Is it a Subaru engine?

Post 29 says IMS Solution MSRP about $1,495

Nice one state!

We plan to release the technology to the public in Panorama first..

I have had a newsletter that includes the pictures and parts break downs ready to distribute for a while.. It's all I can do to refrain from doing so as we do not want to let the flood gates open until our distributor has units in hand.. Other than installs we are pretty much done selling direct at retail.

The Solution installed at Flat 6 is 4,195.00 including pre-evaluation, a full clutch kit, IMSS kit, RMS, post evaluation and all associated labor and incidentals. It's a flat fee with no variables or options.

The IMSS is only for single row shafts, the technology is not being applied to dual row shafts.

The IMSS is only for single row shafts, the technology is not being applied to dual row shafts.[/QUOTE]

Jake....
Do I read this correctly as available for the IMS single row bearing engines and not the dual row bearing engines??
Or am I confused (again).....

Yes, single row only. The dual row cars do not have great enough numbers to warrant the product. Also the newest dual row car is a MY 2000 so the values of the cars are so low that fewer people are retrofitting them.

The dual row cars are best protected by the IMS Guardian as a lower cost, easier to install product.

The single row 01-05 MY engines are where the IMSS is best applied.

I went ahead and retro fitted mine as it is a pretty nice 2000 S. Hope the LN dual row hybrid will still be available well into the future when it is time for a replacement.

I imagine the dual row hybrid retro fit would be fairly robust solution as it stands and that there would little gain in providing an improved dual row product; the bearing capacity would be inherently higher as compared to the single row hybrid bearing.

Perhaps the new product is a double row for the single rows or a return the plain bearing sleeve as found on the "other end" and older engine types?

I knew someone who was friends with a director at the Supreme Court. The director invited us to have lunch at their famous cafeteria after a personal tour of the chambers. Very nice. Over lunch someone brought up 60 Minutes. His whole mood went sour in two seconds.
He said that if any of us were ever in a position to be visited by their reporters to immediately lock the door and ignore their calls. Lots of bad things to say about their ethics and integrity after they apparently tried to do a story on the Court. "their only goal is to make you look stupid or corrupt"

Personally, a story about Boxsters with exploding engines would really hurt resale without anything getting accomplished. Bad press is not going to hurt Porsche one bit. They're selling sedans and SUVs to Chinese billionaires who could care less.
Fewer folks buying Boxsters and Carreras would be bad for everyone. That being said if you do by one and don't immediately address the IMS I think you have to live with the consequences. Neither would I put off the IMS swap until the clutch wore out. Do it as soon as you get the car. The savings of putting off the clutch repair can cost you too dearly to be worth the gamble. Any mildly experienced Porsche mechanic can do this job in a day. My indy told me they've done like nearly 400 or something. Sounds like a standard part of the clutch job now.

Yes but tell me what the failure rate is for the LN ceramic bearing? What kind of odds are there that the new bearing won't fail? I sometimes wonder if the vocal minority makes this problem seem worse than it really is. My 02 S now has 13500 miles on the odometer and I have a hard time throwing $1500 bucks toward something that doesn't guaranty the replacement bearing won't toast my engine anyway. I know there is money to be made the more the fear rages on with no clear numbers to tell us one way or another. It's a crapshoot for sure and I guess I am a riverboat gambler. To be honest, my 2005 Jeep Wrangler has caused me more lost sleep than my S. That Jeep is a money pit but a fun vehicle for what it was meant to do. Maintenance is a huge factor in keeping an automobile on the road for the long haul. I have a 1975 GMC pickup truck that is still going strong with only regular maintenance over all those years and yes, I know, 37 years is a long time to keep a vehicle and I am damn old.:)

olddude...
Below is a post from Jake Raby from earlier this year regarding LN ceramic bearing failures - looks like a total of 3 that they (LN & F6I) know about.
This is Raby's response to the question - read on.....

The 3 failures have all been single rows..
-One of them suffered damage from a tensioner paddle failure that contaminated the bearing with foreign object debris.. The bearing will not live through this, don't even expect it to.

-Another of them suffered a failure where **possibly** the installer did not get the snap ring seated correctly. I did the post-mortem on this engine and the actual means of failure were not conclusive, so LN did the right thing and warranted the bearing and I reassembled the engine. (This was not my engine or install, LN paid me to evaluate and repair the engine).. The owner of the car didn't have to ASK to receive this level of service.

-The third failure appears to have been a classic bearing failure; nothing was present to suggest otherwise.

NONE of the bearings we have installed via retrofit or full (triple row) upgrade have failed. No dual row retrofit bearings have failed. Out of 4,000 installs 3 failures have occurred, one of which was DEFINITELY related to foreign object debris collateral damage, another of which may have been.. That leaves one out of 4,000 that simply grenaded..

Now a lot more than 4,000 have been sold as I stated in that post. The figures are now double that.

FYI- we recently retrofitted a 16k mile Boxster S from 2004. The work was done proactively and the bearing was already at stage II failure with a compromised seal. We cut this one apart and documented it like all the rest.

Do the Porsche dealers do this retrofit bearing upgrade? Should I wait until the Raby guaranteed no fail solution becomes available and will it be performed by dealers or only at Flat 6? These are questions I need to find answers for. I want what is best for my car.

Best to call your local dealer and ask. I live in the SF Bay area and at least one of the local dealers does retrofit Boxsters with the LN ceramic bearing. I also know of several independent repair shops that do so.

The question is whether the IMS Solution will be sold to both dealers as well as independent shops. An earlier note, I believe said the IMS Solution will not be sold to DIYers.

UP on top m?i ngu?i cùng xem!!!

I've been wanting to chime in for a while but haven't for fear of bad kwan, but here goes...

First, we're 3 pages deep into this thread and we haven't heard back from the OP. Maybe he's busy planning his course of action and doesn't have time to give us an update but it's interesting to me. Based on his description (multiple P-Car owner) and his # of posts, he doesn't appear to be someone who came in with an incendiary bomb and sits back and watches the fun. Would be interesting to get an update on what direction he's going.

Second, with all the info available on IMS failures there shouldn't be a Boxster or 911 owner on this planet who isn't aware of it. Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you but you can't deny any knowledge of it. And now with preventative measures available, how can you blame Porsche if you ignore it and then it happens to you? We can debate whether Porsche should build a bullet proof car capable of 250K mi of trouble free driving and we can debate the number of IMS failures vs the total number of cars produced. That's not my point. We know there is an issue and we have options. If we choose to ignore those options, aren't we cuplable? When someone pens a thread about their IMS shooting craps and Porsche should be held accountable, I'd like to know why they chose to not do anything prior to the occurrence.

Having said all that, I'm probably going to be hit hard by the IMS Gods. That wouldn't be good with my stable about to expand to 3 for a period of time. However, I've evaluated my situation. My cars have M97 engines with the improved IMSB. In a previous IMS thread, I asked Jake what the approx cost is to change out the IMSB in an M97. He said $4200 IIRC. So I can spend $4200 or $10000 if my improved version doesn't live. I've been watching threads carefully (esp on Planet-9 since that's more 987 centric) and there are very few M97 failures. Not zero, but few. The M96 is much more prone. So I'm going to roll the dice. If mine fail, I don't want any sympathy because I've chosen to go this route and I won't want to start a class action suit against Porsche. I've chosen a path and I'll live with my decision. Two of my three cars currently have CPO into next yr, so my decision might be different next yr.

I've been wanting to chime in for a while but haven't for fear of bad kwan, but here goes...

First, we're 3 pages deep into this thread and we haven't heard back from the OP. Maybe he's busy planning his course of action and doesn't have time to give us an update but it's interesting to me. Based on his description (multiple P-Car owner) and his # of posts, he doesn't appear to be someone who came in with an incendiary bomb and sits back and watches the fun. Would be interesting to get an update on what direction he's going.

Second, with all the info available on IMS failures there shouldn't be a Boxster or 911 owner on this planet who isn't aware of it. Whether you choose to believe it or not is up to you but you can't deny any knowledge of it. And now with preventative measures available, how can you blame Porsche if you ignore it and then it happens to you? We can debate whether Porsche should build a bullet proof car capable of 250K mi of trouble free driving and we can debate the number of IMS failures vs the total number of cars produced. That's not my point. We know there is an issue and we have options. If we choose to ignore those options, aren't we cuplable? When someone pens a thread about their IMS shooting craps and Porsche should be held accountable, I'd like to know why they chose to not do anything prior to the occurrence.

Having said all that, I'm probably going to be hit hard by the IMS Gods. That wouldn't be good with my stable about to expand to 3 for a period of time. However, I've evaluated my situation. My cars have M97 engines with the improved IMSB. In a previous IMS thread, I asked Jake what the approx cost is to change out the IMSB in an M97. He said $4200 IIRC. So I can spend $4200 or $10000 if my improved version doesn't live. I've been watching threads carefully (esp on Planet-9 since that's more 987 centric) and there are very few M97 failures. Not zero, but few. The M96 is much more prone. So I'm going to roll the dice. If mine fail, I don't want any sympathy because I've chosen to go this route and I won't be wanting to start a class action suit against Porsche. Two of my three cars currently have CPO into next yr, so my decision might be different next yr.

I have a 2001 Boxster base 2.7l engine. How do I know if my engine has a double row or single row IMS? Does the ims have to be removed first or can the serial no. of the car give an indication of what kind of bearing it is? I have ims guardian installed already but would like to know what I have.

Visually is the only way to determine which bearing you have installed.
Unfortunately, the trans, clutch and flywheel have to come off first and then the original bearing removed.
Vehicle and engine serials won't tell which bearing is in there. IIRC, somewhere on the LN or Pelican site, I can't remember which, there was an approximate breakdown by engine s/n, but even that's not guaranteed...

What you say is not really true. Some of the MY's have a known set up, it's only during upgrade years that were subject to design changes that it the bearing need be visually inspected. Do you think Porsche designed multiple bearing styles out of the gate and just through different bearing in different cars to keep everyone guessing?

I am back and I have been doing what I am supposed to do, putting hundreds of miles on the 08 boxster. In answer to what I did, I ate the $20K and had a new engine put in.
There seem to be a lot of varied opinion but it seems most feel that Porsche could have been more responsible in addressing the problem than they were. If someone else can make a better bearing, couldn"t porsche have also and if not couldn"t they have purchased that better bearing themselves instead of continuing to build their own flawed one? And I find it unbelievable that someone should be expected to buy a $100K sportscar and then expect to start replacing engine parts that aren't up to par. When should you do it, 50,000 miles, 30,000, 20,000 or just drive it straight from the dealer and have it done with no miles.
Not trying to change anyones mind, I just feel that when this became significant problem Porsche could have addressed it much quicker and spent a few dollars more to put in a better bearing and saved Many of their customers like me thousands. I started buying their cars in 1964 and have owned dozens of them over the last 50 years. I have certainly done my part to make them what they are today and I just feel a little shortchanged I supposed.
Enough said on this subject. I have to go buy 3 sets of Porsche tires to reshoe everything. It ain't cheap top drive these things. Thanks for the input

Trying to see something positive in the situation here . I would think that 2nd hand Porsches are cheaper to buy if they have the originial ims bearings in. People like me are not prepared to buy a new Porsche and therefore go out on the limb to buy a 2nd hand Porsche which can implode for many reasons. An ims scare can be enough to drive away many prospective buyers but it has not deterred me. My sympathy goes out to anybody who has had an ims failure. But in all fairness it is buyer beware
especially when the warranty is over. There is little doubt that the Boxster is relatively cheap used because there is a perception that they are high maintenance cars and can be really expensive if the engine lets go.

It is indeed great now that if your engine implodes you have choices, fix it, sell it as a roller or just buy another used one. It is a buyers market, especially here in the middle of winter!

I don't think that is why they are cheap. The cars are affordable because they didn't sticker that high to begin with and are now over a decade old. They have survived in plentiful numbers and are too new to be collectible. Most potential buyers just assume the car will be dependable as most car owners don't know squat about their car's technology or engines. I could tell you very little about the Escape engine other than it being twin overhead cam and dependable and I'm an enthusiast of cars. Some people just love driving Porsche's and that is where the love affair ends, not all want to jump into the car and wrench on it. Those of us who have know the pitfalls, how to save money and when to bail on a repair that cost more than the car is worth.

All this IMS stuff...I suppose I'll cry if mine ever fails, but I'm on the original bearing and at 80k+, so I'm not in the least bit worried. Sorry for your loss mountainman :(

It doesn't have to Pwave, if I were in the shoes you are I'd just change it with every clutch, that should do it!

Yeah, I would definitely do it if I were already in there, just not something I worry about.

Good post. Well stated, Husker.

What the hell happened to the Corn Huskers last night? Talk about a "can of whoop ass".

Thanks. Looks like an M97 bit the big one if Mountanman has an 08 Boxster. So they're not 100% reliable either. I'm sure Jake could attest to that. I'll continue to monitor the situation and keep my options open. Maybe the M97s are reaching an age where they'll start failing more often. If that's the case, I'll reevaluate my plans. My decision would be significantly different if the replacement was $2k instead of $4K.

As far as the Huskers are concerned... Did anyone get the license plate of that runaway semi that flattened us? Man. I thought we were ready to take the next step forward but we ended up taking at least 3 steps backwards. Gotta hand it to Wiscy - they were playing with house money and they bet big. Should be an interesting slugfest in the Rose Bowl. I was planning to go to Indy but cancelled out Fri morning as my Cayman S Sport deal started to take shape. Would have been a looong drive home today from Indy.

You replaced an engine on a 2008 987? And Porsche didn't offer to help with the cost? Being that its still 2012 you must have been only a few months out of warranty?

If you check his previous posts, you'll see the IMS failure was on an '02 C4 , not the '08 Boxster.

Before if it's warranted: Ferrari recalls California, Italia models for faulty crankshafts - Los Angeles Times

Call us Monday to discuss.

I've been away this week instructing my Engine Rebuild School to 20 guys from all over the country here at Flat 6. What a blast!

Just got back to this post...
Shad, sorry but I didn't express myself accurately. What I was referring to was a chart showing an approximate change-over from double row to single row based on engine s/n.