website.
Jake analyzed that owner's aftermarket lightweight flywheel was not duly balanced with required modifications.. thus, the crank had to deal with greatly increased driveline shock. #preventable
At least that is what I gathered from the writeup..
Cheers!
+1 on the IMS bearing replacement done at ArborMotion's Rensttatt division run by Tim Pott. I bought my 2001 Cab from a New Jersey Porsche dealer with only 20,500 miles on it and drove it back to Ann Arbor. After driving another 1,000 miles I decided peace of mind over potential cost of engine replacement was a good investment so Tim did the recommended replacement bearing and a new clutch disc as well as some other time related tasks, spark plugs, serpentine belt, etc.. The bearing that came out was like brand new and makes an excellent paperweight. Car runs great and I drive it like I just robbed a local bank. When you own a thoroughbred, you've got to exercise it!
I've followed you around Waterford Hills...you do drive it like you stole it!!
2002 Turbo - Basalt Black Metallic / 2003 Carrera 4S - Speed Yellow / 1955 356 Continental 1500 - Rust Red
Interesting, the seal on my bearing is stamped England, yours is Poland. So not surprsingly looks like these came from various suppliers. The long part no. and the "NSK" are the same. Your 3-digit number appears to be 917, mine is 762. For whatever that might be worth?
And agree on the $1700 cost to upgrade - not the end of the world .... I've spent $1,000+ on brakes for my son's Ford (in Canada), plus had to stick in a rebuilt tranny (more than $1,700), etc so really this does need to be kept in perspective.
Just goes to prove my point there are a lot of unnecessary IMS replacements going on out there. I guess all the negativity from that few minut 03. % of 996 owners that had the issue got a lot press. Now, gentlemen don't get me wrong but I'd rather take a vacation with the money. I've got 109,000 on my 04 C4S and it's running strong as ever.
If you look at some of my previous posts, I've mentioned this correlation to particular bad batches as a theory before, and made a request LN Engineering and Jake since they would have that data to see if we can tie IMS failure to a particular origin of manufacture. My request was turned down as they indicated that was proprietary info they weren't willing to share. So this is one of the theories that would be hard to validate. The last I counted, I think there were at least 4-5 different manufacture origins in the 996 lineup.
Jake's book is due out soon. I'm hoping he will share that info in his book. I can see why he wouldn't want to release that info before the book is out. He must have reams of stats on that. Jake, what's the update on the book status? Will this topic be discussed?
This book is vaporware as far as I'm concerned. I mean Jake is backlogged several months at a time, he does a lot of the work himself, he occasionally comes on here to post, and he has a daughter and wife to tend to. There's only 24 hours in the day and you can't take drugs to stay up constantly. Wonder if he's on chapter 2 yet....
