Having mine done with the clutch & RMS in 11 days. As soon as I get back from Ohio.

With these vehicles being relatively low cost in very good running condition and the extremely high cost of rebuilding a motor, it just seems like a wise investment. A boxster with a blown engine could not be worth much. Though one with a new clutch, IMS & RMS is still a value. You have peace of mind and a tradeable/saleable vehicle. Just my opinion.

With the new information that Porsche has released I don't see how anyone (with a double bearing motor) could justify the cost/risk ratio to complete bearing upgrade until clutch replacement is necessary.

I suspect that the value of the older double bearing Boxsters may increase now that this information has been released.

1999 2.5L 126,000 miles. 60+ track days. Original bearing. I did not replace the IMSB when I replaced the clutch. Engine runs perfect. I sleep fine at night and never think of the IMSB except for when I log onto Porsche online forums.

1999, 2.5L, 72K. I have not changed my IMS bearing since I bought it, but the carfax for my car stated:

08/10/2001 24,665

Transmission removed to complete repair
Washer nozzle(s) replaced
Front wiper blades/refills replaced
Fluids checked
Wipers/washers checked
Inspection completed

10/29/2001 26,637
Transmission removed to complete repair
A/C system checked
A/C refrigerant recharged
A/C condenser replaced
Intermediate shaft seal replaced
Rear crankshaft oil seal replaced
Oxygen sensor replaced

02/21/2002 29,439

Transmission removed to complete repair
Rear crankshaft oil seal replaced
Intermediate shaft seal replaced
Blower motor replaced/repaired
Recommended maintenance performed
Four tires mounted and balanced
Alignment checked
Two wheel alignment performed
Transmission fluid flushed
Brakes checked
Oil and filter changed

After that it is nothing but routine maintenance. So, If I read between the lines properly, my RMS & IMS were corrected at the 30K mark under warrenty. More or less. When I need a new clutch, I'll have the IMSB replaced as well. I'll just consider it anotjher wear part and be good for another 50K+ miles until my next clutch replacement where I'll just do it again.

Is the MIS only an issue for standard tranny's? I have a tiptronic, and wondered if this could be an issue on the automatics as well? Anyone know?

McDuff

Sorry, make that IMS.....

even more of an issue for the tips

I have a 2001 Boxster 2.7 litre and had the IMS Guardian installed. I am the 3rd owner and believe that the ims has not been replaced. Bought it with 30k miles, now has 40k miles. I bought this car with eyes wide open and did all the research on the internet. Fortunately at my stage of life if the engine explodes for whatever reason it is not the end of the world. 90% of my driving is around the city so if something goes wrong the indy shop is close at hand.

As an aside I can see the problem if a young person buys a cheap Boxster and is not aware of the problems that can occur. Do your research before you buy. Knowledge is $$$$$$.....:(:(

Meat Head- I'll post the same on this thread as I have on the other you started.
Then perhaps we can all get back to the fun stuff!

I'm like most and have responded with my honest opinion to this and other threads that are all related and running at the same time.

I had to get peace. I wanted to keep the car. Some say a P of this age is a cheap car... that may be the case but its still an expensive lawn ornament or a total B@ll ache to part-out if it goes bang.

So i did not ask opinions - i quietly read up and i made my choice and made my peace. I had two obstacles!!! My wife and my wise old dad.

Both told me i was nuts, that it was fine, it would not happen to me, told me to think about the cost of the repair in relation to the value of the car.

I offered them both the same deal. I would pay them £500.00 with which they could do with what they wanted. This was my 'insurance'. The deal was that if the engine goes bang because of the IMS ANY TIME during my ownership they had to pay for it to be rebuilt, say £6k! If they were so confident then they could spend the £500.00 and never worry! Strangley with that on the table neither had the same confident outlook and soon agreed that it was an ok investment if i intend to keep the car - which i do.

Look at it like this - Its rather like a rubber cam-belt in any other car - would you leave it on there for 10 years or 100k miles would you? No - you would take preventive measures. Yes i know that cam-belt changes on other cars are cheaper... but you have a porsche! What did you expect. Treat it as a part of the car that can and will need maintenance. If this cost is an issue... you have bought the wrong car for cheap thrills - go and buy an MR2 turbo!

Just my 2 pounds worth!

There is no right or wrong - there is rationale on both sides , you only need to sqaure it away with yourself. It depend if you are the worrying kind and risk averse, or if a porsche of this age does indeed represent a cheap beater. Ultimately you have to weigh up the odds for yourself and live with a decision.

Un-subscribing now as i have made that decision and i sleep very soundly - not smug, just happy.

^ If nearly all a Boxster's trips are short, it might be a good idea for one long drive at some point during the week.

Model year 1999 (June 1998 build).
139,xxx miles.
Original engine and bearing but many other things replaced.
I've put 81k on it in 7.5 years. Few of those miles were easy ones.
Oil: Motul 8100 5w-40 changed every 10k.

^ who are you ordering the Motul from? price?

2000 2.7 with 61,000 miles.IMS not changed.water pump once.Oil changed every 3,000 miles.Bought three years ago no problems

IMS and Tiptronic
 

I don't know which is correct but I have seen several posts that say it is less of an issue for Tiptronics.


2000 base Tiptronic, 64,000 miles original IMS

2000 2.7, 133k miles. Since I have a double row, I'm not going to replace the IMSB until I have to replace the clutch, and even then, I'm thinking of just removing the outer seal if the bearing is otherwise in good shape. Hopefully I can get at least another 50k on the clutch.

Macster on the Rennlist forum has a 2002 with something like 250k miles that is on original everything, motor, clutch and tranny.

I've pulled mine at 128k, it was washed out of all the factory grease and full of motor oil. My biggest consern now are the cam chain, I'm at -12 in one of my banks, it's only a matter of time. Planning to do a full rebuild.

Drove a 2000 base up to early 2012 and 78k miles. Never worried much about this.

Former:1998 2.5L Base purchased with 107K miles sold 2 years later with 133K miles. Original IMS, clutch and flywheel. All in good shape. No metal in the oil filter. Drove it like a Porsche.

Current: 2000 3.2L S purchased with 48K miles Dec 2011. Now has 78K miles and all is well with IMS, clutch and flywheel. Drive it like a Porsche.

I have a 1999 2.5 base model that I bought 2 1/2 years ago. I was able to get the records and found that the motor was replaced by a Porsche dealership in 2003. All it said on the invoice was "engine seized", so I'm not exactly sure what happened. This new/remanufactured engine has 53,000 + miles on it. I believe I probably have a single row bearing in this engine but there is no way to be sure without dismantling it. I plan to keep the car so I will replace the bearing either with the "permanent solution" or "ceramic bearing" (if it's a dual row bearing) .

OK, I also would like to know why type of transmission would make any difference to the IMS failure rate. Is it because some feel that those with a Tip will drive it lower in the RPM range?

That's the thinking, yes

Tip is less prone to the RMS seal tearing. maybe that's what the one poster was thinking about.

97' bought two years ago
37k miles then 55k now driven the way the doctor ordered

2000 2.7 with 57k on it, original IMS. I added the IMS Guardian a year ago just for peace of mind.

So just so I understand correctly, my base 2001 can have either the single or double bearing right? No way to really know? My car was first sold around July of 2001.

2001 2.7 5-speed. 69k miles. Still with original IMS. Running great.

107k 2000 Tip 3.2 original ims

Enjoy your car and change it if you are worried.
 

I have a 2003 3.2S, 39k, 6-speed, that I replaced the bearing with the LN IMS bearing last weekend. I know that the original poster did not ask about the later boxsters, such as my 2003, but I wanted to point out that life is about calculated risk.

I knew about the IMS issue before I bought my first P-car, I understood that it could happen and I bought my box knowing this. After two years of ownership, my box would on occasion make a slight clunk as I pulled the clutch out, while in second gear. I decided to address the gearbox issue by installing the CMS shift arrestor. As long as the gearbox was out, I installed a new RMS (which had a slight leak), resurfaced the flywheel, installed a new clutch, and replaced the IMS bearing.

The bearing that I removed appears fine, the clutch still had some life left; however, I would rather spend my time enjoying my box than worrying about it. It drives great, brings a smile to my lucky face, and reminds me why I drive a Porsche.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1365381462.jpg

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1365381663.jpghttp://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1365381998.jpg

2000S No IMSB Change
 

My 2000S just turned 41K. It had 21K on when I bought it. A great car, nothing but tires and maintenance so far.

MEB:)

1999 2.7 1 previous lover, FPSH and 63K

I just keep it in the garage locked up until the weather is good and then I go for a blast.
The IMS bearing is not an issue to me. I drive it sometimes hard, sometimes softly.
I think the base Boxster with minimal gadgets is one of most amazing cars to own and drive.
I am 42, fairly well off and see no need for a different sports car, for the money there is nothing close.
If I ever have to do a clutch or RMS I will have the IMS bearing changed, no doubt but not until then.
I could pick up a low mileage 2.7 engine from a crashed car for approx £3k so it's not too bad if the engine blows to bits, not that it will, but to be honest if it did I would quite like to rebuild the engine over the winter as a project..http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1365453671.jpg

Last pic is the empty gear box? How difficult to remove the gears down to the way shown? My shift lever leaks and I need to get down that far.

Getting the gearbox apart was not the challenge. Remove the bolts cap/spring/bolt of the shift catch and gingerly tap upwards on the case using one a dead-blow plastic hammer. I sprayed a penetrating spray at the location of the two dowels, I let it sit a while, and then taped upwards VERY carefully on the top half of the case (with the bell housing on the ground).

The trick was getting it back together. The shift fork shaft assemblies have some play in them and you need to have each lined up with the respective cage bearings on the case end.

I strongly recommend installing the CMS shift arrestor as long as you are in there. It made a night-and-day difference in how my box goes between gears. I no longer wonder if second gear will clunk when the clutch is released; I can now feel that it is in gear before releasing the clutch. It is good insurance, shouldn't take more than five or 10 minutes to change at this point, even if you don't have any apparent shifting problems.

After a few hours of teeth grinding (five to be exact), I found that the only way to get the case together correctly was by propping-up the bell housing on top of a chunk of 4x4 lumber (the side where the shift detent faces upwards). The weight of the gear racks will want to make the bell housing teeter and tip onto the floor and you will need two people; one to hold the bell housing against the 4x4 and another to guide the housing over the gears and shift fork shafts.

Another crucial trick was to take a gasket hook tool and grab the third (from right to left) shift fork shaft and pull it, using slight pressure, towards you. This shift fork shaft will pull the respective shafts on either side in alignment with the corresponding cage bearings on the case end. Just make sure that this shift fork position has not changed (it will line-up with a notch on each of the neighboring shift fork shafts).

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1365474286.jpg

Additionally, the round roller that rides on the shift catch needs to be stuck on using a bit of grease and you will need to be mindful that it takes a bit of wiggling/playing with the external shift linkage lever to get the roller to its place on the shift fork shaft. This cannot be lined up until the separation between the two halves is only an inch or two.

Finally, keep in mind that the main gear on the end of the case needs to mesh with the respective gear on the end of the gear assembly. My brother in-law guided the case end onto the rest of the gear box while I pulled on the shift fork shafts while spinning the input shaft, in order to get the two gears on the case end to mesh.

It was a bit of a dance and I could probably do it in a fraction of the five hours it took the first time around. I don't want to discourage you but please don't hold me responsible if you attempt this and do not get the same results as I had:). As a check before bolting the whole thing together, the external shift lever should "shift" without binding as you manually change the gears. If you are not familiar with what this feels like, check it out before disassembling the box.

It was a calculated risk and I knew I was either going to pay royally for someone else's education or else I was going to figure it out on my own and pay for my own education.

Best wishes and happy motoring.:cheers:

Thks for asking the question. I have a 98 with 35000 miles original clutch and IMS. Using a magnetic drain plug, change oil around 3000 miles and inspect oil filter for derbies. So far I have had no problems and still enjoy the car !

97 box 2.5, 112,000 miles. New motor installed at 75k by PO. No imsb swap on the current motor.

I keep hoping the motor will implode so I can put an LS1 in it, but it keeps on purring like a kitten.

No way, thanks. I'll leave it with a tranny shop for the shift lever leak. Porsche wants $750 for a new housing and my trans guy said he could press in a new bearing and seal for way less.

I think this has been a very positive thread! Now that Porsche has released the low rate of failure (much less than 1%), I think Boxster owners of the 2000 and older double row bearing motors have very little to worry about:dance:. I have a feeling that many motors from numerous manufactures have close to a 1% failure rate if not higher. I'm not going to give my IMS bearing a second thought until time for a new clutch:) .

Meat Head, just as a precaution I would still get a magnetic drain plug, do frequent oil changes and cut open and inspect the filter for metallic particles with each change. Still, we should take comfort from the fact that less than 1% reported dual-row bearing failures to Porsche, as opposed to 8-10% for the single row. This is a HUGE difference and when one considers that the dual-row bearing cars are now at least 13 years old and are likely on average to have higher mileage than the newer single-bearing cars (and that we have no way of knowing what were the oil change frequencies and driving habits of the ones that did fail), well yes, we should be able to rest much easier.

Brad

Sorry if you responded to my post earlier, but does anyone know if the IMS bearing is also an issue with automatics, or just standard transmissions?

Thanks for responding, do you know why the IMS is more of an issue for a tip by chance?