Ims Bearing replacement - things just went sideways

Hi, I�m in the process of replacing the IMS bearing in my 2000 996 and hit a snag, so I�m wondering if the group here has any suggestions before I make it worse. I�m replacing (a working healthy) LN dual row classic retrofit with a new LN dual row classic. Oil is drained, crank is locked, camshafts are locked, old IMS flange is removed. I was pulling the bearing with the LN tool set puller when the threaded portion of the post snapped. I�m looking at a shaft with no threads remaining, so the puller won�t work anymore. I called LN tech support and got a voicemail, hopefully they�ll call back. I�m inclined to tap the center through and try an inside puller on the bearing, but I�m trying to pause before I do more damage. Any advice?

Pausing is good... Page 8 of instructions: "If center stud is broken, knock center stud into shaft and insert ez-out tool (included with IMS Pro Toolkit)." Whew. LN thought of this already.

Way to keep your cool. I'm sure LN will get back to you soon as well and clarify any specifics if you still have questions. I had a couple questions along the way when I replaced my IMS and I found LN to be extremely responsive and helpful. Jake from Flat 6 also went out of his way to help me out, despite not having any obligation to.

The stock dual row has an internal clip you're fighting against, they can make quite a pop when pulling the bearing. Edit: I re-read the post, the LN bearing won't have the internal clip,

Success. LN tool to the rescue. For future reference:

Interesting. The post is supposed to be stronger on the LN. I just installed a dual row LN and it uses a spiroloc clip to hold it in instead of the inset circlip on the original. Did you remove the spiroloc already? Edit: looks like you got it!

Interesting tidbit, Guess it's common occurance. Bright side, RMS looks good !

It's a good thing you're doing this now. Imagine if that had broken while running.

Seems the more common failure is the bearing *****/races. I think the pulling stress broke it. Not the kind of stress it would see while running.

Thanks, everyone for the tips and support. I likely caused my own problem by not removing the spiralock. I'm glad old age and broken parts in the past taught me to walk away and take a breather before doing more damage. Yay, getting old!! I was also reminded of the importance of the old RTFM (read the f%^ing manual) - stopping and rereading let me know there was a special tool. That tool was a project saver, and makes me glad I spend money at LN - they're really there for us enthusiasts. I suspect that they have seen and done this stuff so long that they have seen all the problems so they can address them before they occur. It was great foresight that they include this special tool in the kit, rather than making it an emergency buy-it-extra kind of thing. It saved my bacon today. Thanks LN! LN tech support was awesome, they called me twice, and were kind and helpful. Thankfully I had already sorted it out by reading the manual and was able to report success, so that felt good. 808Bill, the bearing is mint and the only reason the stud broke was because I was pulling on it with massive force in a direction that it would never be subject to in normal use, resisted by the spiralock. I'm no metallurgist, but I'd wager that post would never have failed in normal operation. It's always nice when things work out ok. On to the installation. Thanks for the support, team Rennlist. Have a great weekend.

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I agree 100%. The bearing was mint, and only being replaced due to time in service, proactively.

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Got it. I thought there was a history of the stud breaking (thus a sturdier stud was designed) under driving conditions. I'm getting old and forgetful and could very well be wrong, wouldn't be the first time. Really glad you got it sorted quickly. I too have had to take a step back and recalibrate this past week. It works!

Yeah, not removing the spiroloc makes this story pretty clear now. So did it just break the spiroloc when you used the 2nd puller? Or did you catch it and remove the spiroloc after breaking the stud? I agree, stud breaking is a failure I've heard about but it's why the LN uses a beefier stud. That's why I was surprised it broke while pulling since its beefier and shouldn't have the circlip to fight. But with the spiroloc in it looks like it was the weakest link which may actually be a good thing.

Wow. Glad it all worked out. As you mentioned - taking a step back and regrouping is always a good plan. mmmmmm...bacon.....

Phew, glad that worked out. I'd be (and perhaps other folks too) would be very curious to see a cross section of the bearing if you could cross section it with a grinder etc. The time limit on the life I believe is related to the risk of corrosion/moisture pitting of the races which will cause failure of the bearing independent of mileage. Be very interesting to see if you have any.

I was going to save the old bearing for the next owner. It is smooth, tight and no grittiness. Feels like a new bearing. Old: Newly installed: Ps. The orange is loctite 574 flange sealant and the green on the stud is loctite 290 green wicking threadlocker.

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The spirolock was dislodged on the first pull attempt and easily removed by hand. The second pull with the easy out tool was smooth and easy, the way one would expect.

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Thanks for the follow up! Make sense. I'll add something here that I forgot when I did my install thread. I'd never installed a spiroloc before and couldn't figure out how to get the bugger in there. Attached is the file I finally found walking you through the steps. It's obvious now, but in case someone in the future has the same trouble I think this thread has probably mentioned spir-o-loc enough to pop up on a search.