How many miles are on your IMS Retrofit? - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Cloudsurfer · 08-01-2010, 12:15 PM

I've got a few thousand miles on mine. When I pulled the original factory bearing at 70k, it came out with no problems, and the bearing spun smoothly. I sent it off to Charles at LN, and he confirmed that it was in good shape with a little bit of wear.

Did I have to replace mine? Probably not, but to me, this is a cheap insurance type of job.

The LN bearing is clearly of superior quality and far better engineered than the O.E. bearing (particularly by moving the sealing o-ring to the flange). While nothing is guaranteed in life, I'm pretty certain that my car has a FAR smaller chance of suffering an IMS failure now. Could it still blow up via other a different failure? Of course. Will it eventually wear out and need replacement or rebuilding? Of course.

Chris02BoxsterS · 08-02-2010, 08:44 AM

I did it myself (single row) this past Winter at 22K miles and maybe have 2K on it since then, no issues and great peice of mind, did the clutch and CV boots at the same time. I don't remember sending my VIN to Charles at LN. I have the receipts but no plans on selling any time soon... The kit was very well done hgih quality parts. Thank You Jake, Charles and others for putting this together.

andyv94 · 08-04-2010, 01:04 PM

Looking into buying a 2003 S TT that has 45,000 in Austin, TX.

I will have an inspection done before I purchase the car............question is, how much is it to do the retro fit? is there a place in Austin??

Thank you very much in advance.

autodoctor911 · 08-05-2010, 08:26 AM

I am willing and able to start performing this operation if the need is there. I am still studying wether I am going to recommend such a remedy when there is no symptoms present. If your bearing has failed and the engine is savable, I would gladly do the procedure, or If you are really set on the Idea and no one is going to talk you out of it, we can certainly go ahead with it. As I have not done this procedure yet, yours would be the first, but that should be no reason to fear. I have over 15 years experience in the trade(european repair). Firsts like this come up many times, and I often loose my ass, time wise, but never have had any problems that were not overcome with some careful thought and patience. I have a boxster of my own and am contemplating the idea of a retrofit, or possibly another idea to increase the bearings service life. I work at Daves Ultimate Automotive on south congress. see us at davesua.com. contact me if you want to get together for an inspection or talk about the retro. my name is sean. autodoctor911@gmail.com 512-576-3598

andyv94 · 08-05-2010, 12:24 PM

Hey Sean, check your email..............if I buy the Boxster I think I would go ahead and have it retrofit for some piece of mind.

Cloudsurfer · 08-05-2010, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by autodoctor911

I am willing and able to start performing this operation if the need is there. I am still studying wether I am going to recommend such a remedy when there is no symptoms present. If your bearing has failed and the engine is savable, I would gladly do the procedure, or If you are really set on the Idea and no one is going to talk you out of it, we can certainly go ahead with it. As I have not done this procedure yet, yours would be the first, but that should be no reason to fear. I have over 15 years experience in the trade(european repair). Firsts like this come up many times, and I often loose my ass, time wise, but never have had any problems that were not overcome with some careful thought and patience. I have a boxster of my own and am contemplating the idea of a retrofit, or possibly another idea to increase the bearings service life. I work at Daves Ultimate Automotive on south congress. see us at davesua.com. contact me if you want to get together for an inspection or talk about the retro. my name is sean. autodoctor911@gmail.com 512-576-3598

Logical thinking, except in the case of these things, when the bearing fails, it does so without any warning, typically, and in the majority of cases where it has failed, the engine is not savable short of a complete tear down and re-build (and even that's if you're lucky and don't wind up with a giant paperweight).

JFP in PA · 08-05-2010, 01:38 PM

"As I have not done this procedure yet..............."

Ummmmmm.....OK, but I think most would want someone who has "been there before......" as this procedure is pretty easy to screw up badly, as some have found out to their dismay………

autodoctor911 · 08-05-2010, 05:12 PM

I think that everyone is making way too big a deal about this problem. bring the car in for a checkout. If the car checks out good, and it is priced right, buy it. when it is time to do a clutch I might consider doing this kind of procedure. right now, I am still up in the air about it. I am talking to some of the other porsche techs out there in the other shops, and am going to contact the guys doing these experimental retrofits and weigh the benefits and the costs/risks. I will post with my conclusions at a later date. maybe there is still a more elegant solution out there. I have a few ideas that I will be discussing with those that are in the know.