Ouch, IMS failure on Ebay
 

Too bad this sweet 2003 "s" went for $10,000 on ebay. I feel for this guy as he only had it for 2k miles. A picture is worth a thousand words. would make a great car for a Raby engine upgrade.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/03-Porsche-Boxster-S-Intermediate-Engine-Shaft-Failure_W0QQitemZ290351120567QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUS _Cars_Trucks?hash=item439a4680b7&_trksid=p4506.c0. m245


[IMG]http://i826.photobucket.com/albums/z...4BKpTvH1pf.jpg[/IMG]

Quite the legal description and disclaimer if Porsche ends up paying for the repair. I like the part about working for Porsche.

legal?
 

"It will also state that we (the sellers) are the party damaged by the engine failure, and are the rightful recipients of any future settlement against Porsche in regard to Boxster engine failures."

Can he do this? :confused:

Project anyone?

Man, I wish I would have seen that!! I have a team looking for a Boxster S for a Grand Am race car..

That is a good question. I'm not really sure about the seller's legal rights. However, they are the ones who are suffering a loss here. The failed engine has decreased their sale price significantly. The buyer has no loss, they're getting the car pretty cheap. So I think it would stand to reason that the seller would be the one to benefit from any future settlement so as to set things right.

Kirk

Unfortunately, legally that is not going to happen as the seller sold the car with a “clear” title, not an encumbered one; any future settlement transferred to the buyer, so the seller is out in any future settlement. And, in any case, you would have to be nuts to buy a car with an encumbered title…………..

Check his last line out.

'Individuals affiliated with Porsche in any way agree to pay double.'

Hahahaha

My favorite line of his ebay post was
"Individuals affiliated with Porsche in any way agree to pay double" :D

I guess I would be bitter if my ims crapped out after 2k miles.

Is there any truth to this occuring more with the 03-04 cars because of the revised IMS design being more prone to failure than the earlier design?

This is the first thing I thought of when I saw the thread title and sure enough it was an 03.

Not sure but my 03 has 92k miles and is going strong both on the street and track. That being said it will probably die tomorrow.

Sure wish I had seen this auction before it ended!

The IMS was redesigned in 00'+ from the 97-99's,hence why it's an issue with newer M96 engines. 3.2L & 3.4L tend to have more of an issue with it. Just look how many 996 bad engine threads there are on Rennlist. If the IMS were redesigned again from 03'+ on I'm not sure.

The IMS bearing revisions made the issues WORSE! The early cars have a double row bearing, mid year cars have a single row bearing with 1/2 as much bearing support!!

this was done to allow bearing removal and replacement so Porsche didn't owe you a new engine under warranty when it started to take a crap.

They all equally suck, I received a phone call yesterday from an IMS victim with a failure of a 00 bearing at 37K miles.. Today I have gotten TWO calls, one from an 02 Carrera owner and the other from an 04 Boxster S Owner.

Last week I had 7 IMS bearing failure calls, and two D chunk failure calls...

^ What's the fix costing these days? (on the boxster not the 996)

Do you ever see this with the 996 TT's?

Shouldn't be. The TT,gt2,gt3 engines are all based of the GT1 race car and have completely different engine designs.

Jake I thought the IMS was redesigned from 99'-00' to reduce engine noise?

$10k is a damn good price for a roller IMHO

Question for Jake:
When my IMS failed last year my ext. warranty paid for a new engine :D
This engine was supposed to have "all the upgrades".
Any idea what Porsche did to make a 2008 3.2L replacement engine more solid?

The 2008 bearing is the same as the M97 bearing.. It was made enormous and cannot be removed from the engine, or modified at all.

They do fail.

The IMS bearing being re-designed for "Engine noise reduction" is the reason Porsche gave for the revision.

Is that the real reason??

Jake,

just be sure we're on the same page:
I am talking about a 3.2L 252bhp engine which I received in 2008 as a replacement engine for a 2002 BoxS

Mine cost total (parts + labor) around $15k

What am I missing?
 

10K for the roller, 15K for the engine - 25K (at least) all in.

Lots of good Boxster selling under $20k. Heck mine was totaled out and could of been fixed with a new door, rear quarter and rocker panel. Salvage value was 5K - so back on the road for under 10K (my guess).

so its like buying another used Boxster....what's the point of that?
If you sell it with the detonated engine what can you get for it? $5K from a guy looking to race it?

For Jake it makes the most sense, as the car's condition is near perfect and for him to drop an engine in it will be a lot cheaper than you or me. Plus he might even be able to write it off as a test car or something. Its almost a no brainer. Almost all salvaged porsches have been wrecked and most likey have frame damage and costly body/headlight damage. If I was a mechanic I would consider something like this a gift, as half the cost of an engine swap for us is in labor and with jakes engines, Well I am sure he would cut himself one heck of a discount and labor is negligible :D

For someone like me, I could probably get an engine (regular not modded) for around 5 to 7 grand, then pay somebody to put it in. Not that great of a deal for me.

This thread is disheartening! I have a boxster that looks just like that ebay auction.

2003 with less than 10K miles. CPO until 2011. I pray I never have to deal with this issue. I cannot afford a new engine...

Jake- how much will a retro fit IMS kit cost + install? I am getting concern and will most likely do this after the warranty is over.

I'm having mine done in a few weeks but I do drive mine all the time. It has 86k on it and still pulls hard. Luckily my local shop has been trained on this and can do it.
I stll say the less you drive them the higher the chances.
Chris

I agree with chris. Although there is no scientific proof yet, I have heard the more you drive it like it was meant to be driven the less chance of IMS failure. Something about getting the oil and such up to temp.

I too would like to know if anyone in the mid ohio area can install these or what the cost would be.

Your CPO will cover IMS failure. So you can start saving up for a retro-fit and have it done after the warranty expires.

thats my game plan right now. The wife and I do plan on racking ALOT more miles on this on our road trips to the dragon, etc.

Pretty sad how I only drive it 100 miles a weekend because we take mass transit everywhere (we live in NYC).

The forth picture from the top says it all......

After lots of reading about the dreaded IMS bearing failure and inquiries to local PCA tech savvy people, Porsche Dealers and independent shops I decided I didn’t want to chance it.

On Friday, I took my 02 Boxster S to a recommended independent shop that has already done a few L/N IMS update kits. I’m having the L/N IMS bearing kit done and a new RMS installed. The L/N IMS bearing kit should be in on Tuesday and I should have the car back by Wednesday. I’m going there tomorrow to look under the car w/out the transmission in it.

Hopefully this “preventive measure” was the right move.

do you mind volunteering how much that might have cost you

Who did you go to?

Yes, +1 on the details of the what kit they used and the costs. Time it took would also be very helpful.

We have done more of these retrofits than anyone, including the first one and all the testing.

I charge a flat rate of 3,500 parts and labor for Boxsters up to 2005 to complete the IMS retrofit process. This includes a new clutch, pressure plate, release bearing as well as the LN IMSR kit and all other related parts including the updated RMS.

This also includes dyno evaluation and field testing of at least 250 miles after the retrofit is made to ensure there are no leaks present and that the unit is functioning as expected.

I include the clutch unit in my prices because any Boxster with 35K+ miles is in need of clutch service and with the components already pulled to facilitate the IMSR it makes no sense not to replace them.

Most any shop will charge an amount that rivals this to do the procedure, but most do it by the hour and charge more. We are more proficient with the process, know what to expect and how to overcome challenges that can be experienced during bearing extraction processes.

I have Boxsters here from 4 states right now to have the process completed.

Perfectlap checks his piggy bank....

Now I just need you to move 1500 miles west.

1500 miles is one day via a shipper of vehicles.. And if the car is shipped no GA sales tax applies :-)

I've been at my current location for the last 34 years, and will not be moving :-)

Jake, How long will this take? Is this something I can come in for the weekend and then drive it home? You know like make a small vacation out of it?

Also, please excuse my auto ignorance on this, but I have triptronic, would this effect the clutch plate and price ?

We do not work weekends... I have 70-80 hours in by 1700 on Friday afternoon.

We require the car for 3 days.

The first day the tranny and all components are pulled and we perform diagnostics on the remainder of the engine to ensure it is worthy of the IMSR procedure.

The second day we install the IMSR, fit the clutch assembly and reassemble to the point of testing.

The third day we evaluate the arrangement on the dyno, and then field test the vehicle to ensure there are no leaks or odd noises.

I have several people taking time over the fall and winter to deliver their car here to have this done. We are helping them to arrange accomodations and allow them a Boxster test vehicle as a loaner while they are here.. Our area is beautiful in the fall as we are in the Appalachian Mountains just south of Helen Georgia and it's Alpine Village.

I guess I should have said any day as weekends really have no meaning any more ;) ( except when the Buckeyes play). About my second part of the question.... Does a triptronic change the equation at all, meaning... does it effect the amount of work to be done or the price?