Eternal IMS Fix

[howe]

Not a good idea!!! Cylindrical roller bearing cannot tolerate any misalignment, such as due to manufacture or shaft deflections. If they had gone to a spherical roller bearing it would be a better option as its self aligning, but unfortunately they are not available in the correct dimensions.

[Kirk]

I am copying over my 2 cents on this from Rennlist:

I saw the ad for the Eternal IMS fix also and this got me to looking at what people were saying about it and the other fixes. I have not weighed in on this topic much, until the last few days. I thought I'd weigh in on this one too.

Frankly the Eternal IMS fix from Vertex scares me. No data, no information to really back up their product, not a word.

1. The roller bearing is traditionally great for radial loads but bearing manufacturers rate it as "unsuitable" for thrust loads. Vertex calls it a "thrust" roller bearing but does not explain (again no technical detail) how it handles thrust loads. The bearing at the other end of the IMS was not made to handle thrust loads. The stock ball bearing that is so much trouble was indeed made to handle thrust loads. So the stock bearing is weak when it comes to radial loads, but probably sufficient for the limited axial loads you would see. The Eternal IMS addresses the one issue - radial loads, but fails to provide a means to handle the axial loads.

2. This is a steel bearing with even greater contact area than a ball bearing, but still with marginal, at best, lubrication. This bearing needs MORE lubrication than the stock bearing and a lot more than the ceramic ball bearing. The fact that no provision is given for additional lubrication likewise scares me.

I don't think this is a viable option... best to look at the other ball bearing options, direct oil feed, or plain bearing. Now IF there was a provision to handle thrust and a direct oil feed was added, then this might be a very nice solution. Without those two issues addressed though I would not dare put this product in either of my cars needing an IMS fix.

Kirk Bristol