The latest IMS loss. A true classic failure - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

seningen · 03-31-2011, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikefocke

and get calls for help when there are problems and aren't generally in the business of seeing good news cars you begin to think that way.

Jake was asked to leave one forum because some of the moderators (not all) felt his posts were too close to advertising. Yes they were sometimes. And yes it is depressing to hear about problems. But think of the benefit we receive and how much more we know because of his postings. You never learn anything by shutting out a news source even if you don't like to hear what they are telling you.

Jake, please continue posting. Please back your statements up with as many pictures and statistics and facts as you can. Many of us come here to learn. And the experienced ones who do post help the rest of us.

Thanks.

In this case -- you get a zillion times the information for the price you paid for it.

If you choose to not be informed -- don't read any of Jake's posts.

If you believe you have contradictory information -- then please inform us!

His statements might be a little strong -- but I'm sure the lady in Florida
would like to have been informed before she has to shell out at least as
much as the car is worth -- just to get it back on the road.

I'd rather be informed of the possibilities and then make the
choice my self, then be completely ignorant.

Mike

Pat · 03-31-2011, 11:53 AM

IMO Jake's posts are some of the most valuable here. There are a handful of board members I really enjoy reading and he is one of them.

chamilun · 03-31-2011, 12:18 PM

but heres the thing: these stories (meaning the same car & instance) are posted (by not always the same person) on every single boxster sight, with the exception of maybe Pedros site.

As a previous owner of a v8 BMW e34 where the Nikasil issue scared just about everyone (which was great because it really kept prices down), its hard to tell the significance of the various issues on these cars. A lot of engines were replaced by BMW over the years.

If Jake is right, and "no one is immune. no one", then we should all be taking are cars in and having the bearing upgraded. I certainly plan on doing so when the opportunity is there. Im not so certain the oil change frequency changes anything though.

spongebob · 03-31-2011, 12:27 PM

First of all, Jake is doing a fantastic job discovering all issues with our engines and I do hope that he continues to inform us about all design drawbacks inside the Boxster engines.
Having spent half of my life inside engine rooms I find it very hard to believe that it is only "tick tick then boom" judging from what the bearing looks like. If you pay some attention and interest listening to your engine it must be able to detect before the final breakdown. Maybe a stethoscope should be standard equipment in a Boxtser. To you who have suffered from the IMS failure,and claims that you have some skills in judging an engines condition, am I totally wrong here?

mts · 03-31-2011, 01:01 PM

Ouch, what a mess! It's good to know Jake has a few more options now when things do fail. $12.5k is expensive, but the 2 week turn around is AWESOME and both the $12.5k and the two week turn are a lot better than what I was looking at when my IMS failed only a year ago.

Jake Raby · 04-03-2011, 01:02 PM

Its in a legal holding pattern at the present. The technology is already developed and we are awaiting the legal protection before sharing any details or applying the kits outside of "testing".

I'd expect 6 month. We want it before that, but thats the reality because we can't push this and get the protection it deserves.

clickman · 04-07-2011, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Its in a legal holding pattern at the present.

Uh oh

Jake Raby · 04-07-2011, 05:03 PM

No, thats not bad.. We are working onpatents and trademarks and won't release anything until the property is protected.

Dragonwind · 04-01-2011, 03:35 AM

To be able to hear the bearing breaking down it will have to get loud enough to overcome the casing, exhaust noise, etc. There is so much noise going on in that area that until it is toast or 'ticking' you won't hear it. Certainly would be great if it did make a lot of noise before hand!
Chris

seningen · 04-01-2011, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dragonwind

To be able to hear the bearing breaking down it will have to get loud enough to overcome the casing, exhaust noise, etc. There is so much noise going on in that area that until it is toast or 'ticking' you won't hear it. Certainly would be great if it did make a lot of noise before hand!
Chris

Earlier someone mentioned that it must have been heard, look at the damage.

I could be wrong -- but it doesn't take long to create carnage when you have metal on metal.

It is possible that the majority of the damage was caused when the bearings
finally let loose.

I'm hoping that there is a method to see the failure before catastrophe.
However the only way I can see that happening in a realistic fashion
is hope for an audible alert -- and frankly those engines make so much
noise that I doubt you could isolate it consistently.
One other possibility is diligent oil analysis, looking for some tell tale sign.
Again, I'm not sure its the proper canary.

Mike

Terre Higgs · 04-07-2011, 06:56 AM

My 2004 S Anniversary Issue Tiptronic died in Oct. of 2007. I had it for about two years and 4 months with 12,765 miles on it.
It gave me two warnings. It stopped running in the rain with heavy puddles on the interstate while in cruise. I was baffled and thought the cruise didn't like the wheel slippage. It started up and ran on for several more hours with no problem. The next morning when I started out to Petite LeMans it had a metalic clicking noise when idiling cold I just thought it was the cooler weather and went on. About 5 minutes later it died on the interstate to not start again. No Explosion and very little noise. The dealer in Atlanta said it had no compression. I figured the chain had given up or slipped off. The whole thing was covered by the warrantee. A new anniversary engine was flown in and installed. I was never told what the problem was because the dealer couldn't open the engine. It has been said that the replacement engines are bullet proof. I don't know about that but it might have an IMS bearing upgrade because it was 2007 when I got it.?
I then noticed that the new engine ran much smoother. I hadn't noticed a slight vibration before.
Now 16,000 miles more I will make more frequent oil changes. I drive it like a stick and used to down shift for lights, curves, etc and use the engine to help brake. I don't do that anymore, but have a lag problem if I let the Tip do all of the shifting.
Just recently I've noticed oil smoke sometimes when I start up. I don't know what's causing that but will have to have it checked out.
It seems to be always something. I really think Porsche has some exposure to these problems.
Terre

Quote:

Originally Posted by seningen

Earlier someone mentioned that it must have been heard, look at the damage.

I could be wrong -- but it doesn't take long to create carnage when you have metal on metal.

It is possible that the majority of the damage was caused when the bearings
finally let loose.

I'm hoping that there is a method to see the failure before catastrophe.
However the only way I can see that happening in a realistic fashion
is hope for an audible alert -- and frankly those engines make so much
noise that I doubt you could isolate it consistently.
One other possibility is diligent oil analysis, looking for some tell tale sign.
Again, I'm not sure its the proper canary.

Mike

Frodo · 04-07-2011, 03:20 PM

A little smoke on start up isn't too unusual...maybe you just hadn't noticed it before?? Since it's still under warranty, your plan to get it checked out might be the best way to go.

BTW---Driving in cruise when it's raining isn't really a great idea, especially if there's much rain water accumulating on the highway.