IMS Bearing Replacement

For your viewing pleasure, a series of pics showing IMS bearing removal and replacement. In this case, the engine was out of the car - IMS bearing replacement is usually done in situ when the clutch is changed. Extractor tool being used to remove the old bearing... Bearing removed. The engine oil being tipped out is symptomatic of the problem. Although this particular bearing was still healthy, it should be filled with grease, not oil. As has been documented elsewhere, the engine oil eventually flushes out the grease which is the start of the problem. IMS with bearing removed, ready for new bearing New bearing installed, cheesy thumbs up of joy

Ha good one James! P.S LOL'ed at the tags even more.

Good to see that there's a factory issue hammer in use as well - never leave home without one

Something so small that can cause sooo much expense when it goes wrong, a real shame....

When you 'roll' the old one, does it sound different to a new one? I recently replaced some idler pulleys which run a bearing like this that had gone dry, and they sounded very, well, dry.  The new ones were a bit tight and silent.  Is that the case with the IMS bearing? Also - photo 2 shows what looks like the new bearing in the box - can you show the difference between new and old?  Is the new still a roller bearing or something else?

Coastr, the old bearing did not sound/feel rough. Well spotted - the new shininess is in the box in the background of one of the pics showing the busted oldness. There's nothing visible to point at because the bits that matter - the ceramic bearing - are hidden inside the body of the bearing. All the reading I've done says that cars that are used regularly and enthusiastically tend to do better than cars that are used infrequently and gently, presumably because the more active cars sploosh more engine oil into the bearing. And as you can see, this car had a fair amount of oil exiting the bearing. The question becomes one of "Do you feel lucky? ...well....do ya?" if you know you are driving your M96 engined car often and enthusiastically.

If Porsche had put some money into fixing this problem when it reared it`s ugly head, rather than spending BILLIONS trying to acquire Volkswagen coincidently right at the same time there would be a lot less grey haired M96/M97 Drivers out there

My luck is just so bad I just couldn't live with knowing my car was / was not a time bomb, really sad as the 996 is a beautiful looking car and from what I've read a great drive too... I know you can get the IMS done for about $2.5k, but I'd be worried there were other weaknesses that weren't as well known.

How many k's had the car done??

@justjames i assume this is an 996 any IMS solutions for the 997.1? from what i gather post 2005 M97 engines the IMS is located elsewhere that is not easily accessible

@TenDegrees I don't know the mileage on this one.  The car was in for work unrelated to the IMS, but while the engine was on the bench it made sense to upgrade the IMS. @VinnieChase This was a Boxster engine, but it's the same M96 engine as used in the 996.  My understanding is that the M97 engine uses a different, beefier bearing design which means that the bearing can't be replaced from the outside of the engine, but also that IMS bearing failure is not the endemic problem with the M97 that it is with the M96.

From the size of the bearing it appears to be the small bearing. I thought this was replaceable without dismantling the engine? If so, the engine must have some serious issues to be fully stripped down.

James, Looking at a 02 Boxster. Have asked for the engine No. & Vin No.from seller to determine what is in it. 65000ks with service history. NSW safety check says compliance plate No 5/01 so I'm not sure if it is a 02 car. Any thought/clues?

Airhead, as you'll know, the best bet is to hang out for the VIN. My notes say that most 2002-'05 986 Boxsters will have the single row IMS bearing, but that some will have the double row bearing.

Thanks. What is approx cost to get upgraded? Maybe can use when bargaining on price. Barry.

Barry, I had my IMS,clutch, pressure plate, dual mass flywheel replaced by a well known Porsche shop in Sydneys west in Dec 2010. The price was $3500. I think of it as insurance. What is a Box worth if the engine lets go....not much I dare say. Mine was a double row & perfect. Good luck with your purchase.

Work on a price in the region of $700 for the uprated IMS bearing. With 65,000km if the car hasn't had a clutch, you may want to factor in a new clutch anyway. Although it's impossible to guess because some people manage intergalactic mileages on a clutch while others can reduce them to expensive smoke just getting out of the garage.

$700 R&R including parts?

The parts will be in the region of $700. Factor that - or a number very like it - as the additional when the clutch is being re-done.

Gday all, please excuse my ignorance but my mechanical aptitude is in the lower category!!  Seeing as my new baby is an auto is it still fitted with an IMS bearing?? I have seen lots of posts regarding changing the IMS when doing the clutch. Am I to assume that only manuals have the IMS bearing. Thanks Steve.

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The IMS bearing is part of the engine, not the transmission. All cars have it whether manual or automatic....so the answer to your question is YES!

Bugger!!! So how do we determine if it has been done or not?? Thanks Steve.

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Do you know who the last owner was?  Any receipts with the car or do you know who used to service it? You are probably best off to assume it has not been done, do it and then sleep well at night

Here you go, check this video out  and if you have an iPad or similar, buy the corresponding 911 article that was all about IMS failures. http://www.total911.com/news/porsche-996997-ims-failure-video/

Thanks Amanda, I dont know the previous owner and there is nothing in the servicemanual. Looks like I am up for a new bearing KIt plus fitting.   Does anyone have a suggestion on which IMS kit is the best?? Cheers Steve

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Many use the LN Engineering replacement.. i think they are around the $2k mark for the kit and fitting

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Some bedtime reading for you http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/996-forum/545929-tiptronic-clutch-and-ims.html

Thanks for the input.   Does anyone know if the porsche service centre computers are linked??    If I contact the Melboure Porsche Centre are they going to be able to tell me if the car has had an IMS bearing replacement at a Porsche dealership in Australia? Cheers Steve

The IMS bearing replacement worth doing is a non-Porsche part, so it's unlikely to be recorded on any Porsche dealership database. It usually works something like this: While a car is covered by a Porsche warranty, the risks associated with IMS bearing failure are Porsche's risks, and fitting a non-Porsche part would in any event invalidate the warranty. When a car falls outside the Porsche (extended) warranty, risk-averse owners fit the uprated IMS bearing at the next available opportunity. If they've used the L&N Engineering bearing, it is supplied with a serial number sticker which should have been affixed to the car's service record. There should also be a service receipt in the car's history folder. If it's not there, it's prolly safe to assume that the replacement hasn't been done. It's a bit of a big deal, so not the sort of thing that an owner would not bother to record.

Hi Steve, I think our cars were siamese twins separated at birth. Niko and I both did ours at roughly the same time. His at Jocaro and mine at Autoart. Both about 2K with service. Mine was about $150 cheaper to do but mine is 6 speed man and Michael from Autoart said manuals are a slightly easier / quicker job. We both have the little black serial number sticker proudly displayed in our service books, I would expect that if it has been done the previous owner would have done the same. Plus the work would appear in the previous service records / invoices (if the old owner kept them) Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss further.

Hi all, very interesting stuff. I am not game to even start the car now until it is done!!!  Andy I can only assume that your and my cars are exactly the same, except ofcourse that yours isn;t a ticking time bomb.  Do you know andy what brand of bearing was used in your car?? Cheers Steve.

Steve, there is a great deal of anecdotal evidence out there that driving M96 engined cars regularly and enthusiastically is the best thing for them.

Hi Steve, I was never overly panicked by it, mainly because all available evidence showed 5-10% (closer to 5 depending on which article you read) of engines would die a premature death and I had the ability to do a rebuild if needed. Remember your engine is now 14 years old on the original bearing. It was more about understanding the risks, potential for a problem, preventative measures (ie changing oil, warm up, warm down and driving with spirit when appropriate) then making a calculated decision based on cost of bearing and potential cost of rebuild. I had my car 5 years before changing it and the duel row bearing that came out was fine. But that's the roll of the dice. Mine was replaced with the LN engineering ceramic bearing. It is probably the most commonly used and with heaps of them out there being installed for quite a while now you start to get better data around any IMS failure with the LN bearing in place which from what I could find was next to zero. Don't freak out too much. 95% of 996 and Boxter drivers out there would never have heard of an IMS bearing and happily drive to work every day, that's the beauty of this forum. Having the knowledge means you can make a more informed decision about preventative maintenance. And although 2K could be potentially better spent elsewhere I have seen many weird and wonderful repairs needing to be done on many makes and models that cost similar and more. As a performance car they provide a very rewarding driving experience but if you think this will keep you up and cause you to enjoy your car less, I'd change it. Regards Andy S

Gday Andy, Thanks for that, knowledge is a wonderful thing. As for changing, well that aint gonna happen. I have owned everything over the years from an XY GT to a Merc SLK and I never been as impressed with a motor vehicle as I am with this car.  I will change the bearing at some point, until then I am off for a drive!! Cheers Steve