986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners - View Single Post - IMS

PaulE · 03-15-2019, 06:14 AM

Hi Alan,

It sounds like a nice car but you really should consider a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) by a qualified Porsche specialist. The car is old enough that there could be plenty of other things that may need attention and blow your wallet and budget if you only find out after you buy it and weren't planning for it. I agree that there is no way to inspect an IMSB and call it good.

My own car is a 2003 S that I purchased new. It now has 77,600 miles on it and I just took it home from the shop with a rebuilt engine 2 days ago. I had the original IMSB replaced with a ceramic unit as a proactive measure a few years ago when the car had 42,000 miles. I still have the original IMSB, the seals are intact and it still drips engine oil into the ziplock bag it sits in on my workbench. I don't know if the original IMSB would have failed or not. I can feel a little bit of play in the bearing but I don't know if that is normal or not. The ceramic bearing I had my shop install failed last July. No one can say why it happened, but it did. A timing chain paddle on the back of my engine also broke, who know what happened first. The interior of my oil pump housing was also gouged and had to be replaced. But other than those items, there was no other significant damage and my engine was rebuildable. There aren't a lot of failures of the ceramic IMSB upgrades, but it can happen. The 2003 and 2004 model years have a single row bearing which, supposedly and according the Eisen Class Action Settlement, have the highest failure rate, 8% I think. If the engine fails, it is a 3 chain engine as opposed to 2002 and earlier which are 5 chain engines, so there are less of them around to purchase a good used one. And if yours fails, it could be catastrophic leaving you with an engine that isn't rebuildable. In any event, the cost of a rebuild will likely be a lot more than the fair market value of the car. If you purchase the car and decide to replace the IMSB, I would recommend the IMS Solution, that is what I went with in my rebuild. And the IMSB isn't the only thing that can happen, which is why you should look into a PPI as a final step on the car you are ready to purchase.

They are great cars and I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you purchase it. There is a lot of knowledge here and if you can and like to do things yourself, there are plenty of things you can do yourself from simple to more difficult. I don't want to scare you away, just want to share my experience so you can go in with your eyes wide open.

You need to decide your comfort level with the IMSB and whether or not you want to upgrade it.

03-15-2019, 06:14 AM	#15
PaulE Registered User Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: New Jersey Posts: 1,631	Hi Alan, It sounds like a nice car but you really should consider a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) by a qualified Porsche specialist. The car is old enough that there could be plenty of other things that may need attention and blow your wallet and budget if you only find out after you buy it and weren't planning for it. I agree that there is no way to inspect an IMSB and call it good. My own car is a 2003 S that I purchased new. It now has 77,600 miles on it and I just took it home from the shop with a rebuilt engine 2 days ago. I had the original IMSB replaced with a ceramic unit as a proactive measure a few years ago when the car had 42,000 miles. I still have the original IMSB, the seals are intact and it still drips engine oil into the ziplock bag it sits in on my workbench. I don't know if the original IMSB would have failed or not. I can feel a little bit of play in the bearing but I don't know if that is normal or not. The ceramic bearing I had my shop install failed last July. No one can say why it happened, but it did. A timing chain paddle on the back of my engine also broke, who know what happened first. The interior of my oil pump housing was also gouged and had to be replaced. But other than those items, there was no other significant damage and my engine was rebuildable. There aren't a lot of failures of the ceramic IMSB upgrades, but it can happen. The 2003 and 2004 model years have a single row bearing which, supposedly and according the Eisen Class Action Settlement, have the highest failure rate, 8% I think. If the engine fails, it is a 3 chain engine as opposed to 2002 and earlier which are 5 chain engines, so there are less of them around to purchase a good used one. And if yours fails, it could be catastrophic leaving you with an engine that isn't rebuildable. In any event, the cost of a rebuild will likely be a lot more than the fair market value of the car. If you purchase the car and decide to replace the IMSB, I would recommend the IMS Solution, that is what I went with in my rebuild. And the IMSB isn't the only thing that can happen, which is why you should look into a PPI as a final step on the car you are ready to purchase. They are great cars and I'm sure you'll enjoy it if you purchase it. There is a lot of knowledge here and if you can and like to do things yourself, there are plenty of things you can do yourself from simple to more difficult. I don't want to scare you away, just want to share my experience so you can go in with your eyes wide open. You need to decide your comfort level with the IMSB and whether or not you want to upgrade it.