986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - Dup Post - Looking for 'IMS' peace-of-mind

steved0x · 03-04-2014, 01:47 PM

There are so many topics it would be impossible to put a link, and while it may seem overwhelming at first once you get on here and start reading it will come together.

Here is a link to some information that summarizes the three IMS bearing types:

IMS 101

97-99 Double row bearing
2000 Some double, some single (this may overlap into 2001 too?)
2001 - 2004, and some 2005? single row bearing, most likely to fail
2005-2008 - larger single row, not replaceable unless you disassemble the engine.
[Edit: looks like I am off on some of these years but the two linked articles have a lot of good info]

Typically when Porsche would replace an engine with a new engine, it would come with whatever bearing that was in style at the time.

Because yours is a remanufactured engine, there may not be/probably is not a way to tell without physically inspecting the IMS Cover, as the cover is different for the different types of bearings. This article describes one way to check to see what type of bearing you have.

Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Intermediate Shaft Bearing Replacement and Upgrade (IMS) - 986 Boxster (1997-04) - 987 Boxster (2005-06)

03-04-2014, 01:47 PM	#3
steved0x Registered User Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: FL Posts: 4,143	There are so many topics it would be impossible to put a link, and while it may seem overwhelming at first once you get on here and start reading it will come together. Here is a link to some information that summarizes the three IMS bearing types: IMS 101 97-99 Double row bearing 2000 Some double, some single (this may overlap into 2001 too?) 2001 - 2004, and some 2005? single row bearing, most likely to fail 2005-2008 - larger single row, not replaceable unless you disassemble the engine. [Edit: looks like I am off on some of these years but the two linked articles have a lot of good info] Typically when Porsche would replace an engine with a new engine, it would come with whatever bearing that was in style at the time. Because yours is a remanufactured engine, there may not be/probably is not a way to tell without physically inspecting the IMS Cover, as the cover is different for the different types of bearings. This article describes one way to check to see what type of bearing you have. Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Intermediate Shaft Bearing Replacement and Upgrade (IMS) - 986 Boxster (1997-04) - 987 Boxster (2005-06)