which ims bearing upgrade

[tommy583]

This guy explains the IMS failure better than anyone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1lLWRPzdNA

[Jake Raby]

Speaking of stealing, about 1/2 those photos in that youtube video were ours!

I swear that I wrote part of what he scripted out, too..

[tommy583]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Speaking of stealing, about 1/2 those photos in that youtube video were ours!

I swear that I wrote part of what he scripted out, too..

Yes I agree Jake. That's kinda why I posted it. I only found it because youtube had it on the side of the Pedro video that I watched.

[Xcellr8]

Hi all,
The timing of this thread was perfect for me as I just pulled an IMSB from a 2002 3.2. The bearing had failed to the point where heat from the failed bearing had "smeared" the metal behind it. Since it was toast, and because of this discussion, I decided to pull the seal/plug out of the IMS. Based on Pedro's video, I expected to find rancid oil, but low and behold it was clean. Totally clean. No oil. Have there been different seals/plugs to the shaft? This one appeared to be two pieces, a steel sleeve with a steel plug pressed into the end of the shaft.

So, perhaps gas leaked out of the shaft, but oil was not drawn in to the shaft.

As an aside, though this motor is toast, for future service, is it a good idea to pull that seal/plug to learn if the shaft is clean? That would require that the seal/plug for the IMS be available from the dealer. Anyone know?

Thanks,
Joe

[Gelbster]

Originally Posted by Xcellr8

Hi all,
The timing of this thread was perfect for me as I just pulled an IMSB from a 2002 3.2. The bearing had failed to the point where heat from the failed bearing had "smeared" the metal behind it. Since it was toast, and because of this discussion, I decided to pull the seal/plug out of the IMS. Based on Pedro's video, I expected to find rancid oil, but low and behold it was clean. Totally clean. No oil. Have there been different seals/plugs to the shaft? This one appeared to be two pieces, a steel sleeve with a steel plug pressed into the end of the shaft.

So, perhaps gas leaked out of the shaft, but oil was not drawn in to the shaft.

As an aside, though this motor is toast, for future service, is it a good idea to pull that seal/plug to learn if the shaft is clean? That would require that the seal/plug for the IMS be available from the dealer. Anyone know?

Thanks,
Joe

"gas leaked out". Do you mean "air" ?
More important - was there any trace of grease in the ball race? I guess not.That is the problem. Grease has 3 main components oil,saponifier and filler/snake oil. So the heat(?) caused seal failure+separation and the liquid fraction leaked out.There may be a only a solid 'crud' remaining?
Why do you think the motor is "toast" ?If the IMSB did not disintegrate and their is no collateral damage ,maybe it can be rescued?

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Gelbster

Why do you think the motor is "toast" ?If the IMSB did not disintegrate and their is no collateral damage ,maybe it can be rescued?

I seriously doubt it; I have never seen an engine that showed any signs of an IMS bearing failure that did not have metal everywhere in it.

[Gelbster]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

I seriously doubt it; I have never seen an engine that showed any signs of an IMS bearing failure that did not have metal everywhere in it.

I am guessing but I think what JFP wisely means is that if there is any metal missing from the IMSB - it is 'toast'. In which case I agree. Perhaps I misunderstood the 'smearing' description of the race and thought that no metal had separated ?
I had a similar issue and just dismantled the entire engine ,repaired/rebuilt it and we'll see how long it lasts....I was lucky that the collateral damage was minimal.