IMS bearing replacement

[easiestrider]

I recently bought a 2000 boxster with 41000 mi. I was discussing with my Porsche mechanic replacing the IMS bearing with the clutch to be worry free. He said not a good idea. He believes the failure rate is low and actually replacing the bearing could lower the value of the car as it is recommended that these be replaced every 3 years while an original if not failed early in driving these cars, is more reliable than those with a replacement. He states there are too many mechanics not replacing them correctly and when one buys one with a replacement done, it is a gamble.

[78F350]

If the mechanic is worried about not replacing it correctly, I wouldn't have them replace it. ...or the clutch.

[mikefocke]

Why is he your Porsche mechanic? What other cars in his shop are getting what kind of work? My mechanic would have several engines in tear down and several cars in race prep. That is how I know they knew Porsche.

I don't see many postings on the forums I frequent that say that a qualified installer installing a quality IMS replacement kit leads to problems. I'm sure there are some but I can't recall one in the last 8 years and over a half dozen forums on three continents.

As for that every 3 years, that is outdated info with respect to many bearing suppliers.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by easiestrider

I recently bought a 2000 boxster with 41000 mi. I was discussing with my Porsche mechanic replacing the IMS bearing with the clutch to be worry free. He said not a good idea. He believes the failure rate is low and actually replacing the bearing could lower the value of the car as it is recommended that these be replaced every 3 years while an original if not failed early in driving these cars, is more reliable than those with a replacement. He states there are too many mechanics not replacing them correctly and when one buys one with a replacement done, it is a gamble.

You need a new mechanic; nothing he has told you is correct.

[paulofto]

Seeing how you are in PA, you should listen to JFP In PA and drop your current ‘Porsche mechanic’ and send JFP a PM and maybe get his shop to look at the car. Hell, if I was in PA and not in MB,CA that’s what I’d do. Doing the IMS while replacing the clutch is good advice and a no brainer as far as I’m concerned.

PS, JFP has over 5,400 posts on this forum. How much involvement does your current mechanic have in the Boxster community?

[maytag]

Originally Posted by paulofto

Seeing how you are in PA, you should listen to JFP In PA and drop your current ‘Porsche mechanic’ and send JFP a PM and maybe get his shop to look at the car. Hell, if I was in PA and not in MB,CA that’s what I’d do. Doing the IMS while replacing the clutch is good advice and a no brainer as far as I’m concerned.

PS, JFP has over 5,400 posts on this forum. How much involvement does your current mechanic have in the Boxster community?

^+1 on this ^

that guy you're talking to isn't a real mechanic, methinks. (tell him I said so, and he can find me on this forum. haha )

[flmont]

those statements are way off,..if it goes out 6 months later will he replace everything for free,then you will see if he trust's his own advice,.for the money I would trade it out no doubt !! Frank

[Jager]

Originally Posted by easiestrider

I recently bought a 2000 boxster with 41000 mi. I was discussing with my Porsche mechanic replacing the IMS bearing with the clutch to be worry free. He said not a good idea. He believes the failure rate is low and actually replacing the bearing could lower the value of the car as it is recommended that these be replaced every 3 years while an original if not failed early in driving these cars, is more reliable than those with a replacement. He states there are too many mechanics not replacing them correctly and when one buys one with a replacement done, it is a gamble.

Ask your mechanic if he has ever heard of LN Engineering?

[Qingdao]

As a mechanic I can say that your mechanic doesn't want to get involved with an IMS bearing replacement. It might be he doesn't feel comfortable doing it on someone else's car. Or it might just not make good business since for him to get involved in an IMS replacement.


Case in point I just painted a van for a guy down the street from me (side work obviously). And I noticed this old behemoth van was leaking a little ATF from the output shaft seal. I told the guy about it, and he wanted me to tap in a new one. I don't wanna mess with it and it didn't make good business sense for me to get involved with replacing this seal. Also, old vehicles (this one was from the early 80s) have rusty bits, obnoxious parts to locate, and whatever dodgy previous repairs to deal with****. SO I told him to take it to a trans shop. I'm capable, I can do it; I don't want to do it. Your mechanic might be in this situation; and I don't blame him.




Granted I wouldn't do an IMS at 41k and why do you need a clutch at 41k??? Maybe the plastic parts in the IMS have degraded with age??

^^^ Goes to show I don't work on Porsche engines and I'd probably wave away someone else's H6 IMS bearing job too. LOL


*** EDIT: also I'm just not motivated. I wanna work on my own Boxcar

[robdelorenzo]

+1
JFP for the win
every time

[Subman]

I agree with exactly one thing he said - "The failure rate is low." That's a factual statement, but chicken little only has to be right once. As for "lowering the value of the car", the opposite is true. I paid short money for my 2002 Boxster S in part because the IMS hadn't been touched and no one would pay top dollar. During my ownership I did the "big three" (IMS/RMS/clutch), and when I sold the car I got fair money for it and sold in about a week. One reason? Buyers want to see this work done. I agree with the above posters - time to move on to another shop.

[Rob175]

My Porsche mechanic (big Porsche, MB and Jag shop, lots of experience) says he knows all about the IMS "issues" but goes on to say in their 35 yrs they've only seen TWO go bad. His advice to me on my pristine 98' was to "not worry and just drive and enjoy". I'm going to follow his advice. My 22 year old Boxster just turned 90,000 miles and just got its yearly oil and filter change (about 4,000 summer miles a year)........and all is good.

[BrantyB]

The fact is you bought a 20 year old car that's been driven about 2k miles per year. If you want worry free you either purchased the wrong car or are going to the wrong mechanic.

[easiestrider]

Thanks guys for the advice. I am new to the Porsche world and amazed at and appreciate the responses. I do have additional questions. Should I wait until the clutch needs repacing and at that time do the IMS and RMS and what IMS fix is preferred. Thanks in advance for your help.

[tonythetiger]

Can’t help but weigh in...replacing the IMS, once your in there is easy, don’t see how you could mess up and not know it. That said, the 98 has a double-row, very low failure rate. I replaced mine with a non-LN because of the ridiculous warranty requirements and inflated price, but just because I was in there. The removed bearing was a double row also and was perfect at 89K. Upside is when I sell it, it has a new bearing. Done right. IMHO, these are cars for people that work on them, and enjoy it. I also think they are easy to work on. taking it to a mechanic for everything ruins the cost of ownership model for me. YMMV. enjoy it, they are a blast to drive.


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[hstephenson]

Is there any way to tell if it has been replaced?

[RobT987]

Originally Posted by hstephenson

Is there any way to tell if it has been replaced?

If you're lucky you might find a decal like this one from LN Engineering. Otherwise, you could inspect the IMS bearing flange to see if it has been replaced. Some retrofit bearings use the OEM flange so you can't always tell by this method either. I think the most reliable source would be a documented service order from a reputable repair shop.

-RobT

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[berni29]

Hi

With the cover off you can both test the bearing and see if it has been replaced.

You can bodge the install of an IMS bearing pretty easily. Either by being rough with the IMS shaft and/or the bearing during removal/fitting.

You do not need to spend much money on a new bearing $10 or so will secure you a top quality original type.

Berni

[tonythetiger]

Originally Posted by berni29

Hi

With the cover off you can both test the bearing and see if it has been replaced.

You can bodge the install of an IMS bearing pretty easily. Either by being rough with the IMS shaft and/or the bearing during removal/fitting.

You do not need to spend much money on a new bearing $10 or so will secure you a top quality original type.

Berni

Source for bearing? Burner’s blog specs the bearings pretty well, but it has to be perfect and robust. I would expect to pay 40-60 bucks for the bearing and still not be comfortable. Peace of mind made me buy from a source I can’t remember, but was several hundred dollars for a cylindrical ceramic. The stakes couldn’t be higher in this case.
As for the job, taking the bearing out will ruin it, but freezing the new and gently heating the engine case let’s the bearing drop right in. Just be gentle and it’s easy.


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[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by berni29

Hi

With the cover off you can both test the bearing and see if it has been replaced.

You can bodge the install of an IMS bearing pretty easily. Either by being rough with the IMS shaft and/or the bearing during removal/fitting.

You do not need to spend much money on a new bearing $10 or so will secure you a top quality original type.

Berni

If it`s a dual row, you won`t be able to just replace it to another one because that size is not commercially available, I think never was. You can fit in a new one but you will need a spacer. Also, if it`s the original dual row I wouldn`t touch it. It`s a robust bearing that rarely fails.