Replacing an IMS Retrofit bearing

[DingusKahn]

Hey everyone, this is my first post here. I recently purchased a 2001 986 Boxster S. I took it to a shop and besides a minor oil leak, everything’s in good shape.

The car had the IMS replaced with the LN retrofit kit in 2017 by Formula Motorsports in NYC, and now that it’s been 6 years since the replacement, the shop I took it to is strongly recommending that I replace the bearing or upgrade to “The Solution”. I talked to Formula Motorsports and asked them about the car, and they said that they had never seen a retrofit bearing fail barring some “racing shenanigans”. At this point I feel like talking about the IMS bearing in a M96/97 is like beating a dead horse, but I wanted to get your guys’ opinion on whether I should get a replacement and which one I should go for. Thanks for all your help in advance!

Edit: I forgot to mention that the shop I took the car to is estimating $3600 for a new retrofit and $5000 for The Solution, not including a new clutch and RMS (not that they are needed). The bearing was originally replaced at 45k miles, now it’s at 56k.

[Newsguy]

You should go to the LN site. I think they would recommend you replace it at that age.
When I need one, I'm just going to spring for the final solution and be done with it. Although it isn't that hard to do, there's a lot of little stuff that takes up a lot of time to get access.

[Homeoboxter]

Originally Posted by DingusKahn

Hey everyone, this is my first post here. I recently purchased a 2001 986 Boxster S. I took it to a shop and besides a minor oil leak, everything’s in good shape.

The car had the IMS replaced with the LN retrofit kit in 2017 by Formula Motorsports in NYC, and now that it’s been 6 years since the replacement, the shop I took it to is strongly recommending that I replace the bearing or upgrade to “The Solution”. I talked to Formula Motorsports and asked them about the car, and they said that they had never seen a retrofit bearing fail barring some “racing shenanigans”. At this point I feel like talking about the IMS bearing in a M96/97 is like beating a dead horse, but I wanted to get your guys’ opinion on whether I should get a replacement and which one I should go for. Thanks for all your help in advance!

Edit: I forgot to mention that the shop I took the car to is estimating $3600 for a new retrofit and $5000 for The Solution, not including a new clutch and RMS (not that they are needed). The bearing was originally replaced at 45k miles, now it’s at 56k.

Yes, there are hundreds of IMSB threads on this forum, I would start googling those first. I don`t understand the reasoning of the shop. They recommend you to replace the bearing because 6 years passed? Do bearings age? It seems there is only 11k miles in it... As far as i remember these retrofits should last a lot longer, but you can check it on their website, as suggested. Btw, they can fail, you can find reports on that on the forum.

[Bush Pilot]

I’m not an expert but to replace any IMS bearing with only 11k miles seems like a waste of money to me. I’d like to hear a real rationale and “age” isn’t detailed enough for me. What is the failure mechanism for a bearing with 11k miles on it? I’d consult with LN Engineering.

[Hasdrubal]

OP, you need to do a lot of reading, I think people here will forgive you if you read all the old threads and still have a question or two- they seem to have forgiven me, at least.

I also think that given the low miles on the replacement bearing, the only reason to replace it would be that after all the reading, you decide that the only thing that can satisfy you is the Solution. Wouldn't disagree with you if you went that route, but if you want a regular replacement bearing, you already have one.

[tcoradeschi]

I’d reach out to LN and have a discussion with them, rather then poking around a bunch of enthusiast sites on da internet.

[DingusKahn]

Thanks for the advice guys, I’ll reach out to LN and some other shops and see what they say. I’m probably gonna roll with what I got and just make sure to check oil when it gets changed.

[Alan Mackew]

I went for the solution, peace of mind and I think cost is off set with an easier sale and recovery of the cost when parting company.

[mikefocke]

Be careful as the term "direct oil feed" is attributed to a product not sold by LN. While "The Solution" does get fed oil, it is from a different source not within the engine.

[Alan Mackew]

Fitted the ln engineering solution, oil is fed from the oil filter fitting. My car is 2003 2.7 tip, cost about the same as fitting a new clutch to a manual car. Bought it 5 years ago with 50,000 kms on it.