Excellence say just remove the IMS outer seal!
 

I was surprised to read this in Excellence magazine, April, 2013, page 28, in a list of the Top 10 things to do to promote IMS bearing health;

"10. The last, but single most important thing you can do is to remove the gearbox, clutch and flywheel, including the IMS bearing, and remove the IMS bearing outer seal to allow splash lubrication (engine oil) to reach the bearing."

This is from the experts at Excellence. Comments?

I'm going to wait for the IMS Absolution to come out. In the meantime I was told that drinking 8 glasses of water a day and checking for heavy iron deposits will suffice.

Can removing the seal on the larger bearings be done by removing the bearing flange (exposing just part of the bearing)? What do you use to grab the seal? I would like to see a step-by-step on this.

How does oil get on the bearing from the outer side?

Interesting idea...wondering if anyone has actually done this and what the results were.

The LN bearing has this design. The bearing has no seal on the side facing the flange so its lubricated by splash oil, so it looks like its definitely a step in the right direction. The only concern I can see is after you have gone Through the trouble of taking out the tranny,clutch and flywheel, why just remove the seal and not replace the bearing with an LN?

Well, Porsche isn't going to proclaim officially that their buyers should install the LN bearing. But I'd install the LN if I made the effort to get in there in the first place.

What was the other 9?

1. Change oil every 3-5K miles or once a year
2. When changing the oil/filter, check the oil filter for debris
3. Use a magnetic oil drain plug
4. Use an oil with high levels of ZDDP (anti-wear compound)
5. Install a spin on oil filter adapter
6. Drive the car sportingly - upshift above 3K rpm
7. Listen to the engine more and get to know its natural sounds
8. Install an IMS bearing monitoring device
9. Remove and check oil sump for debris every 20K miles

JD may be waiting a long time for the IMS Absolution. The back story on this morning's news flash from Rome is "Popemobile suffers catastrophic IMSB Absolution failure while testing at Vatican Square - Pope distraught, resigns!" .

That was written by Tony Callas, he is my co-instructor in the WTI M96 engine classes that we instruct across the country. We just finished a class yesterday and this question came up.

I will send him this link and see if he has the time to write a response to clarify the position that he took when writing that article.

Removing the seal is the best option when it is the only option; like with a 2006 or newer M97 based engine. Before we spearheaded the IMS retrofit seal removal is all that could be done with ANY model of M96 engine as well.

Hitting (subscribe) button.

Somewhat related to the topic
 

This guy has taken a different approach to IMS failures, but does include removing that seal:
Re: I know Mike personally and professionally ...

Essentially, he using the existing bearing, but adds a direct oil supply spraying soil to the OEM bear without the shield on it. sounds similar to what Jake's solution is in that respect.

He also has some thoughts on the extent of the IMS failures.

Don't forget the three Haily Marys and to leave the good Father a bottle of Redbreast (at least 12 years).

He was also the one who told the one Boxster owner writing in to Excellence to be leary of Mobil 1 0-40 because of suspect levels of ZDDP and the trouble that's causing in valvetrain wear. I guess Excellence are off the Mobil 1 Holiday card list. :)

Any follow up from Mr. Callas?

I sent him this link. He was traveling all day yesterday and trying to catch up today from being away to instruct the class with me. He did state that he was referring to M97 engines in the text.

Thstone,

I do not have my Excellence article directly in front of me for reference, but I believe I was speaking about the M97 engine with the larger diameter IMS bearing. As for the M97 engine, its IMS bearing cannot be replaced without complete dis-assembly of the engine, having said that, I feel that removing the outer seal of the IMS bearing is the best thing that one could do to temporarily lengthen its life, so AT LEAST it can get splash lubrication. We have removed the outer seal on many M97 IMS bearings, on automobiles with mileage well below 30k miles and all have had substantial engine oil contamination.

Yes, I do recommend switching to a boutique type of engine oil, instead of Mobil-1, because I feel that elevated levels of ZDDP is critical to most any engines health.

Tony Callas
Callas Rennsport

Tony, thank you for taking the time to respond to this question. It is in site like this and active engagement with people that helps with the education of issues.

While you're here. :D Do you factor in engine sound at all when you determine if an oil is better or worse for the m96? Some people take comfort in a quieter engine.