Ouch, IMS failure on Ebay

[blinkwatt]

The IMS was redesigned in 00'+ from the 97-99's,hence why it's an issue with newer M96 engines. 3.2L & 3.4L tend to have more of an issue with it. Just look how many 996 bad engine threads there are on Rennlist. If the IMS were redesigned again from 03'+ on I'm not sure.

[Jake Raby]

The IMS bearing revisions made the issues WORSE! The early cars have a double row bearing, mid year cars have a single row bearing with 1/2 as much bearing support!!

this was done to allow bearing removal and replacement so Porsche didn't owe you a new engine under warranty when it started to take a crap.

They all equally suck, I received a phone call yesterday from an IMS victim with a failure of a 00 bearing at 37K miles.. Today I have gotten TWO calls, one from an 02 Carrera owner and the other from an 04 Boxster S Owner.

Last week I had 7 IMS bearing failure calls, and two D chunk failure calls...

[Perfectlap]

^ What's the fix costing these days? (on the boxster not the 996)

Do you ever see this with the 996 TT's?

[blinkwatt]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

Do you ever see this with the 996 TT's?

Shouldn't be. The TT,gt2,gt3 engines are all based of the GT1 race car and have completely different engine designs.

[blinkwatt]

Jake I thought the IMS was redesigned from 99'-00' to reduce engine noise?

[ChrisZang]

$10k is a damn good price for a roller IMHO

Question for Jake:
When my IMS failed last year my ext. warranty paid for a new engine
This engine was supposed to have "all the upgrades".
Any idea what Porsche did to make a 2008 3.2L replacement engine more solid?

[Jake Raby]

The 2008 bearing is the same as the M97 bearing.. It was made enormous and cannot be removed from the engine, or modified at all.

They do fail.

The IMS bearing being re-designed for "Engine noise reduction" is the reason Porsche gave for the revision.

Is that the real reason??

[Jake Raby]

1500 miles is one day via a shipper of vehicles.. And if the car is shipped no GA sales tax applies :-)

I've been at my current location for the last 34 years, and will not be moving :-)

[ChrisZang]

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

^ What's the fix costing these days? (on the boxster not the 996)

Mine cost total (parts + labor) around $15k

[urban_legend]

10K for the roller, 15K for the engine - 25K (at least) all in.

Lots of good Boxster selling under $20k. Heck mine was totaled out and could of been fixed with a new door, rear quarter and rocker panel. Salvage value was 5K - so back on the road for under 10K (my guess).

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by ChrisZang

Mine cost total (parts + labor) around $15k

so its like buying another used Boxster....what's the point of that?
If you sell it with the detonated engine what can you get for it? $5K from a guy looking to race it?

[mptoledo]

For Jake it makes the most sense, as the car's condition is near perfect and for him to drop an engine in it will be a lot cheaper than you or me. Plus he might even be able to write it off as a test car or something. Its almost a no brainer. Almost all salvaged porsches have been wrecked and most likey have frame damage and costly body/headlight damage. If I was a mechanic I would consider something like this a gift, as half the cost of an engine swap for us is in labor and with jakes engines, Well I am sure he would cut himself one heck of a discount and labor is negligible

For someone like me, I could probably get an engine (regular not modded) for around 5 to 7 grand, then pay somebody to put it in. Not that great of a deal for me.

[DANMKII]

This thread is disheartening! I have a boxster that looks just like that ebay auction.

2003 with less than 10K miles. CPO until 2011. I pray I never have to deal with this issue. I cannot afford a new engine...

Jake- how much will a retro fit IMS kit cost + install? I am getting concern and will most likely do this after the warranty is over.