Well, I went and picked up my car this afternoon, after a week at the shop. The final bill was very painful, as it ended up being about $2K in parts and $3.4K in labor. Here is a list of the items that were installed or replaced, including several additional items which were found to be defective or which I requested to be installed.
1) LN Engineering IMS retrofit kit
2) clutch kit
3) flywheel bolts
4) RMS
5) chain tensioner paddle kit
6) camshaft seals
7) vario cam seals
8) AOS vent line
9) AOS bellows
10) spark plug seals
11) drive belt tensioner
12) accessory belt
13) RSS underdrive pulley
14) LN Engineering low temp thermostat
15) LN Engineering magnetic drain plug
16) oil filter
The following fluids were changed.
1) antifreeze
2) motor oil
3) power steering fluid
4) transmission fluid
About a third of the labor was associated with replacing the chain tensioner paddles, as they ended up pulling the engine. The IMS bearing did not look bad, there was wear on the external diameter of the bearing, but no real internal damage to the ball bearings or inner/outer races.
LN Engineering stated the following on their website, in regard to this external wear.
"Shown above are three used dual row bearings, all in good condition. A normal bearing shown at far right, as we would expect to find. Note two left bearings have wear on the outside diameter of the bearing. At best, we attribute this to tolerances in the manufacturing of the intermediate shaft itself, measured as ovality, taper, or any other variations that might allow a bearing to actually move and loose its press fit. It may be that part of the issue with failing IMS bearings are that the intermediate shafts themselves are not "all made equal", where some do not have the proper press-fit on the bearing or others do not have the bearings centered in the shaft!"
source:
IMS
Even though the inner/outer seals appeared intact, the bearing itself was fairly difficult to turn. What was interesting is that 2/3 of the back side of the IMS flange was extremely pitted, which I am assuming is the metal debris that they found, when they removed the bearing. I will follow up with them to see if they took any photos, during the removal of the bearing, which included this metal debris. Listed below, is a link to photos that I took after I got home, of the chain tensioner paddles, the IMS flange, and the IMS bearing (both inside and out).
Photos