Swapping engines

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

JFP, I don't doubt that you are absolutely correct about the Solution. I always listen carefully to the Big Dog. Which is not to say that Jake Raby isn't price gouging. As I said to another forum member, if he'd priced the IMS Solution at $999 it would probably sell like hotcakes, and I would undoubtedly convince myself to buy it. But pricing it at almost two grand — that's out of line, if you ask me. That said, your point that a Porsche is an expensive car to own is well taken. I guess it could be worse, though. I could be working on a Bugatti Veyron.

Jake doesn't make or sell parts, but he does own the patent(s) rights to the Solution; the actual product is made by LN Engineering, Jake just takes a cut off the top on every sale, which is his right as he spent all the design and testing to destruction time of the various iterations of the Solution before settling on the final design and then patenting it.

As for the price, you get a lot of beautifully engineered stuff in the kit, all of proven to work; and what no one seems to take into account is that it will never need replacing, unlike every other IMS retrofits, including the LN units. So it is once and done as long as the engine lives. And even then it could be transferred to another engine. We have a customer that got a single row Solution at around 60K miles; the car is now approaching 200K miles and it is still in there doing its thing. The only thing we ever replaced on it was the braided SS hose that carries the oil from the filter housing to the Solution after a tire kicked up something the smacked it pretty hard, and even then, it wasn't leaking, just ugly; so we replaced the line as preventative maintenance.

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

Jake doesn't make or sell parts, but he does own the patent(s) rights to the Solution; the actual product is made by LN Engineering, Jake just takes a cut off the top on every sale, which is his right as he spent all the design and testing to destruction time of the various iterations of the Solution before settling on the final design and then patenting it.

Interesting. In that case, if all references to Jake are replaced with LN Engineering, I stand by what I said about price gouging. After all, we're not discussing an interocitor here, just a relatively common bearing with a direct oil feed.

As for the price, you get a lot of beautifully engineered stuff in the kit, all of proven to work; and what no one seems to take into account is that it will never need replacing, unlike every other IMS retrofits, including the LN units. So it is once and done as long as the engine lives. And even then it could be transferred to another engine. We have a customer that got a single row Solution at around 60K miles; the car is now approaching 200K miles and it is still in there doing its thing. The only thing we ever replaced on it was the braided SS hose that carries the oil from the filter housing to the Solution after a tire kicked up something the smacked it pretty hard, and even then, it wasn't leaking, just ugly; so we replaced the line as preventative maintenance.

Doggone it, JFP, you're making this decision really tough! If cost were no object I would just fork over the $1900, because the 39K M96 deserves the very best. But alas, cost is an object. And then there's the uncomfortable feeling that cost-wise I'd be getting fleeced by LN, which certainly factors in. The second point falls under "general principles."

But it sure would be nice to never have to worry about the IMS again... Doggone it, JFP!

[LoneWolfGal]

I'm giving Pedro's technoFix DOF another look.

From Pedro's site, describing his product: "[O]ur oil supply to the DOF uses oil which has passed through the filter and then through the cooler, before it goes onto the IMS bearing. ... This oil feed is supplied by the factory, so there is no drilling or tapping on the engine, simply screwing on a (supplied) adapter."

https://pedrosgarage.com/site-4/dof-info.html

If it's true that cool, filtered oil lubricates the bearing then Pedro's technoFIX is equivalent to LN's Solution for less than half the cost. The price for the technoFIX is $800, which doesn't include the bearing, $50 for single row or $100 for double. (At this point I don't know which one my new engine has. I'll need a bearing extractor and the doohickeys to lock the cams and remove the timing chain tensioners before I can find out.)

I emailed Pedro and asked for a better description and/or photo of the aforementioned screw-on adapter for the oil feed. The other end of the oil line is connected to the flange, like LN's Solution.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

I'm giving Pedro's technoFix DOF another look.

From Pedro's site, describing his product: "[O]ur oil supply to the DOF uses oil which has passed through the filter and then through the cooler, before it goes onto the IMS bearing. ... This oil feed is supplied by the factory, so there is no drilling or tapping on the engine, simply screwing on a (supplied) adapter."

https://pedrosgarage.com/site-4/dof-info.html

If it's true that cool, filtered oil lubricates the bearing then Pedro's technoFIX is equivalent to LN's Solution for less than half the cost. The price for the technoFIX is $800, which doesn't include the bearing, $50 for single row or $100 for the double. (At this point I don't know which one my new engine has. I'll need a bearing extractor and the doohickeys to lock the cam chains and release the tensioner before I can find out.)

I emailed Pedro and asked for a better description and/or photo of the aforementioned screw-on adapter for the oil feed. The other end of the oil line is connected to the flange, like LN's Solution.

It is your car and your money, but both statements are wrong, the oil feed for the DOF comes from the cylinder head, one of the hottest and dirtiest sources of oil in the engine, the Solution takes it from the oil filter area, which is just after the oil cooler and after the oil has just been filtered. It isn't even remotely close to what the Solution is

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

It is your car and your money, but both statements are wrong, the oil feed for the DOF comes from the cylinder head, one of the hottest and dirtiest sources of oil in the engine, the Solution takes it from the oil filter area, which is just after the oil cooler and after the oil has just been filtered. It isn't even remotely close to what the Solution is

I agree, the cylinder head would be about the worst source of oil, definitely a dealbreaker. But I wonder where "screwing on a (supplied) adapter" comes into the picture? That could describe LN's Solution's method. Curious to know what Pedro has to say about this matter? I am, so I'll ask him. And hey — good looking out.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by LoneWolfGal

I agree, the cylinder head would be about the worst source of oil, definitely a dealbreaker. But I wonder where "screwing on a (supplied) adapter" comes into the picture? That could describe LN's Solution's method. Curious to know what Pedro has to say about this matter? I am, so I'll ask him. And hey — good looking out.

If you look at the photo I sent above, the fitting on the left with the Oring seal on it is the one that screws into the cylinder head port. No one can use the spin on filter adaptor used in the Solution, like many other features, it is patented.

[LoneWolfGal]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

If you look at the photo I sent above, the fitting on the left with the Oring seal on it is the one that screws into the cylinder head port. No one can use the spin on filter adaptor used in the Solution, like many other features, it is patented.

I'm very curious to see how Pedro will justify those statements. I won't hold my breath. I've emailed him three times in the past two days with questions about the technoFIX and he has yet to respond. Maybe he only wants customers who don't ask questions.