Tips and advice please for IMS bearing replacement
 

Hello all,

I have spent the last few weeks researching everything I can about doing the IMS bearing replacement. I have acquired the parts and tools and I will be starting the project tomorrow. I figured I would reach out and ask if anyone had any last minute tips/advice on this. Thanks in advance and I'll be sure to take lots of pictures along the way so that I can post them after I complete the job.

Read Pelican Parts 101 projects #14
Things I didn't have starting the first time
Gaskets for the exhaust flange and 6 new bolts and nuts
Triple square bit for lower driver-side odd bolt
Clutch plate alignment tool
Some way to plug up the Hydraulic line from the clutch slave cylinder.

Good luck

Hopefully you have already read through some of the "I messed up using set screw" and "Shaft is off center." threads. I was fortunate enough to have a bad engine to mess up on, then do it right on my good engine (Pinned at TDC and no set screws).
This is a good guide with pictures. (I think it was made by another Forum member.):

porsche service boxster ims bearing repair install 986 diy tutorial Intermediate Shaft Bearing Replacement and Upgrade (IMS) Step by Step Replacement Guide - MIKE'S SPECIALTY AUTOMOTIVE SERVICE****Specializing in Porsche

I didn't think about new exhaust flange gaskets. I'll add that to my list. I forgot to get new cam shaft plugs also so I will order both at the same time. I have come across that article and I read it a dozen times. Definitely helpful! I'm wondering though, can I get away with removing the muffler without removing the rear bumper?

I am doing my IMS next month. I was going to do it myself.. then I took Jake Raby's advice and I am having it done at a local shop. They wanted $2500 to do the job if I took them the car. But, I am pulling the motor anyway for some other stuff.. so I am just going to bring them the engine, they are doing it for less than $600. Then, I'll have peace of mind that it wasn't botched. Good luck, scary task.

Set the engine to TDC. Make sure you really understand which hole in the front pulley is TDC so the engine is set there. If you're like me or many others, you want to jump in and start twisting bolts, but set the engine to TDC first. Make sure you have the appropriate bearing removal and replacement tools.
If it's a manual, you have access to the clutch. inspect it, clean it, replace what needs to be replaced. Check the flywheel / replace if necessary.
As has been stated already, read through the replacement procedure before starting so you know what to do next before you get there.

It's not hard to do and it's even easier to screw up, but with a little forward planning you'll have the satisfaction of doing it right yourself.

Thanks everyone! All good tips here. I am not intimidated by the job, just want to make sure all of my ducks are in a row. I'll be putting the new bearing with installation tool in the freezer tonight as well. I feel like the hardest part of the job will be removing the muffler and then transmission. It is a 5spd so i will look at pilot bearing, flywheel, throwout bearing, etc but I dont anticipating replacing any of that (unless I find a surprise). Car runs grest, clutch job was done by previous owner not long before i purchased it. (I am hoping the clutch job was not just simply replacing the clutch disc.) So we will see what happens tomorrow. Wish me luck and please feel free to chime in with anything else I might be overlooking. Oh, I will also be replacing the RMS while I am in there.

Removing the bumper is not that hard and it really opens things up for the rest of the job.

Those little pins or rivets that hold the spoiler come out easily. One of mine had the original pin-fasteners and one rivets. Poke the pins in, or drill the rivets. The rest is just a few screws and bolts. Bag 'em and tag 'em.

I did not remove the bumper. You'll have to lift the car a bit higher, but it can definitely be done without.

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I'll second obtaining the triple square tool (I had never heard of such a thing either), and new exhaust hardware. Exhaust hardware leads a very tough life. Even if you get it all off successfully this time it will be stuck bigger than crap next time you're in there. Just throw it out and get new.

Wow, now that's some nicely put procedure. Nice find.

He makes it look like I'd be able to do this myself (I think), at home, in the driveway, kids toying and screaming around and all. Too Easy! Nice write up for sure

He said "Overnight" in the freezer? would 120min at subzero temp suffice, no?! Metal conductivity is tad faster than meat or tissues I think loll

I do have a few assorted triple square bits so I'm good there. I put the bearing in the freezer last night. I will try to do this project without removing the rear bumper, we will see how it goes. I am also wondering, do I really need to remove the wheel axle to hub bolts? The torque spec in the Bentley manual is 340 ft/lbs. Thats A LOT of torque. anyone remove a 5 speed transmission without doing this? I just finished my morning coffee and am about to get started. Thanks again everyone! Keep the info coming!

I didn't even take my wheels off. No problem, the shafts can easily be moved out of the way as you drop the transmission.

Agreed removing the axles totally from the hubs is not needed. Collapsing the shaft to the outside will give you all the clearance you need.

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I'm loving the Home Depot bucket giving me more confidence as I get started, lol.

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This little transmission jack from Harbor Freight was great for this task!


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My stopping point for the day.

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I see a little oil...hmmmm...


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Starting to make a mess in my garage.


Everything went well so far. I managed to leave the rear bumper on and the axles attached to the wheel bearings. I would have took more pictures but it was tough not getting grease and dirt everywhere. I'll try to take more when I get down to removing the pressure plate and flywheel. Thanks again everyone for the tips and advice!

Cam Locking Question
 

So, as I am trying to set bank one to TDC, I am not sure as to which cam plug I should pull off for the cam lock tool. I have a 5-chain motor so I was planning on using the short lock. Does this lock go into the top or bottom cam shaft behind the passenger seat? Or should I just pull both plugs and put the longer cam lock on?

http://www.imsretrofit.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/imsretrofit.pdf

Ok, I guess I'll pop the plug off the top cam shaft on bank one behind the passenger seat and lock the short cam lock there.

I pulled the top plug and there are no notches in the cam shaft. Just a little "scribe" mark and 180 degrees from that is a double "scribe" mark. I popped the bottom cam cover off and there are the notches. Looks like ill be using the short cam lock on the bottom cam. Another question to throw out there; What size/thread bolt will hold the cam lock onto the engine?

Ok, so I went to the local hardware store and purchased a few bolts of different sizes and I think the M8x1.25 is the winner to bolt the cam lock to the engine. Now after i install that, i still need to remove the pressure plate and flywheel. I know i need to remove the pressure plate bolts in a pattern and a little at a time, but does anyone know how many turns can be done on each bolt before moving to the next one? If i do 2 turns each will i be there all day? Whats the best way to go here? Thanks again!

I did not use either the TDC or the cam locks to counter any torque for clutch or flywheel bolts. I used a breaker bar on the front pulley bolt to react torque. In fact I removed all the locks before applying torque to the crankshaft as I did not want any of the locks reacting torque. When I install or remove a clutch I use 1/2 turn increments on opposing bolts whenever spring tension exists. That takes very little additional time and provides consistent spring deformation during installation and removal. It might be over conservative, but I'd rather error on that side.

Thanks James! I'll do just that. I'll pull the tdc lock and cam lock, throw a wrench on the crank pulley bolt and wedge that with something. I cant wait to get going on this job again! I just have a lot going on right now and now a lot of snow is expected so that doesn't help!

I so admire you guys taking on this kind of stuff, I just wouldn't have the nerve to tackle something like this on my own. I would definitely participate though if someone wanted help. Besides I have no tools and getting a bit old now to start, well that's my excuse anyway. I have to say though you all must get such a satisfied feeling when you do it all yourselves plus the added bonus is you know you did it properly and not trust your babies to some non caring mechanic only interested in your money.
Wish you all the best Viper looks like you're doing a fantastic job, keep it up :cheers:

Thanks JonD! I enjoy working on cars and problem solving. I always like to get a second opinion on things in case I'm not doing something right. Being that there are written procedures, it makes it a little easier as long as you understand it and are in agreement with it. I found a few other things needing attention already and I didn't even pull off the pressure plate yet. I have a few torn CV boots and a missing mounting bolt for the transmission. One of the nuts holding the transmission to the engine was only finger tight too. Makes me annoyed and also doubtful of the mechanic that performed the clutch replacement. What else was botched? Overlooked? Short cutted? I hope I don't need to replace the flywheel or pressure plate although I will replace the pilot and throw out bearing since it is all apart and was probably not previously done. Sorry to rant, just don't like laziness when it comes to repairs! It seems like no one can do their job a lot lately.

The "missing" trans bolt is not really missing. It was omitted by the factory for reasons unknown. There are a ton of mentions of this on the forum. I was concerned as well until I researched it. But,... When I put mine back together, I put a bolt on the empty hole, it just didn't seem right to leave it empty and I didn't think it would hurt anything. :cheers:

Thanks Ray, I never thought to research it since that would be a strange thing for Porsche to do. I guess that makes me feel better. But why? Why would they do that? Oh well, I'll maybe put something else in its place eventually but I need to focus on the task at hand. I still need to pull the pressure plate and flywheel off which I hope to do today. I've just been too busy to put time in on the car. Little by Little I will get there though. I just placed another order with pelican for parts so I will do what I can, when I can, in the mean time.

So I had some time to remove the flywheel and pressure plate today. Looks like the RMS is not leaking but the IMS flange is. I'll try to dig further when I can.



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Just trying to think ahead while I don't have time to do this yet... When I remove the timing chain tensioners, do they need to be "re-primed" or can I just put them back in as is? Or can I just loosen the tensioners instead of removal? And would loosening require a "re-prime"?

When I had mine out I pumped them in clean oil to get dirt out of them and there was plenty of dirty oil in them. Others can chime in on whether or not full removal is necessary, seems like it would be.

Ims
 

Yes, they need to be primed!! Submerge them in oil and just pump them. You also should replace the RMS even though it is not leaking. Porsche up graded the seal a couple of times so make sure you order the latest version.

the most impotent thing, is when you get the job done, crank the engine several times for 10 seconds or so, with the DME relay or the fuel pump fuse removed.
that will get the tensioners filled up with oil before the engine goes on high RPM

Well I got a little further today. I got the cam locked, oil drained, tensioners removed, and the IMS flange removed. So far the bearing looks great. I can not feel any play in the bolt and it spins rather nicely. I almost don't want to remove it but since it is a single row with 138,000 miles on it, I will be pulling it out. Here is where I am at...


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I'll be pulling the bearing when I get more time. I'm just chipping away at this project little by little. I will flush the tensioners in fresh oil before I re-install. Thank you all who responded. I will also try cranking the engine to build oil pressure in them as well after it is all back together.

[QUOTE= I almost don't want to remove it but since it is a single row with 138,000 miles on it, I will be pulling it out. [/QUOTE]

Good plan.

So, just to update where I am at...

Old bearing removed and new bearing installed. The LN tool was amazing at extracting the bearing. Came out very smooth with little effort. The install was a little nerve racking but I managed to get it done and the new clip installed. I just need to put the cover on and begin re-assembly. I still need to clean up the ims cover and put a new seal on it, but after that cover is back on and the chain tensioners are re-installed, I will feel a lot better. Then the next step is the RMS. I brought the new seal with me to Home Depot and matched it up with a 3 inch pvc coupling. It fit over the seal very nicely.

As a side note, the bearing that came out of the engine felt great and no sloppiness to it. It did look like however that some grease was on the outside of the seal. There was almost no oil in the ims but I removed what was there with a shop vac.

One of my rebuild secrets revealed. When re-installing the IMSB cover, I put a bead of sealant on the outboard side of the seal on the cover. That way when installing the cover, the sealant is pushed towards the outside of the engine, but still forms a complete seal at the IMS cover.

I put some Curil T on my list if things to order and I just got it recently. I'll be using that for the seal on the cover and I think also around the heads of the bolts for the ims cover. I need to read the project again in Wayne's book and the LN instructions. So far I am pleased with the project and hopefully I can keep chipping away at it and get it done before the weather gets nice!

Thread sealer is recommended for the IMSB cover bolts. You can get it at the auto parts store. It goes on the threads, not just under the bolt heads.

The new micro encapsulated bolts already have the sealant on them. The LN instructions say to use a little sealant on the bottoms of the heads of the bolts. They also say to use the green loctite on the center stud after the nut is installed. I need to go pick up some of the green loctite.

As for the RMS, I've read something about setting it to 13mm. Does this sound right?

So I've made a little progress. Flange on and all torqued to spec. There was no room on the bearing stud for green loctite but I put a little Curil t at the end for some extra sealing. Next step is chain tensioners and checking the timing.

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Boxster is all back together finally and I started it up today. It works so I must have done something right. I did notice a lifter tapping noise for the first few minutes of warming up but eventually it went away. Any thoughts on if this is normal? My thought was since the car was sitting with no oil in it for 2 months it just needed to get re-lubricated.

That's what mine did even after pumping up the lifters with oil before assembly. So long as it cleaned up you should be good to go. Welcome to the "I changed my own IMSB" club! Way to go!