How many have NOT changed IMS bearing on their 1997-2000 Boxster?
 

Like every other Porsche owner I'm concerned about IMS failure. I by no means am a expert on this topic but from the information that I have gathered the 1997-2000 Boxster 2.5 engine has a double row bearing system. Though this system is flawed, they seem to be much less likely to fail. I'm asking all early Boxster owners on this forum to give their experiences/opinions on the subject.

Most importantly I would like to know if you have or have not changed out your IMS bearing?

How many miles on car before you replaced bearings?

If you have not changed your IMS bearing how many miles do you have on your Boxster now?



Please state the..........Year of Boxster,.............Motor size,...........Number of miles,.............Any other info you feel is pertinent.

Dude: Seriously. What do you hope to accomplish with this post? It looks like you got a great deal. You've already gotten a lot of good advice. Polling the handful of owners who'll respond to this additional post will change nothing. Your options:

• Drive the car, enjoy it, save your money, and do the IMSB in another year or so.

• If you can't sleep at night because you're worrying about the IMSB, sell the car.

Finally, look at this: Porsche Boxster Reliability

I have just over 50K miles on my 2000 Boxster and have not changed it. When I have the clutch done I will have it done. I DO NOT want to start a war on this board and everyone has their own opinions. From my research the rate of IMS fails is about 5%. (again this is my personal research and talking to MANY others, including experts not associated with this board or companies that sell IMS kits.) Some on this board believe that every car is a time bomb waiting to go off. This is simply not the case. I've read your other posts and the fear that you have, we've all been there wondering if we made a bad choice in cars. My personal advise is run your car as often as you can, try and avoid idling for long periods of time, change the oil often and enjoy the car.

Keysguy

What is your problem!! Are my threads taking up to much space on your computer lol. I'm just trying to gain every bit of info I can. That is what these forums are for. There are all types of people talking about failures of the IMS bearings, I just want to hear a few that are not having problems. Negative always gets more attention on the internet. I'm sorry if you don't like my threads, my suggestion........don't read or post in them.

I have a 2000 Boxster 2.7 (therefore unsure if double or single row bearing) with about 56,000 miles (92 Km) and the original bearing. I will change it, but not until the clutch needs replacing. Initially I was worried after reading of the various IMS bearing failures, but have decided to enjoy the car, change the oil every 4000 miles, check the filter for flilings and debris (next one is due in the next couple of weeks). Oh, and I have purchased a magnetic drain plug.

Brad

2000 Boxster S 3.2 6spd
178,000kms
Original IMS bearing (as far as I know)

2000 2.7L with 94,400 miles. Original IMS. I do my own oil changes and I see no evidence of IMS failure in oil filter or magnetic oil drain plug. So I am confident it will never happen.

1998 2.5 with 78K. 100% original. Not worried, but I do keep a credit card with a $15,000 limit ready....

99 Boxster, 124000km, magnetic drain plug, zero particles in oil filter. Not worried about the IMS. Might change it when I do the clutch but not certainly not before.

I already changed out a perfectly good water pump because I listened to the fear-mongering. Keep in mind that it is in the best interests of the companies that do IMS remediation work to generate as much hysteria over this issue as possible in order to feather their own nests, and there is no better place to do it than on forums like this. Just sayin'.

I bought a 2000 Boxster S with 103,000 miles on it. It had the double row bearing. Before I took delivery I had the shop that did the PPI install the LN Ceramic bearing for $1300. The clutch and related parts had been replaced a few thousand miles earlier but the previous owner elected not to replace the bearing. It was worth it to me to take that particular worry out of the equation.

I got other quotes that were much higher than $1300 and if I wasn't able to do it for $1300 I am not sure what I would have done. Probably bought the IMS Guardian Jr and installed it myself, and then just kept an eye on it.

For me, having installed the LN Ceramic bearing, I just don't even worry or think about it. And that peace of mind was worth it to me.

If you are a long way from needing a clutch, then maybe the IMS Guardian or the IMS Guardian Jr is the way to go. From my understanding if you catch the bearing failing right away you can replace it before it destroys the engine.

Good luck! I can tell you I am having a blast driving the car and loving it!

Steve

2001 Boxster S
64XXX miles
3.2L

The only reason I didnt change it yet is quite frankly I don't know if it is single row or double row bearing.
LOL

Prev 2 owners made no mention of IMS issues but the dealer pulled up the cars records according to VIN and said the engine was replaced before in the first year of purchase when the car was still under warranty...hmm

This is exactly the info I was looking for! I do think the IMS bearing is a huge issue and needs to be replaced at some point. However, I think it isn't an unreasonable risk to wait until a clutch is needed. It's good to hear from all the Boxster owners that have had good luck with the factory IMS bearings (and how many miles they have on them).

Thanks guys! Looking forward to hearing from more members.

A '98 with 45,000 miles and nothing but normal maintenance. Not one dime for any repairs.

'99 bought 6 years ago with 70k miles and now have 111k on it and haven't changed IMS. I don't know if it was done prior to buying it or not.

tw

the issue is that people who have not changed their bearing, didnt do so because they know there is not an issue. I was going to chance it and leave mine alone, but my 2002 needed a clutch and when it was all apart, my cover was leaking badly and the bearing in the 3rd stage of failure, there was absolutely no symtoms of this and it is not an item you can easily inspect and make a decision on, it seems you are a bit like me and more on the nervous side, so save some money and just change it, i have enjoyed my car alot more since i had it done. ask yourself, if money were no object when it comes to your new car, would you change it? your low mileage puts you in a higher risk of issues with seal leaks.

the issue is that people who have not changed their bearing, didnt do so because they know there is not an issue. I was going to chance it and leave mine alone, but my 2002 needed a clutch and when it was all apart, my cover was leaking badly and the bearing in the 3rd stage of failure, there was absolutely no symptoms of this and it is not an item you can easily inspect and make a decision on, it seems you are a bit like me and more on the nervous side, so save some money and just change it, i have enjoyed my car alot more since i had it done. ask yourself, if money were no object when it comes to your new car, would you change it? your low mileage puts you in a higher risk of issues with seal leaks.

I am of the opinion of "if it isn't broke, don't fix it." You may have an IMS that lasts100K miles, or you may have an new IMS that will break 1 week after you installed it. Who knows. There are probably more folks here who left things alone than those who have been proactive replacing 'good' parts. Don't fret over things that may, could, or might happen. Enjoy and drive your car.

Bought a 1999 2.5 Boxster Auto on Monday, 57,000 miles. No bearing has been replaced to my knowledge. I will not do it. The Boxster is a cheap car... Im not going to worry if something goes wrong with it. The number of failures is so small. All you hear about is the people who HAVE had the engine failure due to the bearing. This whole topic is so over rated (knock on wood). I will not replace... if it happens it happens....

:cheers:

Time and time again, I've waxed back and forth on this issue. To my way of thinking, if I don't do the IMSB upgrade, the thought of failure will always remain in the back of my mind. However, I'm convinced when I finally commit to doing it, it will be revealed that I had a perfectly good bearing.

2002 S with 20k original miles.

IMS and tiptronics
 

Just a dumb question, does the IMS bearing issue also involving tiptronics, or is it just a standard tranny issue? McDuff

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!