Quote:
Originally Posted by southernstar
Yes Tony, the Vertex roller bearing replacement has been discussed here previously and the consensus seems to be that, in spite of the obviously greater surface area of roller bearings, they are ill-suited to the IMS application: roller bearings are not intended for, nor are they capable of dealing with the thrust loads that the IMS is subjected to.
Brad
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A couple of thoughts that I have on this.
No I do not think that the above pictured IMS bearing is a quality, well thought out piece of equipment. Yet, I do want to add to Brad's comment about roller bearings not being designed for thrust loads. While this is true it appears that this product has integrated plain bearing style thrust washers into the bearing races.
Do I think their design will work? Probably not because they look like low grade, 5 cent parts. But, I'd sure love to hear someone try it and so I can see the pieces when their engine goes.
On another note, I have 4 engines sitting in my garage with spun bearings or d-chunked cylinders. Not a single one has a bad ims bearing. I've pulled several ims bearings and never found a single one that exhibited any play. While yes the IMS bearing is something that goes out on some cars, I think if you drive these things hard the IMS bearing is the least of your worries.
Anyone ever seen the bearing at the front of the ims shaft go out? Of course not, its a plain bearing. All it is, is the steel ims shaft riding in the aluminum casting of the oil pump.
I think from a releability stand point Raby's IMS Solution (the one that utilizes a plain bearing that is force fed oil) is the best idea to date. It's not a coincidence that the only ball bearing in these engines is commonly a failure point. Ball bearings require less lubrication and provide less drag, but wear out faster in my experience and are more susceptible to debris. So then the only problem with the IMS solution is is it's cost. But I guess that's up to the consumer to gauge the value of their engine.