New owner, worried about IMS
 

New owner of a 2000 Boxster S, 73k, wondering about how to spot a failure before it happens? And is it worth changing it as i dont have any history with the car?

No way to inspect without removing the transmission, clutch, flywheel and bearing. If you've done all that you might as well put a new bearing in the car.

There are several indirect indicators. These are: variable camshaft deviations at idle, oil leak (but this could be RMS), and metal in oil filter. These are poor indicators at best.

You have three choices: 1) stop worrying and change oil frequently, 2) install IMS Guardian, or 3) replace IMS bearing.

You probably have a dual row bearing car. These have the lowest reported failure rates ~ 1%. Nevertheless, if the IMSB issue is going to ruin enjoying the car, get the it replaced.

PS: this is one of the most frequently discussed topics. Search the forum and you'll find tons of opinions and information.

Seems to me that a car without a service record is often a car without a consistent history of oil changes.

there are a couple of things to wonder about with a no-records car.
1- did the previous owner make a habit of driving the car above 3000 RPM (a good thing), and did the previous owner make a point to drive it at least once for a long distance, I'll say about an hour of driving to and from?
2-did he/she use a quality oil? did they do the sensible thing and change it more frequently than the factory recommended?
3-did they allow the engine enough time once in drive to warm up before they started stomping on the gas? I think most would say about twice the amount of time it takes the coolant to point 12 o'clock north. No high RPM's before that warm up period.

These are all good practices that may not have been followed. For that reason, as there is doubt, you should replace or upgrade (either is fine) the IMSB when you replace the clutch.
Some decide not to wait until the clutch is starting to fail and just do it preemptively once in the high mileage territory. I think this is wise with a car whose history is unknown.

But on the encouraging side, 2000 (early) are most likely dual row bearing cars and S model engines have more robust cylinders which even the Carrera 3.4's did not get. So this at least lowers the likelyhood of at least two common m96 engine failures.

As an owner of a 99 Boxster base the first thing I'd suggest you do is get a CarFax if possible so you can see if any service was performed regularly. When I bought mine, that is one of the key indicators I looked for and could see the original owner and the next kept up the maintenance. The next two didn't show any service history, but both drove below average miles. I was somewhat concerned about it, but decided to just enjoy the car and do my own maintenance. So, far I've had two oil changes and both show zero debris in the filter. Since I have a dual row bearing (assumed since it's never been apart) I have decided to replace it each time I replace the clutch.

If you are really concerned about yours, drop the oil pan and check it for sludge, debris, etc. since most times that is where you will see a real indication of potential issues with the engine.

You should be super worried!!!! Your car is going to detonate!!!! :D

Seriously, do some research and decide for yourself. ;)
You'll get 10 different opinions from 10 different people.

Replace the IMS bearing with the upgrade kit ASAP. And as long as you're in there, replace the clutch and RMS.

Get 8 restful hours of sleep, and then drive the car with wild abandon and full confidence that you've conducted the correct preventative procedure.

And it will save you a lot of time and "Boxster-angst" reading and fretting about all the IMS posts on the forums! :)

But that's only me, and I'm just sayin'...............

TO