Could it be?
 

Hey everyone, just joined the forum as I have had my boxster awhile but have been too attached to Bimmerfest to even consider a Porsche forum. Well to the Porsche...

I went against what everyone said which the PPI and bought it based on a feeling. Bad idea I know I did it with my 750 and that turned out terrible. Well anyways, I have had it for a few thousand miles and so far so good, I just rolled over 80k miles and already put in LED tail lights.

Well anyways, back to the title line. I just decided I would Carfax it(Didn't even do that before buying) and I noticed it said in 04 it had transmission and clutch replaced.. do you think that could also have been IMS bearing? I am pretty sure it was under warranty at that time and the previous owner said he knew nothing about it. On the good side the seller worked at the local indy shop and knew what he was doing on it. So I figured what the hell, I will just buy it.

I am ready for my flaming, just as long as it isn't as bad as PolkFarmBoy :(http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1379625709.jpg

I bought my Box without doing a PPI at 97k miles, heck I didn't even research the car issues before buying it lol.

Knowing now what I know about these cars after having my Box since Feb 2013, I probably would not have bought one, that's if I had not driven it. It drives, runs and looks great, but this IMS issue is really wearing on my mind and it's not a cheap fix, but cheaper then an engine replacement if the IMS goes boom.

Same, no research at all. I am not worried about it though, I guess if it happens it happens. I still don't regret it, although if I try and drive it in the winter I might...

I bought mine of my dad's friend without a PPI and well its been good so far. Haven't regretted a single second of owning her. So Ya I say its good to have a PPI, but sometimes your emotions win the battle and then there is a boxster at your house.

Good luck and welcome to the forum

A little over 2 years ago I had a PPI done on my 2001 Box base. Main faults were CV joints leaking, Rms seal leak/mist, spoiler disabled. Bought it anyway and got $3k off
the asking price. Had 30k miles on it when I bought it and now has 40k miles. Runs like a top. Had cv joints refurbished, had IMS Guardian installed. As regards the fact that you don't know if imsb was replaced, then you have to ask yourself what level of comfort you have if it was not replaced? IMS Guardian or replace ims or take your chances?

i would be surprised, since the two are not necessarily related to each other. you have to drop the transmission to replace the IMSB, but you can do the clutch/transmission work without ever actually touching the IMSB. porsche was only replacing engines when IMSBs failed, not doing work proactively.

Welcome

It's likely the IMS bearing was not replaced in 04 as part of a clutch / transmission replacement. If the IMS had failed back then, Porsche likely would have replaced the engine itself. You could ask the dealer, who did the clutch / transmission work. Or you could check to see if the engine number matches the model year car.

Hmm, the only pre-purchase research I did was a CarFax report on mine. So far, aside from the water pump and MAF, it hasn't had any unusual issues. Both the water pump and MAF were pretty much due based on miles anyways. I bought it at 67K and have 77K on it now. But this does raise a question, on the CarFax report the transmission was removed three times to complete a repair. Twice it is mentioned that the intermediate shaft seal & rear crankshaft oil seal was replaced.

Now the RMS I am familiar with, but the intermediate shaft seal is something else again. Do you think this actually means the IMSB was actually replaced? The work was done at a Porsche dealer between 25K and 30K and under 3 years of owndership so I assume it was a warenty repair.

Where would I find the engine number?

Just below the #3 cylinder small flat just above the pan cover.

Very Nice! similar story on my side.. I had months of research on this site and others, No PPI, drove it a while, believed what the PO told me about his recent fixes, and I was off! Armed with so much information, I am not the least bit worried about my purchase. No regrets.

Enjoy it, great looking car!

Does it matter what people here thinks? Only way to know is to drop the tranny and see for yourself / a mechanic. Get a quote for just the tranny drop and an IMS upgrade at the same time if it turns out it has the original bearing. Just my 2 cents..