No stats available.

Who would supply them Porsche?

:D

Not Porsche
 

Publishing stats would be like admitting there was a problem, they were aware of it, and they were tracking it.

And it would be raw meat for plaintiff's lawyers and salespersons of competing brands.

Not to mention I don't know of another company who has made public such statistics except while under lawsuit from a well financed legal team.

I don't think we'll ever learn em.

What ever happened to Brian Porsche Tech, AKA "The Phantom"?

2 posts and gone (or lurking under another name, yet again?)

me too..
 

I was just thinking the same as I re-read this thread.
Sure caused a stir and then poooffff, vanished - only to start somewhere else...........

Or perhaps it's because no one on this board believes anything from old Porsche techs especially when they have no agenda and nothing to sell.

Yep. I think he was only trying to help out and explain things as he saw it from his perspective. If no one wanted to listen, then fine...no sweat off his back. Personally, I'm glad he posted.

I will call it like I see it. Take it however you want.

All makes have problems. All engine series have problems. If you think Porsche has problems try a Land Rover. A perfect example of high dollar vehicles with sophisticated engineering and lots of problems. This does not make them a bad marque, their products are fantastic and IMO worth the effort. I should know I have three at present.

Porsche is another marque that suffers from "unrealistically high expectations" from the buying public at large. Again they have their problems but they are quite remarkable in their dependability given how they are used and abused.

Many think that every car off the line should be able to be driven as a daily driver and run like a banshee on the track every weekend and never ever have a mechanical fault or failure. "After all I paid $80k for this thing". This attitude is why I think service writers at dealerships are the most underpaid folks on the planet.

Knowledge is power.

The impossible dream of 100% reliability can be approached but never obtained. With intimate knowledge of the vehicle, an informed owner can head off failures and minimize the cost of repairs when those failures occur.

Knowing what can go wrong should not make you stay up at night worrying about impending failures or change the extent that you enjoy your car. That is not the point of gaining knowledge.

The other thing I see in this thread is a pissing contest.

Jake has installed himself as the forum guru and does not take kindly to others questioning his knowledge, character or cred.

I have spoken to Flat Six about my Boxster and have no beef with their accumen, professionalism or ability.

In the same vein I have no reason to doubt the character of Porsche mechanics offering their experience here either.

The feeling I got from Flat Six was that my Porsche engine was a ticking time bomb that was destined to fail at any minute. It made me worry.

After further reasearch, I don't think that is the case. It is something to be aware of, but should not ruin my driving experience.

I have the ability to make up my own mind, to seek my own data, draw my own conclusions.

Lets keep it civil here. Jakes is a well respected member here who gives much of his time and attention to questions on the engines.

Do these engines have issues:

Ah, yeah.

Ask my neighbor. She is still muttering about her 12K mile, one year old Box.

Seems the engine imploded on her at a traffic light.

:D

Sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. I did this as respectfully as possible. I have nothing but respect for Jake and Flat Six, I just think the holiday IMS failure count is giving a skewed impression of the size of the problem.

No...their "tick...tick...BOOM!" ad page 6 of February Excellence shows a stethascope - they want you to have the image of your heart exploding, not a time bomb. Very professional indeed.

I'm on my 3rd engine after less than 82,000 miles - after my second engine failed, Jake Raby spent more than a half hour of his time trying to diagnose over the phone, and then explaining to me, in detail, the options I had.

He never tried to sell me his services, or pressured me in any way - he simply presented the facts. A few months later, I had the chance to visit flat6. Jake took me on a tour, and showed me the failed engines he and his crew had torn down, and showed me the upgrades he'd made to help extend the engines life.

He struck me as a passionate, honest and an extremely detailed person...and with my own eyes I saw the customer cars with failed engines sitting in his parking lot, the failed lifters, the dozens of engines with bad IMS, d-chunked or had cracked heads.

I just suggest, before you judge, give him a call, or if you're close by, pay him a visit. You'll be impressed with his shop and his character.

Wow, I have to wonder out loud why anyone would continue to pour money in any type of car with that kind of major failure rate.

Makes me shake me head just like when I read about 5 yr old cars being parted out because of major failure and the cost to repair exceeds the value.

Yeah, I agree, it's really a shame. The car drives better than anything other car I've owned - the key for me has been "taking the plunge" and doing the work myself, which greatly reduces the $$ that one has to pour into it.

I will not drive a car that I can not work on myself. I am sure that the warranty repairs will be quite traumatic for me on the new Cayman S. Perhaps they will let me do the work and just supervise?

landrovered, just curious - did you get an extended warranty? and if you mind me asking, how much was it?

thx

IMS Type Production Cut In
 

So, does anybody have hard data for the production cut in of the single row IMS bearing vice the older (and "better") twin row? I have an '02 (may 2002) 'S', hoping mine has the dual row. I missed a chance to have the bearing changed out when I had the clutch done at 40K (almost free due to a RMS leak fixed under warranty), dammit!

The 98 boxster is long out of warranty and I do the work on it. The 2010 Cayman S is standard warranty, it is ordered and not here yet. But I am not a fan of extended warranties as a rule.

I have an 03 Range Rover HSE and I looked at an aftermarket warranty on it but after getting into the nitty gritty of it, there were too many exemptions to make it worth while to me. Like it only covered failures for oiled parts. For example a blown head gasket is not covered because it is not an oiled part.

It sounds like you like to get your hands dirty as I do. I am meticulous about my vehicles and most average auto repair shops quality of work is far below my minimum standard, so I do it myself.

I have a friend with a very sucessful Lamborghini, Ferrari, Porsche shop. He used to be a factory mechanic at Lamborghini, he is Italian. Not a "pimp my ride" kind of place but a real repair shop, he actually worked on a Veyron recently. I have learned so much hanging around his place. What I learned is that his expertise is in his head because he uses the same basic tools that I do. Nothing special, he just knows what he is doing and does it well.

I will have the Cayman S serviced at the dealership during the warranty period but after that it is mine!

When I have the time, I love it. I test drove a 09 Boxster a few weeks back - I remember the salesman saying it was a basic 4yr/50k warranty - but I never got the details if they had an extended "Factory" (which I'm sure they do). Normally I'd be with you on the extended warranties, but if was say, 3k for a 7year/100k for powertrain, I'd get it...but that's just me.

Sounds like your experience with 3rd party warranties is about on par with what I've heard. Which is too bad - be nice to have a good reliable extended warranty without any loopholes.

Fred,

They had a bumper to bumper option that covered everything but tires and washer fluid but it was expensive. From the sounds of your woes, the oiled parts gig would have covered you without any issues.

Here is a page that has a lot of good info. It is not Land Rover exclusive they do other makes as well. I believe the fellow I spoke to was named Hal.

Very interesting thread. Jake is also well-known and well-respected in the 914 community. The work he's done on understanding M96 failure modes is outstanding. If Porsche had any sense, they'd fly him to Germany to debrief their engineers. Oh, and bring Navarro, too :)

I knew the issues when I bought my used Boxster. I have no interest in owning a sports car that I cannot drive at 10/10ths when I want to. So that I can do this and minimize the risks and consequences of failures, I keep on top of all maintenance, and I also bought an aftermarket warranty. If I have a problem, will the warranty pay? Who knows, but having proper service records and a spotless engine with no leaks probably will help my case. I also am financially able to deal with paying for an engine replacement, if I have to.

I wish I lived near Jake, as I'd have him update the engine with his latest improvements and monitor any issues. My mechanics here know about his work and I trust them to keep on top of things.

Keeping this civil, I have one comment, since I brought this up.

Jake and Charles are real; you can talk to them and we know where they are and their expertise is proven. JFP in PA is a known, knowledgeable contributor.

Others that chime in (with no substantiation) cannot be taken seriously, as they have zero credibility. "Brian Porsche Tech" is as real as the tooth fairy, as far as I'm concerned.

Because tone is a hard thing to convey over the internet to me Jake makes it sound like every engine is about to die but if you read most all of his posts you see that he really is just trying to help everyone out. If it wasn't for him working with LN I'd never have the new bearing in my car.

One thing I'll add, and it seems to come up every so ofter, is that the more and harder you drive the car the longer it lasts. These older Boxsters with low milage seem to die young. Maybe this has to do with heat which the stock bearing cannot take very well who knows but I recall reading that even Jake's shop will tell you that.

Anyways nothing but respect for the man and what he's done to aid our passion.
:cheers:

Chris

When first got my 98 Boxster w/tip I had no idea about the IMS failures even though I reseaeched Boxsters for awhile. For the first couple of months I worried about the engine taking a s**t. I then realized that the reason I purchased the car was to drive like hell. I haven't worried since. If and when the engine goes south I will send it to Jake to have it rebuilt . I like my car and with the cost of improvements which I have made it will probably be a wash with money. I like having cars for a long time and getting to know them. To me the Box is worth getting to know. Going through life worrying about everything will kill you as quickly as being stupid and it certainly no fun. ED

You mean the tooth fairy is NOT real???????????????? :confused:

IMS just replaced - '02 S single Row
 

I'm just completing a DYI IMS bearing replacement myself with Charles' LN kit, hope to turn the key tomorrow or Sat. My '02 S is a single row bearing setup which made replacement straightforward with the tools from LN. Clutch disk and CV boots done at the same time 23.2K miles, two hard DE days, I'm 3rd owner. No play in shaft was found but edge bits of the seal were missing.

From Pelican Part Tech site:
Boxster Double Row:
Engine Number up to 651 12851 (M96.22)
Engine Number up to 671 11237 (M96.21)

Boxster Single Row:
Engine Number from 651 12852 (M96.22)
Engine Number from 671 11238 (M96.21)

996 Double Row:
Engine Number up to 661 14164

996 Single Row:
Engine Number from 661 14165

I've heard from Jake this may not be 100% accurate so I pulled my trans before ordering a kit. PM me if you want more info as I just did this over the past month.

~ Chris

IMS is not a common failure on the early cars, and less problematic with the Tip vs Manual cars, in fact it's quite rare. It didn't become a significant issue until Porsche modified their original design. The least of my worries with my '99 is IMS.

Cheers!

Its always the vendor.... the horrible, money stealing, vendor. We are all a bunch of lying bastards that don't care if your car even runs. Thats the way people make us out to be and I am absolutely sick of it. Done with it.

If it weren't for a couple of really motivated vendors the IMS retrofit would not be in question, because it would not be possible and engines would not be getting saved from the scrap yard weekly.. You would not have a choice.

Keep complaining, at least we can pull the damn bearing- Porsche says thats impossible.

Your welcome.

Whole heartedly agree with your sentiments. You, Pedro, Jay (who was offering research) who offer answers too often get crap thrown at you when you try to offer solutions to known issues. Don't get too discouraged guys, there's plenty of us in the background watching and reading without posting............

Hi I am new to this board and this is My first post so please go easy on Me.

I bought My 99 Boxster 4 months ago, It is my first Porsche, I have been diving Corvettes for 17 years and I have always wanted to own a Porsche one day and now I do, love My 99 Box.

Before I bought My Box, I found this Board when I was doing My homework before buying My First Porsche and I am glad I found it, It helped Me in buying My Box.

I am glad that there are guys like Jake Raby out there that offer a retofit IMS and other Mods for the M96, So thanks Jake and others that post helpful info. on this board.

It has made owning My Porsche an enjoyable experience.

Thanks again.

Um...I though a bunch of us were defending you... :confused:

Um...I though a bunch of us were defending you... :confused:

+1 on on your feelings though as this gets out of hand sometimes.

Chris

If it weren't for Jake and Charles, I would still be in the dark about potential problems with my Box and have few options should something go wrong. Instead, I have been proactively updating my engine with LN parts and will install the IMS update when an appropriate opportunity arises.

I applaud Jake and Charles' work and am sickened by the non-believers that jump on someone's bandwagon after only two posts and no credibility.

Please continue with your input and valuable updates...my car truly appreciates it!

Unfortunately not enough have been... The free information is over- if people are going to ******************** moan and complain I'll at least charge for what we share. This way at least we'll get something for putting up with all the crap.

Charles and I pour our entire lives into engine development and its pretty easy to get sick of people who make us out to be the bad guy.

There will always be deniers of this issue. I see this over on the BMW boards regarding persistent defects in their designs as well.


I think it makes the buyers feel a little less insecure about an issue that is really there. Whatever.

I think the regulars know what Jakes is all about. I think we all appreciate his time and attention.

Hang in there Jake, the folks who matter know what you are about. :)

Jake,

I have re-read the thread and it appears to me that there is more going on here than just some porsche mechanic offering an alternative view from yours.

To me it looks like there is something else going on in your life for this thread to illicit the above "I'll just take my football and go home" response. It does not add up.

I am the one that said that things like your "holiday IMS failure count" might be causing undue distress to boxster owner so if you have a beef perhaps I am the one you need to be speaking to.

You are passionate about your work, that is a good thing. You have a financial dog in the fight. There is nothing wrong with that. It is transparent and that is the way it should be. I applaud the work you have done and would be inclined to utilize your services in the future.

But...

Expecting unwavering gratitude from forum users is just dumb and it makes you look foolish when you go off because of a thread as vanilla as this one. You know that trying to get a consensus on the internet is like trying to herd cats.

My advice (its free so take it for what it is worth) is you should cowboy up and when someone offers a different view of the subject than yours, don't take it personally. Debate the issues and realize that it is not an idictment of all that you stand for nor is is a review of your company or your work.

I have not read anything but sterling comments on you and your company.

Nothing else is going on in my life, these engines and the business I have built ARE my life. Consider the fact that there are currently posts on three other boards from vendor haters that are comparable to this one and it'll add up fairly quickly. I've been working with VW and Porsche enthusiasts since the age of 13 when I had my first paying customer for an engine build. Through all those years I've never experienced a group of people that thought vendors were so horrible, money grubbing, lying bastards.

Who gives a damn if I have a financial dog in the fight.. Trust that I work for every damn penny we generate here and all things totaled I probably end up making two friggin dollars an hour.

This week I saved a clients engine that was more than likely MINUTES away from failure, we didn't know it and he didn't know it but he came by and saw it apart first hand when we extracted his smoked bearing. I kept FIFTEEN THOUSAND dollars in his bank account, I wonder what he thinks about vendors?

Pour your heart and soul into something to have all of that questioned by people that would not know what an IMS bearing was if it fell from the sky and landed on their keyboard and you'd be just as pissed off as I am.

We are fortunate to have a real Porsche engine builder/designer on this forum. The man has the best reputation and needs not to back up anything he says. Yes he wants to make a living on his service and products. Why is that so terrible? He has never pushed a product stating that we need it or else. IMS is a chance just like a hole in a piston or a bearing going.

jake,

No one ever questioned your passion here.

I not only read Porsche forums, I read about five Land Rover forums plus about six general automotive forums.

I feel for the vendors, I feel for the service writers that have to deal with every pretencious pricks that think their high dollar vehicle should never ever fail in any way.

Vendors are in a tough spot, they sell their wares and put up with a lot of crap but the good ones benefit from the process and gain business that they would not have if it were not for the internet.

I might question the zeal with which you warn the flock about the dangers of IMS failures.

Call it a marketing gripe but your threads are riddled with a tone of eventuality that can be taken in a way other than you intend.

"Tick Tick Boom" for example.

It is a tough thing to do, to warn folks with passion and zeal and not sound like Henny Penny.

"Fifteen minutes away from failure" for example.

Why not let your satisfied customers promote your services here on this board, obviously you have a lot of fans.

Then you can just share your knowledge without all the comments that can be taken by the reader as scare tactics.

I am a point blank person. I sugar coat nothing and expect the same from others.
If you talked to the people we talk to and saw the destruction that we do you'd understand.

I attended my Uncle's Funeral yesterday... While I was there I was comparing my job to that of a Funeral Director, just with a different twist.

These days few people people can handle someone that isn't bending over backwards to tell them what they want to hear.

A funeral yesterday, sorry to hear that. It might explain yesterday's rant. I'll chalk that one up to having a bad day. Happens to all of us.

I too have little time for bull****************. That is why I have said my piece here.

I will agree to "drive it like I stole it" and call you for work on my engine if you will drop the "tick tick boom."

Deal?