I bought a 1998 Boxster 2.5, did I make a huge mistake???

[Steve Tinker]

You've received about 30 replies to your initial question(s) - I don't think you are going to receive anything drastically different to what you've already read.....

[desert_porsche]

If it makes you feel better, I will air out my dirty laundry.

I joined this forum a couple of weeks ago because that's when I bought my '01 Boxster S with 30k miles for $19,500. Why so much? I'm the third owner, and I know both of the previous owners. I have full maintenance records showing oil changes every 5,000 miles. Spotless carfax. Brand new tires. To say it was well taken care of is an understatement; it looks MINT. The 12 year old flat black paint is flawless; you have to try hard to see a single swirl mark. I know the previous owner only washed it by hand with distilled water. It also has the must-have sport touring and design packages as well as the rare factory aerokit (that the original owner paid almost 7 grand for )

I probably should have researched more, but I don't care. It was a good value to me because I would argue there is not an '01 Boxster S in better condition within a thousand miles. It makes me happy and that's all that matters.

Now replace that IMS bearing and drive the crap out of it

[Topless]

Lets see,
You bought a nearly mint $40k car for $10k and you are quivering and quaking about your purchase??

Grow a pair and drive the car... or not.

[Meat Head]

You are right. I need to quit worrying and just drive the car! I just wanted as many opinions as possible about the IMS and other issues. The more input the better the statistical accuracy.

Thanks for all your expertise everyone. For the most part I feel pretty safe that my car isn't a ticking time bomb. I'm going to have the oil analyzed in the very near future.

I think I will wait for about a year before I do the IMSB replacement. This will allow the initial shock to my finances subside from the purchase of the car.

Thanks again everyone!

[paintboy]

I would think you would be worried more about the seals on the engine and trans. A car of that age with that low miles tends to have issues with seal shrinkage from dry seals from lack of use. You might be one 5000 rpm rev from a main seal failing. This is more of a possibility on a 98 than the IMS failure. And if one seal goes, it would be foolish not to redo them all. You usually don't buy a 15 years old Porsche with out a $5000.00 war chest. HAVE A NICE DAY.

[CoBeerToad]

From what part of Indiana do you hail?

[Nimbus117]

I know the IMS discussion has been done to death but this was the best thread I have read:

Who has done an IMS change (New Oil Fed Design Idea) - Pelican Parts Technical BBS

Had my 2003 Boxster 2 years and (touch wood) had no issues with anything. I may get the IMS done when the clutch needs replacing but it certainly doesn't bother me driving it.

What is of more concern is the endless threads about the IMS, any potential new owners will be scared off as soon as they do some research on these forums. Still, far worse unsaleable cars out there to be stuck with.

[RandallNeighbour]

Meathead, the fears of catastrophic engine failure will diminish over time. Now I think about my motor imploding and I get giddy with excitement over the notion of shoehorning a LS1 in it and having a V8 Boxster for more fun!

It all depends on your perspective I guess, and if the boxster is a daily driver or an extra toy to play with when the weather is nice and time permits.

[Meat Head]

Originally Posted by CoBeerToad

From what part of Indiana do you hail?

Small town in Southern Indiana about 20 miles north of Louisville Kentucky. We just won the 1A basketball state championship (Borden).

[paintboy]

Originally Posted by Meat Head

Small town in Southern Indiana about 20 miles north of Louisville Kentucky. We just won the 1A basketball state championship (Borden).

This explains a lot....

[Kurt V]

The more you drive it the less paranoid you will become.

[paintboy]

Originally Posted by Kurt V

The more you drive it the less paranoid you will become.

Very true. Any any mechanic will tell you they like to be driven hard.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Nimbus117

Had my 2003 Boxster 2 years and (touch wood) had no issues with anything. I may get the IMS done when the clutch needs replacing but it certainly doesn't bother me driving it.

What is of more concern is the endless threads about the IMS, any potential new owners will be scared off as soon as they do some research on these forums. Still, far worse unsaleable cars out there to be stuck with.

disagree.

1. if they find out about the IMS issue online, they'll find out that it's just a simple parts swamp. I can't think of a single thread ever that didn't include a suggestion to simply do the LNE retrofit.

2. If your IMSB is wobbly, you have no real way of knowing if it will make it to the next clutch change. You might find large bits in the oil filter but at that point you're momments away from calamity. So it's a lottery that the oil change and IMS failure will coincinde at the exact same time. Putting off the IMS retrofit on a 2001-2005 Boxster until the clutch finishes wearing out seems like an attempt to save a few hundred bucks at the risk of losing much much more. If you're of the opinion that the threat is real there's nothing to be gained by putting it off. On the contrary if you do the IMS/clutch ahead of schedule you get all of the utility of a new clutch while crossing off one of the culprits of engine failure from your list.

That's really the irony of the IMS problem on these early m96 cars. It's actually good to know that you can address the issue without having to 1) remove the engine, 2) split open the engine, 3) spend a huge sum on parts and you can actually multi-task (clutch). With the newer m97 cars you don't have all these benefits while you still have ball bearings where good engineering says they shouldn't have been used in the first place.

[Nimbus117]

You may disagree but it doesn't mean you are correct. Everyone having to change their bearings 'just in case' on the back of a small percentage of failures is bad advice.

Much better is to keep an eye on it during oil changes, fit IMS Guardian or replace if it bothers you that much.

[CoBeerToad]

Originally Posted by Meat Head

Small town in Southern Indiana about 20 miles north of Louisville Kentucky. We just won the 1A basketball state championship (Borden).

That is south. Got some relatives that live on the other side of I-65 near Hanover right on the river. I always thought in my head that they were as far south as you could go in Indiana. I was a bit off.

Enjoy the ride. I just bought my '97 a year and a half ago. First P-car and first car that cost over $1000. Got to enjoy it through last "winter", if that's what you want to call it, the year before last. Now I just get to look at it in the garage for a couple more weeks.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Nimbus117

You may disagree but it doesn't mean you are correct. Everyone having to change their bearings 'just in case' on the back of a small percentage of failures is bad advice.

Much better is to keep an eye on it during oil changes, fit IMS Guardian or replace if it bothers you that much.

The % of failure is both inaccurate and almost irrelevant. If you have a 2001-2005 there is a very obvious flawe in the engine design. One that can be exacerbated by the stewarship, or lack of, by the previous owner if you're someone that purchased the car used. Porsche just settled claims for precisely these years. Generally big companies don't do something like this unless there's something in their own internal records confirming that a problem isn't a small % but well beyond the industry avearage for what is acceptable. Records from dealerships and engine replacement programs that would not play well before a U.S jury. Otherwise Porsche would have settled on all Boxster/Carrera claims, dual row bearings included. But they didn't -- just the single row. That's a point that shouldn't be lost on a single row bearing owner. Either are bad design but single is by far the worst. Just ask Porsche's lawyers.

So it's not a "just in case" retrofit, it's addressing a known problem now confidentially confirmed by the manufacturer. The IMS Guardian is probably good advice but since a clutch is not an item that's going to last forever a single row Boxster/Carrera owner would be wise to simply address the problem rather than waiting for a flawe to turn into game ender. Relying on unconfirmed, inaccurate and undisclosed %'s to any degree is questionable/shaky advice.

There are things you know (engine design flawe) and the things you don't know (% of IMS failures). I replaced a dual row bearing, but if I had a single row IMSB, I'd be swapping it out before the ink on that class action settlment check had even dryed.

p.s.
relying on the oil change filter inspection to detect IMS failure is like cargo inspection for narcotics at the U.S. Border.
The probability that a physuical search of every 100th car/container will land on the very car carrying drugs is a long shot.
You'd be quiet the lucky guy to be changing your oil just when the IMSB decided to let go.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by RandallNeighbour

Meathead, the fears of catastrophic engine failure will diminish over time..

Randall I think it's the other way around. A lot of these cars were garage queens.
The oil intervals were too long. The revs weren't pushed...
The prices are now coming down and many clutches on these cars were swapped out before the LNE IMSB was available. Now those cars are taking on daily driving duty.
They sold a lot of 2.7's... enough to save the brand from bankruptcy. And folks like the OP can find a forum like this to post about an engine failure faster than they can call a Porsche specialist to inquire about preventative actions. Between the people worrying about IMS who do nothing about it and the people who waited too long do something, you're going to see the IMS controversy become a staple of Boxster/996 discussion.

[patssle]

Originally Posted by desert_porsche

I joined this forum a couple of weeks ago because that's when I bought my '01 Boxster S with 30k miles for $19,500. Why so much? I'm the third owner, and I know both of the previous owners. I have full maintenance records showing oil changes every 5,000 miles. Spotless carfax. Brand new tires. To say it was well taken care of is an understatement; it looks MINT.

Same thing here. I bought a 01 S too for 18k. A bit more than I was planning (had some leads around 14k for similar cars). But this thing was PERFECT condition by an owner that probably cleaned the tire treads with a q-tip after every drive. I could probably search for months and not find one as well taken care of.

I basically got a new car with 48k miles. Doesn't get much better than that. Money isn't everything.

[Meat Head]

I have been doing a **************** load of reading on the IMS failures. My Boxster is a 1998 with the 2.5 engine. It is my understanding that the 1998 2.5 Porsche engine had dual row bearings and due to this design (though also flawed) there was a much lower rate of IMS failure.

Though I'm not sure this will be my cars savior, it has had its oil changed yearly no matter what the miles put on the car.

The car has 27k miles on it at this time. It has been kept in a heated garage (healthier on the seals).

Bad news is its second owner (for the past 3 years) has been an older lady. From talking to her, the car has been driven gingerly (not good from what I've gathered).

I would like to wait 3-4k miles (1 year of driving) before changing out the IMSB and clutch.

[Spidey]

Listen to Perfectlap, my engine was replaced at 10K and do you think I could get the records from the dealer that performed the engine swap? No chance. Great cars but obvious design flaw. It is too bad Porsche didn't just fix it and make it good.