Shortlived Boxster engines survey

[mikefocke]

Originally Posted by dannythemanny

I think the whole IMS thing is over stressed and not necessarily a problem most people need to worry about. Unofficial figures quote less than 10% incidence overall across many years and we all know there are no 'official' figures. A lot of scare mongering is going on here especially from companies with a vested interest.

Ah but there are official figures that Porsche admitted to in settling a lawsuit. The single row bearing ('00-'04.5) was the subject of the lawsuit and the admitted figure was ~1% per car year.

May not be a big thing unless you have to scrap your car, buy a new engine or pay to have the engine completely rebuilt. My two were never a problem, but, if it is yours that does, . . .

Plus the widespread knowledge of this issue has savaged the value of the cars. Everyone who has sold has felt the pain.

[Laflamme02]

Originally Posted by njbray

I have just purchased an immaculate 43000 mile 2001 with a full service history. I purchased it privately so no warranty! The first thing i had done was IMS, clutch and water pump.

How much did this cost you, parts and labor, if you don't mind me asking?
Also, any other service or maintenance. Needed since? I'm looking at getting one soon and want to know a good estimate for the IMS replacement cost.

[njbray]

Originally Posted by Laflamme02

How much did this cost you, parts and labor, if you don't mind me asking?
Also, any other service or maintenance. Needed since? I'm looking at getting one soon and want to know a good estimate for the IMS replacement cost.

About $3400 out the door. They also pressure checked the AOS and gave the car an overall check up.

[Simon Wooldridge]

Hi all
Bought my 2003 3.2S in Canberra, Australia last August. Since reading about the IMS vulnerability and asking around, I felt like I was playing Russian Roulette every time I went for a drive (car has done ~87,000 km).
Had the IMS fixed and service with fresh consumables a couple of weeks ago by a local Porsche specialist. The price, including another oil and filter change in a thousand km, was $AU 2,600. I suspect I was done some favours. Now I feel completely confident - well worth the investment!

[Steve Tinker]

Simon, that sounds like a bargain - I paid over $4,000 back in 2010 to have the LN dual row bearing installed and clutch replaced.
I'm assuming your clutch was OK and left as is - what make / type of single row bearing was installed in your car?

[mts]

FYI - I just got payment from the IMS lawsuit with Porsche. Took forever, but at least I got some of my out-of pocket back from my IMS failure a few years back.

[Simon Wooldridge]

Sorry Steve, can't tell you any details. The humungeous size of my ignorance of these matters meant that I just went with Chris, the proprieter's recommendation. My Boxster is a tiptronic - a wise option for an old fart with dodgy hips, even though it promotes laziness and results in less precision.

I'll ask Chris about the replacement IMS and post his answer. The aftermarket audio amplifier spat the dummy and needed replacing this week; it never ends, does it?

[Tarek307]

Mine just failed- 2003 Boxster Base- IMS/RMS done in 2012, however i guess that wasn't good enough- Yesterday it suffered a CamShaft/Lifter Failure- engine is toast.

I'm a total Porschaphile & have owned 4 911's, my DD is a 997S, the boxster i bought to drive for a couple of months and resell...i'm 2nd owner- what a shame- but i must say these cars are Pieces of GARBAGE!

The piece of cam cover was ejected after the lifter failed and was shot through the cam cover"

[Sassmatt72]

dropped the valve keepers, shattered the piston, cracked the liner...and the spark plug stripped out trying to remove it.



anyone got a good 2.5 long block for sale?

[Bayley]

2000 Boxster S with 58,000 dealership maintained miles at factory recommended service intervals.

Adult owned and never raced.



Suddenly a great motor swap candidate. *Always look on the bright side.

[mcdandc]

Well, I've had my 2000 s model for about 18 months, 107000 miles and no problems. Took her in for a check engine light last month (gas cap leak). Shop found several leaks and worn boots, so I asked for recommendations; IMS, clutch, and hoses, also plugs and other things. The sticker shock really hurt, but jumped in for the security.
During the IMS replacement, a few chips of plastic were noticed in the oil. The only plastic inside the engine were the upper chain guides, so the valve covers were pulled. One of the guides came out in two pieces and there was significant wear on the other, Shop was very happy that they had caught the problem before any severe damage to the engine, me too.
Working to pay off the bill ( 6500), but a happy camper.

[motorcity986]

I have a 2000 986 S. 43,000 flawless miles.
Had IMS/clutch proactively installed 50 miles ago at the Porsche dealer. Found no signs of old bearing failing.
50 miles later, check engine light, poor performance. Tapping/knock from engine as well. Flat bed in to dealer.
Found one of the cylinders flooded w/ fuel. At first, they thought a mass flow sensor. Nope. Dropped engine, pulled head.
2 of the 3 valve guides are sliding (can push out of cylinder by hand). Valve seat came off.
Car has never overheated or been abused.

Anyone ever hear of this happening? Nobody can figure out why???? Was there a flaw in the machining process, so sloppy fit for the valve guides?? Would it be this way on the other side?
And if so, did they find the same problem on the other cylinder head?
I am deciding if i need to have the other cylinder head pulled, dismantled and inspected while the engine is out of the car. Anothe $2000.00, so an important question.

My dealer says they have heard of this, but never seen one. I checked with an idependent Porsche mechanic. Same answer. I checked with the largest Porsche dealer in the country. Same answer. Is my car that unique?

[andys320]

Hi

Just had engine go, cracked head 60000 3.2S, engine now rebuilt new head, AOS, RMS, IMS, clutch, water pump etc. Back again and recent 1600 mile round trip to lake Garda.

Was it economically viable, NO, am I glad I rebuilt and still have it, oh YES!

[Dr_P]

Hi All.
Am brand new to forum.
I recently took my 986-S model (2002) for its 30k service and my technician (retired Porsche Dealer mechanic from NY area) found some metal shavings (some, not a lot) along with one small bit of plastic and one small bit of metal in the oil (dropped lower sump pan).
I have/had read extensively on IMSB issues (here and elsewhere) and expected this at some point, but when I called the nearest dealer for a quotation, I was surprised to find they actually quoted a higher price for the LN Engineering retrofit than for a retrofit with authentic Porsche parts. Moreover, the warranty for LN is only 30-days (assuming it passes the pre-approval process), while Porsche offers 2-years and unlimited mileage. This just seemed odd to me, although a pleasant surprise. I see posts from Jack Raby, etc. everywhere, and numerous posts and links to Pelican Parts, Flat6innovations, etc., but almost nothing from anyone who has had a Porsche Authorized Dealer perform the work. Just curious if anyone has any thoughts/comments/information to share? Am I missing anything, or is this actually likely to be as good a deal as it sounds?
My local technician said everything else on my S-model looked beautiful (it's had regular oil changes every 3-4k miles since new, about once a year), and I wouldn't have known anything otherwise without his expertise (purrs like a kitten, runs like a beast), so I'm inclined to continue as planned, but just wanted to double-check my thinking, having seen nothing about Dealer servicing this item.
Thanks all,
- Dr. P

[Oldporscheguy]

Was at my mechanics shop on MOnday and watched a 2005 Boxster being towed away withe a IMS failure after only 28K miles. We just bought a 40K mile junk Boxster S with good engine and transmission to put into a 2000 S with a blown IMS failure engine. and we did the IMS bearing during the swap. Cost was $3800 for bearing, clutch and remove good engine and transmission from donor car and replace into the 2000.

We chose the LN Engineering ceramic bearing. If you don't do a proactive IMS replacement, make sure you change oil often and cut open the oil filter and look for Metal and plastic at each oil change.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by Dr_P

Hi All.
Am brand new to forum.
I recently took my 986-S model (2002) for its 30k service and my technician (retired Porsche Dealer mechanic from NY area) found some metal shavings (some, not a lot) along with one small bit of plastic and one small bit of metal in the oil (dropped lower sump pan).
I have/had read extensively on IMSB issues (here and elsewhere) and expected this at some point, but when I called the nearest dealer for a quotation, I was surprised to find they actually quoted a higher price for the LN Engineering retrofit than for a retrofit with authentic Porsche parts. Moreover, the warranty for LN is only 30-days (assuming it passes the pre-approval process), while Porsche offers 2-years and unlimited mileage. This just seemed odd to me, although a pleasant surprise. I see posts from Jack Raby, etc. everywhere, and numerous posts and links to Pelican Parts, Flat6innovations, etc., but almost nothing from anyone who has had a Porsche Authorized Dealer perform the work. Just curious if anyone has any thoughts/comments/information to share? Am I missing anything, or is this actually likely to be as good a deal as it sounds?
My local technician said everything else on my S-model looked beautiful (it's had regular oil changes every 3-4k miles since new, about once a year), and I wouldn't have known anything otherwise without his expertise (purrs like a kitten, runs like a beast), so I'm inclined to continue as planned, but just wanted to double-check my thinking, having seen nothing about Dealer servicing this item.
Thanks all,
- Dr. P

Your instincts are correct because the only IMSB available from Porsche is the last design that requires complete disassembly of the engine to install, due to it's larger diameter. LN engineering offeres 3 different retrofits for your 2002 engine all of which are superior to the Porsche OE IMSB. You should read LNs website for accurate info & post in general discussions thread for more feedback.

[pieter1]

First one 996 C2 cylinder no.4 ate its self. PO never took care of it (oil changes) not the cars fault 142500 miles. [ATTACH][ATTACH][/ATTACH][/ATTACH] Engine was parted out and new factory rebuild put in.

Second one 98 Box with C2 3,4 motor (motor 67000 miles) Variocam chain pads failed. Ha no engine damage, replaced valve cover, two cams, and variocam solenoid with cam chain. She runs strong (scary car). Never had IMS or RMS issues my third Porsche with M96 motor.

[pieter1]

I hope I do not get kicked of the Forum for what I am about to say, but here goes. There is a lot of ********************ing in this post, this will be the last Porsche for me , how can they do this bla bla bla bla. The fricken cars are older that 10 years some with high miles some with dodgy service history and some were guys work on there own. Stop saying the brand or car is bad and unreliable. Look at my post below and I am not ********************ing about my failures. They are awesome cars and need maintenance go figure, nothing last forever. Its a bearing replace the thing its $750 DIY-$1800 for shop to do. Just have it done a new engine is $12000-$18000. Do you guys think a Honda S2000 BS I had two and one dropped a valve and the other one ran bearings on a track day (oil was on the full mark). Other failures are related to poor maintenance, bad driving habits, and about 5% bad design that Porsche did address. I drove a 996 last night with 298000 miles same engine, new IMS and RMS put in at 230000 miles, what about those cars. Yes its a Porsche built to a budget but go to your car and look at the quality and the engineering that is build into the car. You have a Porsche for Miata money that performs and handles like no ones busyness. Thank you spoke my mind. And drive the wheels of them that's what they are designed for.

[arthrodriver]

I don't own a Boxster, but am considering an older one, expecting to overhaul/mod the engine. I have read many of the posts and also seen a youtube hosted by a bearded uncle type who assumed the know-all, final say posture (good watch).His summary (if I got it right) is that the IMS bearing failure (early/late...I don't know) arises from corrosion (my words). Mechanism: oil collects in the shaft tube and cannot exit. It becomes "rancid" (his words .I think)and becomes corrosive. The seals fail and the ?acidic? goop attacks the balls and races. The bearing wobbles and fatique sets in on the shaft. The fix...pressurized oil lines under gallery pressure constantly clean and lubricate the new bearing. Problem solved. I write this in my words because I don't think I saw this explanation before. So his statement is that although grease is the normal lubricant for ball and rollers, engine oil is the fix for the replacement bearings?

Next, Although the engine shops show broken parts (like the crank above) they do not volunteer non destructive test findings (magnaflux, zyglo etc) to explain. Finally for the person above asking about valve guide slippage. IMO this can be due to incorrect press fit tolerances (guide too small, guide hole too big) or to overheated aluminum head ,or improper installation. Out around 350F aluminum creeps (gets soft)and cannot hold onto guides and seats.

Hope this evokes more info. I know it's out there. These threads are very much like the ones on another site. Mercedes M 156 V8 (many models, but especially C63 AMG) where headbolts break. Those engines are$42K and Mercedes' warranty and mea culpa position is the same as Porsche. The owners there have the same nightmares and angst. Unlike the Boxster engines, most M 156's can be repaired , range $5K - $15K.

[MiamiRice]

All I know is that Porsche produced an inferior product with the Boxster S through the years in question with that IMS and its failure rate. I had a 2004 Boxster S with only 28,500 miles on it in mint condition, properly maintained at a Porsche dealership , and I still suffered that failure and was told that although senior management reviewed my case their final determination was "too f***ing bad". Needless to say I don't see where they deserve the kind of loyalty that they command since it obviously does not exist on their end.