Newbee IMS Question for 2001 S
 

I have a New to me (3days!- shes so cute) 2001 Boxster S, i am going to get the LN IMS upgrade, how can i tell what IMS bearing i have so i can get the right one? Looks like there could be 3 possibilities, being an '01?

I have a 2001 S as well and plan to do the same thing. I have been getting some things together to do the IMS along with the clutch, probably the dual mass flywheel, RMS, etc. All the normal maintenance items you do when the transmission is removed. Everything I read says no way to definitively tell which IMS bearing you have until you get the transmission off to take a look at it. Congrats on the new ride.

You cant tell which until you remove the flywheel.
I have a 2001 S which I just did a couple months ago and found the original double row bearing (in almost perfect condition)but replaced with LN bearing anyway since I had it apart.

2000-2001 was a transitional period for Porsche, so with cars from these two years you have no choice but pull the car apart and look at the IMS flange to know what is in the car. No other method has proven correct. And there are only two types: single or dual row.

The third type you mention might refer to the large single row used in factory replacement engines ,they require the case to be split to replace but fortunately they also appear to stand up better unchanged.. The original engines as JFP said were only equipped with either a single or double row bearing.

1. Look at the engine serial number to see if the engine is a factory replacement. If it is, see if you can trace when the engine was built and installed. That will give you a clue about the possibility of your having the third generation large single bearing in which case consider if you want to do anything now or wait till you have the trans off for some reason and just remove the seal.
2. Take the car to a LN approved mechanic and have them remove the transmission. Once they do, they will know what bearing you currently have. Then discuss which of several options you have within the LN line of bearings. There are several of varying cost and expected life.

Use VIN to provide to mechanic or parts order.

VIN numbers, build dates, etc. do not work with 2000 and 2001 cars, you must pull the flywheel and look at the IMS flange to know which style bearing is in the car. No other method works.

OK, the engine Number is> M96/2167103159 looks like an original factory engine. Very dry, great power. A shame i have to have it cracked open.

You don't have to, you want to. I want to, I haven't.
I change oil every 6 months, checking the filter and drop the Sump plate periodically to check there as well
There are many that don't change out the bearing. Your in that transition year that you could have the more dependable dual row.

Enjoy the ride

I have a 2001 S and I looked at the Class action lawsuit about the IMS to see what VINs are included in the suit.

If your VIN is included you likely have the single row bearing that had a 10% failure rate.

If not, then you have the dual row that had a failure rate of only 2%.

Even at 10% you have 9 out of 10 odds that you will NOT have any issues.

Many folks have had the IMS done and the old bearing was in perfect condition.

Some have had the IMS replaced only to have the new bearing fail, presumably due to improper installation or the existing bearing was already too far gone and metal particles ate up the new bearing.

It comes down to a personal decision about the amount of risk you can tolerate ($4k for a used engine replacement) or if something like this will keep you up at night with worry and affect your enjoyment of the car.

Bloody hell. There's far too much worry about the IMS, and it's laughable in some cases - I'm not implying this to you don't worry, it's in general. There's been a few people who have started threads with subjects like "Car won't start" or "Lumpy idle", and people will literally jump on the IMS band wagon. In fact, one was started a month or two ago of a guy who had his engine give out on him on a road and it failed to turn over again. Several people basically said it may the IMS and it just turned out to be a faulty AOS.

Do an oil change and look at the oil filter. If there aren't any metal flakes, put new oil and a new filter back in and just drive the damn car, but drive it like it was meant to be driven. Don't stress the engine while cold, take it over 5,000rpm regularly within reason when the engine is up to temp, drive it when you can and don't garage queen the thing for special occasions. It's these cars that aren't driven often that fail. Rubbers seize when they don't get used, crack, let grease out and that's when things start to fail. Including the rare but blown-out-of-proportion occurrence of a failing IMS bearing.

Before anyone says anything, I'm not saying they don't fail. I'm simply saying that it's not common at all for them to fail, and when they do it's more the cars that aren't driven regularly.

My opinion? If there's no metal in the oil filter, you regularly service/get your car serviced, and you drive the car regularly, then don't worry. Don't mess with it, just drive and enjoy it. You could go out tomorrow and the cam chain could snap, or someone may write your car off while it's in a car park (that's happened to me). Or, and I completely agree with the above post, you could get the new IMS bearing installed and it'll fail. That's happened to a few people. There's also been a few instances of that small percentage of people where the seal has failed on the IMS bearing, oil enters the bearing and results in a bearing that gets permanently lubricated by the oil, which brings that percentage of failure even smaller. If people worry as much as they're told to, I'd be surprised if they'd even walk out of their door in the mornings for fear of being killed by a lawn mower.

There's a guy on here with a Boxster with over 300,000 miles on the engine. He didn't even know what an IMS bearing was. Drive it the way it's meant to be driven and just enjoy it :)

And if you're still worried, just install an IMS guardian. Under $200 and gives you peace of mind.

So i pulled and opened up the oil filter, at about 5k miles, there IS metal in it, very small amount, tiny amount , maybe 2-3 pieces total on every 3-5 pleats or so. Flakes range from virtually microscopic up to maybe 1/2 mm in diameter. normal or cause for concern?

Are they ferrous (attracted to a magnet)?

Yep. first thing i did was got out my rare earth magnet. to me, it seems normal, but i've never opened an oil filter before in my 30 years of working on cars.

Good Commentary and information. I checked my S, it's a very early build- Oct. 2000. 8 months before anyone in the Class at May 2001. But
vehicle still is included in class> WP0CB29802U660062 - WP0CB29892U664319 is in class mine is WP0CB29851U6611XX Wonder.

VIN is no guarantee, just a probability. Have you checked the motor number to see if the motor was ever replaced?

If the bits are ferrous, you have a problem somewhere.

Don't bet on it. I personally own both a 2000 and a 2001 car which I purchased new (so I know their entire history); the 2000's VIN was excluded from the suit, and carried a single row bearing. The 2001 was included, and carried a dual row bearing. Both now carry the IMS Solution.

2001 mid serial number motor, - 03159 last 5. Probably original, even thogh the car was built in 2000. don't know at this point.