IMS replacement
 

Well, I finally scheduled my S to have the IMS bearing replaced and the gear oil changed.

The garage is Second Gear in the Pocono's, PA. They have a great reputation and he has quoted me a price of $1300.00 plus the trans service. Seems like a great price to me based on some of the prices I've seen quoted here.

I'll let you know how it turns out. I just want that peace of mind that comes with the replacement!

Are you going to do the RMS? What about clutch?

Well, the clutch only has 30,000 miles on it and has not been tracked and I'm not hard on it ,so I don't think so. I asked about it and they said that it will cost approximately another 1K as the flywheel is roughly 800.00.

If the rms is shared labor, I guess that would be smart. I have a 500SL that I just spent a thousand in parts on, now comes the labor. I don't really want to be spending 4K right now if I don't have to. I told them to drive it and check the clutch and see if it truly warrants a replacement.

RMS is right above the IMS and is under $20 IIRC.

That does sound like a great price. Ive been told the IMS Bearing is $600, no labor. Would be interested to hear your feedback.

At that price I don't see how they can be doing a pre-qualification inspection.. This is not a job where the cheapest price is the best price.

That sounds like a good price; I had my IMS replaced at The Porsche Specialist in Broomhall by Kevin, and the price was $1350. My RMS seal and clutch etc. had been done by the previous owner but he elected not to do the IMS at that time. (It was the first thing I did before even taking delivery of the car)

The transmission service - I did it myself and it took around 45 minutes (but I already had the car jacked up and on stands for other work; add another 30-45 minutes for jacking it up and letting back down, and around another 45 minutes to an hour for taking all the braces and stuff off, but all this will be out of the way already since they are doing the IMS) and I got the Porsche Trans fluid from ECS Tuning, 3 liters at ~$30 a liter (if yours is a tip then you will need much less I believe). So figure on around $90-$100 for the fluid, there are no crush gaskets on the fill or drain plug on the transaxle (at least on 2000S) and since they will be using a lift maybe an hour of labor? so maybe $175 - $200 for the trans oil change?

If you do your own oil changes (and at least with the S there is no funky socket required) you could do the gear oil change yourself and save some $$$ :) (Edit: I am not sure if you have to take all the bracing and plate off the bottom or you can fit your hands up through it; I had mine off since I was doing other work already; and these plates/braces will already be off when the mechanic does the IMS so maybe that is a good time to go ahead and knock it out)

Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Differential / Manual Boxster Transmission Fluid Change - 986 / 987

2000 Porsche Boxster Roadster S H6 3.2L Drivetrain Manual Transmission - 99991754600 - 75W-90 Gear Oil Manual Transmission Fluid - 1 Liter - ES#1513799

Steve

While you are there you should put in an oilfeed kit. I am running rhe Direct Oil feed kit from TuneRS and their kit comes with the IMS bearing or you could use the LN bearing and the Direct Oil Feed kit. Much can be argued and discussed about the bearing itself but lubrication should extend the life of the bearing significantly. Plus your mechanic is right there.

I'll talk to them tonight when I drop the car off and let them know about the RMS.

I'm not concerned at all about the quality of the work. This garage has a great reputation and specializes in Pcars.

They pulled out the gear box today and let me know that the rear CV boots are cracking. The axle's are fine thank God so they're just going to put new boots on and repack all of the grease. I'm very lucky that the car went in when it did. I'd hate to think what the price on two new axle's would be.

The RMS and AOS are being done as well, even thought they're both still good, and they said that the clutch disc is still good. He still says that I should replace the clutch just because the gear box is already out. I told him that I didn't want to spend an additional 1300 bucks right now. I only put 4-5K miles a year on and doubt that the clutch will be going south anytime soon.

When a tech recommends to replace the clutch like that, ask him questions.

i.e. what is the thickness of the original? What is it right now? How long will this last?

If those questions are answered, your decision will be very to make. If it only lasting you several months, just go ahead and service the clutch.

If you think $1300 is too much for the clutch service ask him about the service duration and his labor rate. If you think his service duration is outrageous, negotiate w/ him.

When I spoke to him today, he said that the flex disc was fine and he just recommends replacing the clutch because the transmission is already out of the car. It's not that the clutch is close to being worn out. I understand what he's saying, but if there is 20-30K miles left on the clutch, I'm not going to replace it when that will ultimately be 5 or more years away. I don't have an extra 1300 when I have to spend another 2k on the Mercedes this spring. The estimate just came in at 1900 for the Pcar, so that's 4K combined. I have to spend it where I have to and replacing a non worn out clutch just doesn't work right now.

You can order a new Sachs clutch kit (includes the release bearing) for under $600 with taxes... just buy the parts and tell him to put them in... labor should be free as he has to put the old clutch back in anyways... Personally I would never put it back together without doing the clutch and the release bearing... If he has to do it in 2years down the road you'll pay for all the labor to take the tranny out and in again...
H

Ok, I ordered a Sachs clutch kit. I think that it was a miscommunication between the garage and myself.

I didn't quite understand that he was already replacing the flywheel and that the flywheel was associated with the clutch.

So the additional expense was only going to be 400 for the clutch kit. I had expressed to him that I didn't want to spend an additional 1300 dollars and he didn't comment on that and explain that it was only going to be 400 extra.

So anyway, now the car will have a new clutch as well.

Good move, glad it got figured out:cheers:

You see, you didn't quite understand the last part that I was talking about. All jobs have descriptions and that description entails what he's doing and how long does it take to complete the job. If you know those break down, the entire task will make sense to you.

Anyways, I'm glad you figured it out. :o

Good move :cheers: Glad you got that ordered...
Most of the cost is pulling everything apart so you might as well do all you can
to avoid repeat labor costs :)

So I finally am able to pick up the car today. I can't wait to finally get it back and start driving it a bit. It's still a little early and I want to make sure that there isn't salt left on the roads, but we've had a significant amount of rain lately, so I think some time in the seat is due me! Now I won't be worrying about the IMS.

On a side note, with the new clutch and flywheel, is there a break in period for those?

I bought my Sachs clutch from FCP for $355.

I have the S back home and it runs great. No issues.

The only thing that I have noticed and it was immediate is the pedal pressure on the clutch. Before it used to have a nice pressure and felt like there was a nice resistance. Now it feels like I'm depressing the clutch on a Toyota or Honda. Although it's very smooth and the pick up is where it should be, it feels like there is very little feedback and too easy to push in. Not sure why that would be.

Oh yeah, he showed me the old parts and the IMS looked perfect, so I could have gone longer, but it's not worth the risk.