We'll extract the bearing in the coming week now that Pat has agreed to march forward with that process.
You guys will be disappointed with the lack of bearing damage thats visual, more than likely when the bearing is extracted. This is because the tiny bits of seal that we caught in the oil sump are the very earliest stages of seal failure, which is best case scenario for catching an IMS when going south. The damage to the bearing is nil at the present time, BUT the damage will progress fairly quickly once the seal is fully compromised and the permanant lubrication is washed away by the engine oil.
This is best case scenario for Pat, because if the bearing goes further and starts to fail it is more difficult to extract and damage to the IMS tube is possible. This is why being proactive is REQUIRED.
Pat is at great risk for an IMS issue because:
1- The car is an 02 model with a 2.7 and a single row bearing
2- Its a tip
3- Because its a tip coupled to the fact that the car has been driven very easy by Pat because he didn't want to experience an issue..
When driving this car it shifts into 5th gear when in "drive" mode at less than 45 MPH at an RPM of less than 1800.. That spells disaster for the IMS bearing which sees MORE load at the bearing than at higher RPM.
Its a good thing that Pat had the AOS failure and thought the engine was scattered, else it would not have had the sump plate pulled and the seal material would not have been noted. This would have led to bearing failure out of the blue.
This is the procedure that we'll be carrying out for Pat on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of the coming week in detail. I still have to add pics of the process to the site, but I am so busy helping guys like Pat that I just can't get that done!
http://www.flat6innovations.com/services/intermediate-shaft-retrofit