I was just like JD. This issue plagued me. I bought the car without any knowledge of and IMSB, searched the internet for a totally unrelated question and stumbled across 'the issue'. From that moment on the seeds of doubt were sown and every drive felt like a roulette wheel spinning behind me rther than a sweet engine. No i am one of life natural worriers, if there is something to worry about.... i'll worry about it good and proper.
So sleepless nights were had, i truely mean that! I lost weight thinking that if it grenaded i would have an expensive lawn ornament but not knowing whether or not i could justify the cost for a 5% failure rate. Over and over - really put alot of pressure on my wife as well. sad times for a toy that was meant to make me happy.
Anyway - i decide, bang for buck, i totally love my 3.2s so two wwek ago i pulled the trigger. LN upgrade, new clutch, and RMS.

Guess what a 75k single row bearing looked like??? that's right....like new!!!
Clutch less than half worn.
So did i need to do it - well no in reality but in my mind i am at peace. I'm not being dramatic. I have slept so well since doing it and everytime time i drive the car i truely feel happy. I know other things can go wrong and will. But i expect that. So for me it was money well spent - and if i had to i'd do it again.
That just because of the way i am - its not the right path for everyone.

2002 3.2 S 75K (full history)

Essex
 

I get that! enjoy the ride.

Hello,

I have a 1999 Boxster with the automatic.

As far as I can tell, it has the original IMS Bearing.

I purchased it with 104,000 miles in Sep 09. It now has 183,000 miles.

I change the oil and filter every 10,000 miles.

Only issue I have is with the recommendations to change out water pumps every 60,000 miles, per Excellence Magazine.

I believe I am correct in stating this: Concerning most used Porsche automobiles, Excellence Magazine recommends purchasing the best condition lowest mileage Porsche you can afford. This applies to 928s, 924s, 944s, 914s, air-cooled 911s, Porsche SUVs and 968s. But Excellence recommends you stay away from low mileage 986s and 996s because the IMS Bearing may fail and since it is already out of warranty Porsche will not give you a new engine.

Just my two cents.

MNC-I

Thanks MNC,

So help me with this, does a 99 Boxter have a 986? I am new to the game.

McD,

Your 99 box doesn't so much 'have' a 986, it IS a 986. In the same way as you have a 911 etc etc. What you car DOES have is an IMSB (an IMS Bearing) - the topic on this thread.

Yes it has one - they all do!

No such thing a silly question - you are among friends.

2000 2.7L base
96,500 mi.
original imsb.
3x water pumps

2003S. about 40k miles, with regular servicing since new, not done (yet)

From what I have read, the issue seems to be less on the Tip cars. I had my Tiptronic fail in December, two months after buying it (98 Base, 108k). It would have foolish not to replace the IMS/RMS at that time, which I did with the Pelican kit. I will probably replace it again in another 50-60k with whatever the best solution is out there at that time, hopefully without having to rebuild the tranny.

Hmm. Single row bearing with low mileage, you have probably the two biggest risk factors for failure.

I have a '97 with 99K miles and original IMSB. Only when I need a new clutch will I replace the IMSB and then with a Pelican, not LN. My logic is based on my situation and view on the incremental value between the options.

To start, doing nothing with the IMSB has no value, the condition of the current bearing remains unknown.

The incremental cost (over just a clutch job) for a Pelican IMSB (Yes, I know it's a single row with a spacer) is about $250. The value is:
- Peice of mind (I will know the condition of the old and know I have a new bearing)
- Confidence that the new bearing will outlast the car.
To me, the value is worth the cost for this option....supporting doing nothing is not an option.

The other option is the LN, which will add around $500 over the Pelican option. The incremental value over the Pelican option is the difference in probability of failure between the Pelican and LN parts over the expected remaining life of the car (I estimate 50K miles). I beleive this difference is negligible. I know $500 is not a lot of money, but let's put that into real terms. For me $500 buys a set of tires, short-shift kit, and a cup holder.

In summary, a set of tires, short-shift kit and a cup holder are more valuable than the difference between a Pelican and LN bearing for 50K miles. It was close but the cup holder clinched it. Maybe that's why Porsche left out cup holder in the early years....

A failed IMSB will generally only leave evidence as it's actually failing. So while checking the filter for cracked peppercorn sized fragments is a good practice to keep, it's not an early warning device. More like morning after pill. That's what the LNE Guardian is for. Otherwise you have to be lucky enough to be checking your oil filter at exactly the right time. It could easily fail in between oil changes with no warning whatsoever.

Also, with a 2000 you don't know if you have the more robust dual row bearing or the single row until you crack it open. And from my understanding Porsche weren't consistent about who got what in 2000.

Thanks. I'll sleep better tonight knowing that. :rolleyes:

I did the LNE upgrade myself in my garage on a 2002 S with ~38k miles. Pulled the original bearing, it was as tight as a drum or otherwise perfectly fine.

Great thread!
2000 986S, 160,000 miles, original IMS
Original clutch replaced at 142,000 miles, along w/ trans rebuild because of 2nd gear synchro issues. IMS had no signs of leakage, RMS was "velvet" but dry, so no replacement there either.
Will be autocrossed this weekend!

97 with 45k,(bought with 34k 2 years ago) stock imsb.

I have a 1999 tiptronic boxster with 100k miles. I bought it not quite a year ago, and it's my everyday driver. I did some research before buying and read about the IMS issue. I was going to get a warranty when I bought the car or have it replaced, but I decided not to. At first, I was a worried that it could happen but now I don't think about it. I really haven't had any problems with my boxster (knock on wood). The small dealership I bought it from replaced the convertible plastic window after it was revealed taking off the hard top that it was ripped, I've changed the oil, and had a tire replaced after I ran over something (not quite sure) on a highway. My boxster has been super reliable, and I could tell when I bought it that it was well taken care of by the previous owner. Stop worrying and enjoy it!

Great news for the double row IMS bearing engines! There is a new thread on this site that states Porsche has released the percentages of IMS failures. Porsche states that less than 1% of the double row IMS bearing engines have failures. Does anyone know the validity of these statistics?

If these stats are true it makes me feel SOOOOOO much better!!!! I will still change my IMS bearings when I replace my clutch but not sooner.



This information makes me want to :dance:

I'm taking a drive to Ohio so you can install mine !

JD,
Don't worry, if your IMS bearing fails I will personally buy you a new LNE bearing.

2001 with 57k miles, original clutch and imsb.


I'm on the fence on doing the upgrade, or using the money on getting a 2006+ boxster that has the better ims stock. Plus I have to change my top, so that's $3500 with the ims!