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Lots of opinions on this. If money was no issue, replace it now before it can cause an issue. But then, money is an issue for most of us.
My personal opinion is that all IMSBs will fail at some point, there just seems to be a lot of variability as to when. My dual row bearing was in failure mode when I bought my car. That being the case, I took measures to repair the problem as best I could without tearing the engine down and get some life out of it before it goes to Porsche heaven.
The bearing was intact but worn. The bearings had worn down and were wobbly in the bearing chase. There was some metal in the filter and a lot inside the intermediate shaft.
I replaced the IMSB and replaced the filter with the spin on adapter type and filter mag to catch any debris on the first pass through the system. I changed the filter at 100 miles. Then changed the filter at again 500 miles and oil and filter around 3000 miles. (as I recall)
Since then, I have done 2 oil changes at about 5000K. I have not found any visible metal in the filter or pan since the first filter change. The filter mag does continue to catch black, magnetic flour that might pass through the filter. I will have put 13K on it next week since replacing the IMSB.
I do change the filter every 2500K just to check on the engine. The filter is $5 and the half quart of oil is maybe $4. Gives me peace of mind to see what is going on inside the engine.
When I found my problem, several people suggested I replace the engine because it was toast. So far, that has proved incorrect. Was the engine damaged in some way, most likely. Does it still run like a champ and sound perfect, Yes! My engine is a 2.5. Not really worth overhauling and the cheapest option to replace. So I figured, What the hell, lets see how long it lasts.
If I had one of the much more expensive engines, I might have considered pulling it apart. In my case, it really didn't matter and was worth the risk. When my engine does die, I will buy a used engine and replace the IMSB before it goes in the car!
IF I had a Boxster of any variation that was 15 years old and had not had the IMSB replaced, it would be a concern. I personally believe most of these bearings will fail at some point. I would probably get a full flow, no bypass filter system and monitor it on a continual basis by changing and inspecting the filter between oil changes. At least doing so costs very little and it would give me some peace of mind.
BTW, sorry for the long post.
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