Another IMS bearing thread

[thom4782]

All '99 Boxsters, with original engines, have dual row bearings.

Data from the IMS class action lawsuit showed less than 1% of OEM dual row bearings had failed.

Dual row OEM bearings fail typically when their outer seals degrade and leak.

Outer seals degrade when they are exposed to contaminated engine oil for long periods of time.

You may want to replace your dual row bearing before replacing the clutch if you haven't changed oil frequently (once a year or every 5000 miles whichever came first), you've let your car sit for long intervals between drives, or you/ve tended to take many drives where the engine hasn't run for 20 minutes or more at operating temperature.

If you're worried, replace the bearing now.

[boxster]

Originally Posted by thom4782

All '99 Boxsters, with original engines, have dual row bearings.

Data from the IMS class action lawsuit showed less than 1% of OEM dual row bearings had failed.

Dual row OEM bearings fail typically when their outer seals degrade and leak.

Outer seals degrade when they are exposed to contaminated engine oil for long periods of time.

You may want to replace your dual row bearing before replacing the clutch if you haven't changed oil frequently (once a year or every 5000 miles whichever came first), you've let your car sit for long intervals between drives, or you/ve tended to take many drives where the engine hasn't run for 20 minutes or more at operating temperature.

If you're worried, replace the bearing now.

I change the oil every year. I hardly use the car, sometimes it sits in the garage for about 2 months. When i change the oil my mechanic jokingly tells me that he feels like selling my old oil to someone else, as it's colour is that of brand new oil,sometimes with as little as 500 miles on it.
I still make it a rule to change it every year though, and inspect the magnetic drain plug and oil filter really well.
So do you think i should change the bearings because i don't use the car much?

[Walter White]

Originally Posted by boxster

I change the oil every year. I hardly use the car, sometimes it sits in the garage for about 2 months. When i change the oil my mechanic jokingly tells me that he feels like selling my old oil to someone else, as it's colour is that of brand new oil,sometimes with as little as 500 miles on it.

I had a suspicion that my mechanic was putting used oil in my car! It's yours!

[Walter White]

Bench-top testing isn't as futile as some would think. The first bearing I tested, I had no idea what was going to happen. I figured that maybe a few hours, maybe days, or even weeks, the bearing would begin to vibrate, wobble, screech and then maybe come apart with balls looking like raisins. But when that first piece of the cage came flying out of the bearing after only a matter of minutes it was a total surprise, I just didn't see that coming, literally. Then when I saw pictures of failed bearings with the cage broken in exactly the same areas, it got me thinking in a whole different direction.
Along those lines, I was wondering if the idea of drilling some holes in the IM shaft to equalize pressure has been bench-tested. It doesn't seem too difficult to set up. A piece of 2" PVC pipe, capped at both ends with a grommet in the center of one cap, slip a piece of tubing into the grommet (with a little grease) and connected to a manometer or a bottle of water. Spin the thing at maybe 3k rpm and see if pressure remains equal.

[thom4782]

Originally Posted by boxster

I change the oil every year. I hardly use the car, sometimes it sits in the garage for about 2 months. When i change the oil my mechanic jokingly tells me that he feels like selling my old oil to someone else, as it's colour is that of brand new oil,sometimes with as little as 500 miles on it.
I still make it a rule to change it every year though, and inspect the magnetic drain plug and oil filter really well.
So do you think i should change the bearings because i don't use the car much?

No. I'm simply saying that the evidence for OEM dual row bearings suggests that the odds of failure increase in cars with longer oil change intervals or low use. It's unclear by how much the odds. If your worried and plan to keep your car for a long time, upgrade the bearing and put the problem behind you.

[Jake Raby]

Keep experimenting for another decade, then we'll compare notes.

Cage failures are generally collateral damage.