General IMSB issues - making lemonade of it

[Zedcat]

Hayden, do you have the "101 Projects for your Boxster" book yet? Even if you don't DIY it's a good reference. There is a section on IMSB. The single row has a deeper dish than a dual row- but you have to remove the trans to see it. As you likely know the earlier cars had dual row and the later the single row. Did you have a carfax before you bought the car? It would posibly indicate if the car had an early engine replacement as there were some that did and could affect which your car has. As posted earlier the shop (Houston) I used does a lot of these and they had all the parts and tools. It's only one data point but my single row bearing when they removed it was intact after 58k miles in 9 years. It did have some wear and a slight wobble compared to a new bearing. No way to know for sure how much longer it would have gone, but sure it wasn't imminent.

[ATX_Boxster]

Guys - I'd also like to say thanks to everyone for taking the time to help out some new owners by responding to this post.

The responses make great sense and definitely provide some reassurance that there probably is nothing to worry about.

I plan to drive my car in the manner it was made to be driven and address IMS upgrades when I'm much further down the road.

Hayden - my car has already been into TPWS for some preventative work: inner and outer CV boots, plugs, coil packs, oil, and tranny fluid change. Basically the 30K service minus a few bits. TPWS is Porsche only and they seems very knowledgable about IMS replacement. They even have examples of both single and dual row bearings that have failed in their office. They have LN bearings in stock and like to take the angle of helping the client save $ on labor when possible. (Like timing the bearing replacement when it's time for a new clutch...) They also like to educate their clients about the cars and what to expect. I definitely learned a lot when I was there.

TPWS**** - Austin's**** Independant Porsche Specialists

Here's a picture of my tinker box:



Not too shabby for a 13 year old vehicle!

Cheers to two new Boxster owners in Austin!!

[Johnny Danger]

I struggle over this issue myself. The Dangermobile has only 20k original miles, and more money tied up in mods than I care to admit to. I've put this issue off for quite awhile (namely because I'm not able to drive it much), but I have a tentative appointment to have the IMSB retro-fit performed in a week or so. For the longest while, my vehicle was considered a prime candidate for IMS failure by virtue of the fact that it's used so infrequently. Interestingly, the latest statical data that came out of the class-action suit against Porsche suggests that my vehicle is in fact less likely to suffer IMS failure than previously thought. Here's the paradox. If I don't do the retro-fit, the concern for failure will forever remain in the back of my mind. On the other hand, I know that when the bearing is finally extracted, it will prove to be in near flawless condition.

[Perfectlap]

Potential IMS failure is like stressing about being broke in retirement: you can do something about it or can you waste time worrying and take no action. But there is a third option that fits the typical American approach: neither take action nor give it a second thought. Don't worry be happy. Everything is gonna be alright. no woman no cry.

[ATX_Boxster]

(Tried to make this post earlier this evening along with a picture of my car - but I think that I'm too new here to post with pictures. My apologies in advance if it shows up as a double post.)
_______

Guys - I'd also like to say thanks to everyone for taking the time to help out some new owners by responding to this post.

The responses make great sense and definitely provide some reassurance that there probably is nothing to worry about.

I plan to drive my car in the manner it was made to be driven and address IMS upgrades when I'm much further down the road.

Hayden - my car has already been into TPWS (in N. Austin on Lamar) for some preventative work: inner and outer CV boots, plugs, coil packs, oil, and tranny fluid change, and brake flush. Basically the 30K service minus a few bits.

TPWS is Porsche only and they seem very knowledgable about IMS replacement. They even have examples of both single and dual row bearings that have failed in their office. They have LN bearings in stock and like to take the angle of helping the client save $ on labor when possible. (Like timing the bearing replacement when it's time for a new clutch...) They also like to educate their clients about the cars and what to expect. I definitely learned a lot when I was there.

Good luck with your new car!

[Hayden]

Thanks all, for everything! I think this was good to revisit for us new guys, and put it behind us. Now let's have some fun.

It's getting driven. Hard. Just raced two motorcycles on my nightly cruise. Eff it.