Single row or double row?
 

The other day, curiosity got the best of me and I crawled under my 2001 BoxsterS and wrote down the engine serial number. My engine number is M96.2167103372. According to the lists of engine numbers I have seen published in the Pelican book and elsewhere which show the change points for double to single row, my engine should have a double row IMSB. My question is whether anyone has kept track of engine numbers of cars with the single row bearing to see what the earliest serial number for the single row bearing would be? I know the only way to be certain is to pull the transmission and have a look, but I wondered if anyone has seen a single row bearing in an engine with a serial number as low as mine? Is roughly 8,000 engines away from the published change point enough to be sure I have the double row? John

Porsche released the list of affected VIN's so check against this also:

6. Which Porsche vehicles are included?
The following Porsche Boxster and 911 vehicles that experienced or will experience IMS related engine damage are included:
• Model year 2001 - 2005 Porsche Boxster vehicles manufactured with an IMS between May 4, 2001 and February 21, 2005 with VINs in the following ranges:
o WP0CA29851S620508 - WP0CA29831S620619
o WP0CB29811S660405 - WP0CB29801S660492
o WP0CA29821U625959 - WP0CA29891U627644
o WP0CB29861U664289 - WP0CB29841U665473
o WP0CA29892S620061 - WP0CA29802S620238
o WP0CA29832U620061 - WP0CA29892U626107
o WP0CB29802U660062 - WP0CB29892U664319
o WP0CB29862S660062 - WP0CB29852S660344
o WP0ZZZ98Z2U602762
o WP0ZZZ98Z2U640813
o WP0CA298X3S620068 - WP0CA29853S620222
o WP0CA29813U620061 - WP0CA298X3U625002
o WP0CB29803U660063 - WP0CB29803U663240
o WP0CB29853S660068 - WP0CB298X3S660227
o WP0ZZZ98Z3U604185
o WP0ZZZ98Z3U640971
o WP0CA29854S620061 - WP0CA29824S621085
o WP0CA298X4U620061 - WP0CA29854U621568
o WP0CB29804S660061 - WP0CB29834S660555
o WP0CB29854U660061 - WP0CB29834U661824
o WP0CA298X5U710067 - WP0CA29815U711852
o WP0CB29885U730069 - WP0CB29835U731310

Man I had hoped (yeah I know hope is not a strategy) my S had avoided the single row. Car was a May 2001 production but my VIN is square in the middle of one of the sequences above. Oh well I guess with 60K on the clock my clutch will need replacement soon anyway and I can replace it then.

Looks like I have a double row bearing. Door sticker says October 2000 production date and the serial number is outside the range of serial numbers listed above.

Did you try writing to the dealer that sold the car? Not that this would go very far but I would be curious to see how they handle such a request in light of the recent settlement. Maybe they had to dust off their records and get them all updated and compturized to handle/verify the claims/payouts on 2001-2005's.

The settlement is not official or final yet, wait till the judge blesses it and both parties sign off. April?

It's a moot point. As we now know, if you have a double row it will never go bad anyway. If it is a single it's a timebomb and you are covered. End sarcasm

I have a 2000 2.7 with a build date in August of 2009 and have been told that even for a car that was produced so soon after the development of the single row bearing, there is no way of knowing which bearing was used without removing the transmission and inspecting it.

The bottom line is that, even though I have installed a magnetic drain plug, change the oil every 3- 4000 miles and inspect the oil and filter for particles and debris, I still intend to replace the IMS bearing when the clutch needs replacement. Considering the much better reliability on the double row bearings, the question is whether it would be preferable to install a new factory double row bearing, rather than an aftermarket one. Does anyone know if the double row bearings are still available?

Brad

John...
Looks like its a crap shoot whatever bearing / engine is installed in the late 2000 / early 2001 cars. My 2001 S was built in Feb with engine #M96.21 67107779. Its fitted with a dual row bearing and when I replaced it in 2010 with 45,000 miles on the clock the bearing was in excellent condition. But the oil had been changed annually and no more than 5,000 miles....

Not trying to scare anyone, but dual row bearings have failed too, though to a lesser extent.

I understand that dual row bearings have failed. For me, knowing whether I have a dual or single row bearing helps me decide whether to replace the bearing without regard to the condition of the clutch (single row) or wait until the car needs a clutch and replace the bearing then (double row). If there is a less than one percent chance of a double row bearing failing and a 4 to 8 percent chance of a single row bearing failing, that is a significant difference to me and will help me make a decision. At this point I am leaning toward waiting until my car needs a clutch to do anything with the bearing and in the meantime will continue to check camshaft deviation with my durametric and examine the oil filter for metal.

Not breaking apart, and not being bad are not the same things. The dual row bearing still suffer from rubber seal failure which displaces the sealed grease. With twice as many balls there is twice as much ferous metal debris that can/will conaminate other bearing surfaces (namely cam and crank surfaces).

The improved durability against breakage/toal failure is a compromise to more metal contamination circulating through the lubrication system.

If you have an engine with a servicable bearing its worth changing as early as possible. IMO

Skoot

I haven't seen anything about the 1997, is that a double or singlerow?

1997's are all double.

Thanks for the quick reply!

It must be too early in the morning for me, I can't seem to figure out where my vin fits in here. :confused: Can someone help me out?

My 2002 S VIN= WP0CB29852U663832

Seems like that's a good thing.

It's in the middle of this range:

o WP0CB29802U660062 - WP0CB29892U664319

good points. Which sort makes me wish there was an LNE no-bearing upgrade for dual rows.
But I guess the money is with the single row sales.

WOW REALLY?????:ah: