Help please IMS removal have crank locked at tdc

2000 C4 996 have crank locked in place at tdc question do I have to remove the back two tensioners or all four ? removing the IMS bearing.

Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Intermediate Shaft Bearing Replacement and Upgrade (IMS) - 986 Boxster (1997-04) - 987 Boxster (2005-06) this may be applicable to your engine too.

Back two have been all most folks have removed. As long as the crank is pinned you should be OK.

thanks 47silver and FPB111 took off the ims cover off tonight and Im glad I saw the little specs in the oil filter paper this bearing was about to go anytime ,have to still pull out (waiting on parts and puller from LN) but only has about 4 balls left in it. Porsche ran fine no noise and the pan was clean.

How many mile on your 996?

Try watching this video that Jake Raby just shared on another site: Porsche 911 Carrera - Intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing, replacing 996 how to - YouTube

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Dave Only 62000 miles and I have records from Porsche dealer bought and serviced since new

Pics of the bearing, Please

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Thanks Excellent video! wish I would have seen this before I started ,I just locked the crank at tdc and set screwed the ims shaft , removed the rear tensioners removed the IMS cover to see the shape before ordering the kit from LN hope my cam timing did not screw up,will post pics of bearing when removed. Greg

Can you post pic of what the filter looked like. Would like to know what amount of metal in the filter would be considered normal and what is not. Do you have a magnetic drain plug too? If so, did that give you any kind of indication? After spending some time on a 930 this weekend, I am afraid that I am leaning back towards the 996/997 (2005 only) series of cars as the IMS bearing is replaceable, but the more I look into it, the more I see that it can fail without any notice. Car I am looking at now is a Tip, so tearing it down "just to see" is a pricey option.

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no magnetic drain plug in at this time Gus but ordered one up from LN,here is a pic of my magnet across the paper filter after 700 miles of oil change.

Thanks. So would this be considered normal? I am assuming you are changing the bearings just to be safe, correct?

Not normal. The question is, can the engine be saved, or is it toast?

If the bearing has already failed as described, it is not advisable to proceed with an IMS Retrofit since FOD can compromise the new bearing as well as many other things inside the engine and lead to a much bigger repair bill down the road.

Made up a tool and removed bearing,all 16 accounted for ,very smooth shavings inside tube,nothing in pan or pick up tube ,used magnet and vacuum to get out and cleaned out with lots of brake clean , will vacuum out again once is dry and use magnet again.This 996 engine was running fine with no audible noises,after looking into the filter seeing specs and then dropping pan to find only a very small piece of rubber,I was just about to button up do the oil and filter change and drive,good thing I wanted to look at the bearing just to make sure..after hearing about the IMS bearing problems.I will "Not" be going with the LN bearing for now(as per above post) but will go with Waynes from Pelicans,will run the engine up without transmission installed till operating temp , change oil and inspect and change oil and filter a few times in this state . here are the pics of the bearing there was NO noise.when removed the seal the bearings fell out,when first looked at the bearing inside the IMS shaft thought there were only four ,but all 16 are there just worn ,ready to cause a major failure.

That looks terrible. Good luck moving forward!

I am very positive on the out come and will post all results

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Before you go any further, pull the sump cover. If you find more of that metal grit all over the place, putting a new IMS bearing (any type) in the engine is going to be a bit of a fool’s errand as the residual grit throughout the engine is eventually going to kill either the new bearing or the entire engine. We have seen this time and again, and it is why Charles suggested against putting a new IMS bearing in it; there is a valid reason why both LN and FlatSix recommend against retrofitting the IMS bearing if the OEM unit is already in the late stages of death, it rarely works out…………….

Took the sump cover off after seeing the filter specs,also the oil pump pick up screen no metal found was very clean. The only metal soft shavings we could see were in the IMS shaft tube,very close to the bearing.We will drop the sump again and have another very close look,any findings and will do complete rebuild.

So this engine was about to blow at any moment with no warning whatsoever?! I wonder if the IMS Guardian would have detected this on time, thus preventing from the original bearing to get as bad as it has. I was unaware that if the OEM bearing was deteriorated, that replacing with a new one is ill advised. I am guessing then that the best thing to do with all M96/97 motors is to open them up, change to a LN bearing, and know that every 40K miles this needs to be done as part of regular maintenance?! If so, Porsche owners can no longer laugh at Ferrari ownership (maintenance related...)

I thought he LN fix was good for a lifetime?

Here are some pics I just took today,could not find a spec of metal in IMS shaft tube , and drpped the sump again ran a clean magnet around and nothing found.Any other thoughts on moving on with just a bearing replacement after seeing this?

Tough call. The "chips" did make it to the oil filter, Q is how much farther did they get? As you noted if you are going to chance it, use a sealed bearing.

They made it to intake side of the OEM filter but nothing showing on output side, Filter works? makes me feel more confident.

Might be a good ideal to pull the cover to the oil pump and see if the housing/gearotors are damaged from the debris.

Hi gus, after all is said and done, there appears to be no repeatable pattern to prdict failure, so you are correct , the replacement of this bearing every 30-40 k seems to be the sad reality. i have a boxster and for now least the car is so much fun to drive that I am willing to put up

I just locked the crank and pulled the rear tensioners and was fine. Where was your failed bearing made? Mine was made in Poland and was on the way out, but not like yours, good catch!!

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Thanks eastbay, started up today ,no trans hooked up yet cam timing spot on,ran up very nice on lift for 2hrs and now draining oil overnight ,will remove filter when cooled down in morning. Oil mag drain plug clean. original bearing was a (Japan NSK sealed double row).

Update, is the car on the ground, running around?

Update, transmission is in and runs excellent,have not had a good chance to put some good miles on yet,will get about 2000 miles on the clock and will drop the oil inspect and change filter again. thanks Greg

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Good work! An ounce of informed prevention is better than $10,000 of cure anyday.

Latest update: Wife and I just got back from a weekend trip in the interior of British Columbia excellent weather and nice tight twisty roads, the 996 C4 has reached 2000km since the IMS bearing (as seen in pics) replace with Pelicans bearing upgrade,Porsche was awesome on trip, all different speeds and lots of hills , 6 gear cruise set at 115km at times . got back last night ,put on hoist and drained the oil for 12hrs....the mag drain plug had nothing on it and the filter was as clean as new, Motul 5w40 looked as fresh as it was put in. very pleased with results,new oil and filter installed ...will change again in 5000 km. Thank you all for your help in this IMS project Greg

Congrats! Party time!!