IMS Question

[thom4782]

Here are the facts. Draw your own conclusions.

Porsche reported in the Eisen class action lawsuit that about 8% of single row and less than 1% of dual row bearings failed in model years 98 through 05.

Out of 15,000+ installations, about 5 LN bearings have failed or three one-hundredths of one percent.

[Giller]

Originally Posted by thom4782

Here are the facts. Draw your own conclusions.

Porsche reported in the Eisen class action lawsuit that about 8% of single row and less than 1% of dual row bearings failed in model years 98 through 05.

Out of 15,000+ installations, about 5 LN bearings have failed or three one-hundredths of one percent.

15000 is a good sample size.....do we know how long they have been around for? Wondering what the proven longevity is.

[oc-boxster]

Is your car a manual trans? If so wait until it needs a clutch and just change it-especially if you plan to go another 100,000 miles.
Thankfully my 2002 needed a clutch at 80,000 miles shortly after I bought it. I was in the "leave it alone" camp. It would surely have failed.

[thom4782]

The LN IMS Retrofit - it's dual and single row IMS bearing designs - was created in 2009.

I believe that LN considers its dual row bearing a permanent fix. With zero dual row failures, they may be right.

On the other hand, LN recommends owners treat its 1st generation single row bearing as a maintenance item because its load carrying is far less than its dual row counterpart. The maintenance interval is 50,000 miles or every four years. That said, LN single row bearings may last far longer.

LN introduced its Gen 2 Pro bearing at the beginning of this year to eliminate the single row Retrofit's load carrying concern.

[Slate 01]

I know I have seen it discussed in some thread previously, but how do you determine if your car is a single row or dual row IMS model. I recall someone talking about serial number or build date or something, can anyone advise me?


Also, what is the easiest way to find the engine number, or where is it located on the engine? I have all the documents from the original purchase and there is no engine numbers listed anywhere.

Thanks

[DennisAN]

Originally Posted by Slate 01

I know I have seen it discussed in some thread previously, but how do you determine if your car is a single row or dual row IMS model. I recall someone talking about serial number or build date or something, can anyone advise me?


Also, what is the easiest way to find the engine number, or where is it located on the engine? I have all the documents from the original purchase and there is no engine numbers listed anywhere.

Thanks

What YEAR is your car?

The 2000 and 2001 crossover years may have mixed up single row and dual row IMS bearings, and it turns out there is NO WAY to tell via VIN, engine serial number, etc. Sadly if you have one of those years, there is no way to tell FOR CERTAIN which you have. You have to pull the exhaust/tranny/clutch/flywheel and look. Having said that the vast majority of 2000 cars have the dual row IMS bearing.

The engine serial number is pin-stamped on a raised flat spot on the passenger side of the engine.

[Slate 01]

Originally Posted by DennisAN

What YEAR is your car?

The 2000 and 2001 crossover years may have mixed up single row and dual row IMS bearings, and it turns out there is NO WAY to tell via VIN, engine serial number, etc. Sadly if you have one of those years, there is no way to tell FOR CERTAIN which you have. You have to pull the exhaust/tranny/clutch/flywheel and look. Having said that the vast majority of 2000 cars have the dual row IMS bearing.

The engine serial number is pin-stamped on a raised flat spot on the passenger side of the engine.

2001, sigh!