Question about reman engines and IMS - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

xamfed · 12-17-2010, 06:44 AM

I am looking at a 02 s with a reman engine 2 years ago. He says it has the updated IMS. Does this mean I won't have to worry about it going bad, or is there still an issue with Porsche's IMS from 2 years ago?

Thanks

yelojkt · 12-17-2010, 07:01 AM

As long as you have an M96 motor with a IMS you should keep the bearing in the back of your mind. But it has not been sitting in used oil for 4-8 years now. As long as you keep your oil changed at least once a year you should be good. For total confidence in the bearing it can be replaced each time the clutch is done.

JFP in PA · 12-17-2010, 07:16 AM

I’d be more concerned about who’s updated IMS it is; if it is Porsche’s, it would be a “deduct” from the price. If it has the LN Engineering unit, it would be a plus. Porsche never found a true “fix” for the issue, and eventually engineered the shaft out of the engine entirely. You also need to be aware that around 2005, Porsche went to an over sized version of the IMS bearing, which still failed, but cannot be updated without total disassembly of the engine; so if the engine in question has that unit in it, it is still at risk of failure, but cannot be upgraded to the LN unit, and the “update” would be a major negative…………..

xamfed · 12-17-2010, 08:14 AM

It is a factory re manufactured engine

JFP in PA · 12-17-2010, 08:26 AM

Then it probably falls into the last category with the oversized IMS bearing that cannot easily be updated with the LN unit.

kcpaz · 12-17-2010, 09:32 AM

Good luck convincing the seller that the IMS bearing question warrants any sort of price deduction. Basically, the ignorant don't care until there's a problem...

Jake Raby · 12-21-2010, 09:52 AM

Quote:

I am looking at a 02 s with a reman engine 2 years ago. He says it has the updated IMS. Does this mean I won't have to worry about it going bad, or is there still an issue with Porsche's IMS from 2 years ago?

All Reman engines from 2006+ have the later 997 style IMS bearing. This bearing is not removable as it is larger than the access port in the crankcase. When this bearing begins to fail, the engine is issued a Death Certificate because it cannot be replaced without complete engine disassembly.

The 997 series bearings are beginning to fail more frequently and we are beginning to see them now that those cars and engines are coming out of warranty and the issues are becoming more apparent, just like the older engines did.

I have some pics of failed 997 series bearings I'll be posting on my site soon. Only time will tell how serious the issues will be with the later bearings.

Until an engine is fully updated it will have inherent issues that may or may not ever kill it.. A fully updated engine can't be sourced from Porsche.

Evan528 · 12-22-2010, 04:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

All Reman engines from 2006+ have the later 997 style IMS bearing. This bearing is not removable as it is larger than the access port in the crankcase. When this bearing begins to fail, the engine is issued a Death Certificate because it cannot be replaced without complete engine disassembly.

The 997 series bearings are beginning to fail more frequently and we are beginning to see them now that those cars and engines are coming out of warranty and the issues are becoming more apparent, just like the older engines did.

I have some pics of failed 997 series bearings I'll be posting on my site soon. Only time will tell how serious the issues will be with the later bearings.

Until an engine is fully updated it will have inherent issues that may or may not ever kill it.. A fully updated engine can't be sourced from Porsche.

Just what I didnt want to hear!!! I am leaning more and more towards handing my 08 cayman s back in at the end of the lease next year. My buyout is $40,000. Its a scary thought to spend that much buying it only to have a $20,000 engine go.

I sure wish porsche would get their act together with these engines.

Jake Raby · 12-22-2010, 04:30 AM

ALL Cayman engines have the non-serviceable IMS bearings.. Rumor has it the earliest had the older style, but I have never quantified that.
What you don't want to hear and what you need to hear in order to make wise decisions are two different things.

kcpaz · 12-22-2010, 06:07 AM

Jake, what year did they start with the 9A1?

Jake Raby · 12-22-2010, 06:26 AM

Late in 2008..

I expect to begin seeing problems with those too.. Their is a reason why every flat 6 since 1964 used an "Intermediate shaft"... Removing that component was a mistake if you ask me.. Earlier engines used a plain "layshaft" bearing that didn't fail, but the shaft was still there.. Just like in a 964 based GT3 or Turbo engine.

We will be tearing apart our first engine of the new design in a couple of months. We are proudly voiding its warranty at 4K miles to get started on development and a big bore arrangement.

c130122 · 12-22-2010, 10:59 AM

Thanks everyone for all this valuable info. I'm the guy selling this car and there is a lot I just learned here as well. There seems to be many different opinions on the subject. I worked for SKF bearings for over 30 yrs both in USA and Europe. I have been in touch with the bearing application engineers involved and have had discussion with Charles at LN. I don't agree that an open bearing is the answer. The bearing is designed to be sealed with a specific grease. The problem has been the seal failing and the grease purging which causes the bearing to fail. There are many cars here that have 100K miles plus. I think that if the RPMs are kept up and proper warmup is allowed then that should help minimize the problem. Question is how many of these cars have failed? Which design did they have? I don't think Porsche wants all that made public but I still think the % is very low. Just my opinion.