IMS question.

[Blue-S]

This may be a dumb question, but here goes: Surely, they don't support the whole IMS with a bearing at just one end. There is a bearing at the other end of the IMS, right? What does that bearing look like? Why doesn't it fail?

[cnavarro]

It's just a plain bearing on the other end. **Correction, as Jake pointed out, it just rides in the case on an oil film.** All the thrust is handled by the ball bearing as well.

Originally, in all the aircooled 911s, the intermediate shaft had plain bearings on both ends with one having a thrust surface, if memory serves me. Interestingly, the GT2, GT3, and Turbo use a shaft like the aircooled one since the engine is so close to an aircooled 964 that was water cooled!