IMS Failure - Need Advice

[linklaw]

11,000 pictures of failed IMS bearings. Wow. That is the first concrete statement I have read on any discussion forum about the number of documented failures. Assuming there were 200,000 engines built with the IMS bearing, that would mean that Jake has documentation of around a 5% failure rate and that doesn't even take into consideration the additional failures he doesn't have photos of. If a published engine failure rate of 5% doesn't obliterate the value of our cars, it is hard to imagine what would. I can't believe that with this rate of total engine failure, costing approximately $100,000,000 in damages (at a cost of approximately $10,000 per failure) that there has not been some slime bag lawyer willing to put up a couple hundred thousand dollars of his own money in expert witness fees and litigation costs to get to the bottom of this (and get really really rich). While Jake may be "the" expert on IMS failure, I am sure there are plenty of other engineers out there willing to give their opinions about the cause of IMS failure and the fact that the IMS bearing is a defective design. And when the fleabag lawyer can't/doesn't win the class action suit because the facts don't support a defective design, the engineer expert witness doesn't give his fee back. If filing and winning such a class action suit were so easy, it would have been done already and we all would have received a $20 gift certificate for a Porsche ball cap and the lawyers would have collected their millions in fees. Until then, let's continue to use derogatory terms to describe greedy attorneys and continue to praise those brave, patriotic, pioneering engineers who saw a market and chose to take advantage of it.

[vijen6]

Originally Posted by linklaw

11,000 pictures of failed IMS bearings. Wow. That is the first concrete statement I have read on any discussion forum about the number of documented failures. Assuming there were 200,000 engines built with the IMS bearing, that would mean that Jake has documentation of around a 5% failure rate and that doesn't even take into consideration the additional failures he doesn't have photos of.

Uhmm .. I'm not following your logic .. for a single engine failure Jake could take 1-1000 pictures documenting the tear down / build up ? I don't think you can assume each picture is a unique failed IMS bearing.

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by linklaw

11,000 pictures of failed IMS bearings. Wow. That is the first concrete statement I have read on any discussion forum about the number of documented failures. Assuming there were 200,000 engines built with the IMS bearing, that would mean that Jake has documentation of around a 5% failure rate and that doesn't even take into consideration the additional failures he doesn't have photos of. If a published engine failure rate of 5% doesn't obliterate the value of our cars, it is hard to imagine what would. I can't believe that with this rate of total engine failure, costing approximately $100,000,000 in damages (at a cost of approximately $10,000 per failure) that there has not been some slime bag lawyer willing to put up a couple hundred thousand dollars of his own money in expert witness fees and litigation costs to get to the bottom of this (and get really really rich). While Jake may be "the" expert on IMS failure, I am sure there are plenty of other engineers out there willing to give their opinions about the cause of IMS failure and the fact that the IMS bearing is a defective design. And when the fleabag lawyer can't/doesn't win the class action suit because the facts don't support a defective design, the engineer expert witness doesn't give his fee back. If filing and winning such a class action suit were so easy, it would have been done already and we all would have received a $20 gift certificate for a Porsche ball cap and the lawyers would have collected their millions in fees. Until then, let's continue to use derogatory terms to describe greedy attorneys and continue to praise those brave, patriotic, pioneering engineers who saw a market and chose to take advantage of it.

Oh Great! another internet "fact" rumor has begun because another "intellectual" keyboard warrior is overly anxious to critisize the very people that add so much value to this forum not to mention sponsoring it. Reading comprehension is so critical to knowledge attainment. HINT: is it possible Jake Raby took more than 1 pic of each IMSB & other failures??

[NoGaBiker]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Oh Great! another internet "fact" rumor has begun because another "intellectual" keyboard warrior is overly anxious to critisize the very people that add so much value to this forum not to mention sponsoring it. Reading comprehension is so critical to knowledge attainment. HINT: is it possible Jake Raby took more than 1 pic of each IMSB & other failures??

HINT: This would be a good time to come back with an "Oh, Never mind. I didn't read the rest of the thread." We're waiting patiently!

[BYprodriver]

Originally Posted by NoGaBiker

HINT: This would be a good time to come back with an "Oh, Never mind. I didn't read the rest of the thread." We're waiting patiently!

Unfortunately I am unable to remove the false statement of information posted by linklaw & searchable by anyone for the forseeable future.

[NoGaBiker]

Originally Posted by BYprodriver

Unfortunately I am unable to remove the false statement of information posted by linklaw & searchable by anyone for the forseeable future.

Sarcasm happens. Ya can't just refrain from it for fear that a literalist will run across it someday on the internet and get scared!

[jacabean]

Is it me or does it seem like a lot of 550 cars blow up ? If these motors suck that bad why do I see so many high mileage cars for sale . lots with 125K or more . i recently saw a 97 boxster for sale with 175k on it and i doubt it had its IMS replaced. It is a fact that they all have the potential to blow but explain all the high mileage cars that are still running? If my car makes it 100k without blowing I will be fine with that even if it blows at 101K because at that point they are not worth **************** anyway !

[johnsimion]

Originally Posted by jacabean

Is it me or does it seem like a lot of 550 cars blow up ? If these motors suck that bad why do I see so many high mileage cars for sale . lots with 125K or more . i recently saw a 97 boxster for sale with 175k on it and i doubt it had its IMS replaced. It is a fact that they all have the potential to blow but explain all the high mileage cars that are still running? If my car makes it 100k without blowing I will be fine with that even if it blows at 101K because at that point they are not worth **************** anyway !

Nobody ever said the motors suck. There are two inescapable facts here, one is that some of these motors last forever, and the other is that some of these motors blow up unexpectedly and at an early age. From these two facts, there are two kinds of people:

(1) people who look at the odds of the engine grenading, and think it will never happen to them, and if it does, they love the car so much they'll just buy a new engine and screw the cost, and

(2) people who look at the odds and see a significant risk that the engine in their $50K car could grenade at any time, and don't love the car so much that they feel like they should have a risk of having to pay another five figures to keep it running.

It's an emotional issue and I'm trying my best not to be emotional. I don't think either group is "wrong." There are too many factors that control what group you are in: your personality type, how much you like the car, what you believe about the likelihood of the engine blowing up, how much $$$ you have available and your willingness to spend it on repairs, etc. Personally I am a pessimistic, cheapskate worrywart with no extra cash, it pisses me off that there is even a remote possibility that the engine might grenade the day I'm off my warranty, I have had nothing but rotten experiences with the local dealer, and to top matters off, where I drive there is so much traffic I'm not even enjoying the car all that much. So that tells you where I stand, but other people are in different situations and I can respect the fact that they have different attitudes.