Hey Guys - Lots of threads on IMSB failures and solutions lately so I thought that I would add mine to the mix and ask a couple of questions.
The history on my car:
2000 Boxster S w/29K miles.
I'm the second owner, and have had the car for about 6 months now.
Private party sale to me. Previous owner had all service records. Since purchasing the car, I have performed just about all aspects of the 30K service.
I'll be attending my first PCA DE later this month, so the condition of my ISMB was looming in the back of my mind. With every high rev, I would always wonder...could she blow? Yes. Is she going to blow? I don't know.
The original owner special ordered this car when it first was announced as a second car and then traveled all the time on business, so the car basically sat. We all know the story... The oil was changed, but only once a year at the dealership.
I live in Austin, TX - so winters are mild...
So I decided to have the work done. LNE ceramic. Thanks to the many people that post on this forum, I had precluded that my car had a dual row bearing. Sure enough, it did and I was happy to see that.
My bearing was extracted and looked and felt fine for the most part. It spins smoothly and has absolutely no play.
I did notice a little marking/discoloration on the back side of the bearing...
Not sure what could have caused that...
The following pictures illustrate what I have a question about - the IMSB flange.
Mine had pitting and corrosion on the back side.
Anyone have an idea about how this could have happened?
FWIW - it turned out that my clutch was more than 50% gone. And to make matters worse, the flywheel was also bad. (Beyond the 15mm of rotation that Wayne has written about in the 101 book.)
So I had it all taken care of. Not inexpensive, but the repair to the clutch and flywheel have transformed my car. Smoother shifting, (1st to 2nd was never smooth so I would double-clutch), and the car feels a lot tighter and more responsive. The LNE IMSB will ease my mind now...at least for several thousand miles now.
Any feedback on pitting, corrosion or flywheel would be greatly appreciated.
Picture of the patient:
