who is still on their original IMS?
 

Post your transmission, year, trim, oil of preference, and millage. I'm on my original IMS and plan to keep it that way. I check my filter for shavings and if they ever do appear then i will change, but i do not plan to do any preventive swap, maybe if i had to replace a clutch someday but i have an auto. I guess also post any other info i may have left out... personally 1999 boxster 2.5 Tip 105k its had 0W-40 in it forever, plan on changing that next oil change.

BIGJake111,.

As requested.

I have a 1999 Boxster with the automatic transmission. I purchased it from a Lexus Dealer in the Houston area in September 2009 via a Ebay auction. At the time it had 104,000 miles.
I now have over 205,000 miles. It is a daily driver.
I do not think the IMS has ever been changed. I have had two Porsche water pumps fail.
I use Mobil 1 15W50 or Mobil 1 High Mileage 10W40 oil. I change my oil and filter every 10,000miles.

MNC-I

5 speed manual, 2.5l, engine was replaced at 37k after a blown engine. I'm nearly at 70k now, 5w40 oil, i purchased at 57k. I have not replaced the ims in this new engine. I am the new owner as of 57k. 1999 model

Pretty sure I am on the original IMSB. 2000 S, 6 spd manual trans.
I have only had the car 6 months/ 6k miles.
Car came from Raleigh and has had many owners, at least 6 PO's.
136k miles now.
Previous owner had 0W40 Liqui Moly (sp?). Still not sure if I want to keep with the Moly, maybe up it to 05W40.

1999 5 speed manual, 87k, Mobil 1 High Mileage 10w40, never any particles in filter and original dual row IMSB. ;)
(Full record of Mobil 1 10w40 since birth)

Jake,

'99 Boxster, 2.5 engine, 5-speed, 61,xxx miles, Mobile 0-40. I'll do the IMS when I do the clutch, whenever that day comes. I don't worry much about the IMS on an earlier car.

'00 Boxster, 2.7 engine, 5-speed, 81,xxx miles, Mobile 0-40. She's a street, autoX, DE car and semi-daily driver. She'll get a clutch later this spring and I'll have the IMS done at that time. Although I don't worry much about the IMS in a MY 2000 car, since I drive her hard, I'll do the IMS as preventive maintenance.

'01 Boxster S, 3.2 engine, 6-speed, 32,xxx miles, Mobile 0-40. She's a garage queen, and for that reason I had the IMS done as soon as I bought her. The bearing showed no wear, but better safe than sorry on a low-mileage '01 car.

'02 Boxster S, 3.2 engine, 6-speed, 72,xxx miles, Mobile 0-40. She'll get an IMS when she gets a new clutch - probably w/in the next year. She only gets a couple thousand mile/year since I bought her, and I want to be conservative w/ the IMS on a '02.

Rick

nice to see a good many boxes still on the first ims. I just drive the car as it should and dont sorry. So earlier cars are better, and does anyone think if man or auto would affect ims life.

See sig line.

10-40 wt, 135k miles. Original bearing.

'99, 5spd, Mobil 1, annual oil changes, 4,000 miles, owned since new, changed bearing last year, original looked like new.

Of course still on the original bearing here.

97 base, 55,000km, Tiptronic, Mobil1 0-40, changing both oil and filter every 2,500km

Unless Porsche themselves "officially" recall my vehicle for an IMS upgrade, the original will do just fine here.

Just some perspective:

In 2001, Porsche redesigned the IMS bearing, and in the process ended up creating the IMS failure issue. The pre-01 IMS bearings are about as likely to fail as in any other car (i.e. - not very likely). The IMS failure hype all started about 4-5 years ago when they started selling the IMS retrofit.

Prior to the IMS retrofit coming out, these forums where always talking about RMS failures, now it is always about IMS. And way back slipped sleeves. I think the IMS Guardian and Retrofit are good products for post-01 Boxsters. However, I do wish these products where more upfront with their customers about that fact that more than half the 986 model years really do not need to worry about IMS to begin with. (To be fair the IMS retrofit website says which years are affected, the IMS Guardian markets itself to everyone.)

It's all here:

http://986forum.com/forums/performance-technical-chat/18280-poll-ims-related-engine-failure-9.html

2000 BoxS, 167000 miles, original IMS. Purchased in 2006 w/ 60,000 miles. I'm the second owner. Oil changes every 5-7k w/ Castrol 5w-40 Syntec. Blackstone oil analysis shows nothing unusual. No IMS worries here.

1999 Carrera 4, 77,000 miles. Purchased May 2013 w/ 50,000 miles. Originally a Canadian car, I'm the 3rd owner. Oil changes every 5-7k w/ Castrol 5w-40 Syntec. Blackstone oil analysis shows nothing unusual. Trans is out right now for a clutch replacement, and I am replacing IMS and leaking RMS.

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1392029894.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads01...1392029929.jpg

This poll has over 40k views and less than six reported a failure.... whether true or not. This is more or less in range with the figure a senior Porsche exec would throw at you when asked lol

moving parts huh, fun fun

2002 Base 2.7 5spd Manual. 90,500 miles still on original IMS Will replace the IMS and RMS when ready for a new clutch. I change the oil every 7,500 with 10w-40 Royal Purple

1999 Base, 5 speed manual. 85,000 miles. The original motor was replaced in 2003 at 30,000 miles. Change the oil once a year with Mobil 1 0w-40. Clutch, updated RMS, and IMS flange replaced in 2010. I would have replaced the bearing in 2010 but I didn't know about failures.

6-manual, spec Mobil1 0-40. 67k miles. Filer clean last 3 oil changes I have owned car. I will contemplate Bearing when I have to do Clutch. Knock on wood, clutch is good so if I can stretch to 85k miles (about 2 years away and 3+ years of my ownership), then that would be a good time. I want to do it myself, clutch and bearing even though the new Raby Dual Row for Single row is very attractive

Spec race car: 130K miles. Mobil 1 10-40 high mileage. 80+ track days. More than 10,000 runs up to redline and more than 200 hours at rpm >5,000.

996: 130K miles. Mobil 1 10-40 high mileage.

With 130K miles and climbing, its hard to complain about anything that will ultimately fail in the engine.

01S, 6 speed manual, 112,000 miles, 5-40 Motul oil, original IMSB, RMS and clutch, will replace all three when clutch needs replacing.

1997 2.5, 114k, 39k on motor that's in the car now (put in the car by a dealer in 2004), Royal Purple 0W50 changed 2x a year, Swapped clutch at 90k with swapped tranny which had 40k on it (1st gear synchro was going out).

So, almost 40k on the present motor without any shavings in the oil filter at oil changes or stuck to the magnetic drain plug.

I take it to redline frequently at the track 2x a year and whenever I drive it on the street as well. I've heard this helps lubricate the IMS bearing and know it probably reduces the life of the motor, but I'm not worried.

Original IMS - 2004/Base/Tip, 76Kmiles, mobil1 0-40. Only owned 4months and one oil change, super clean filter. I will change every 5k or yearly, whatever comes first..........Cheers.

2000 2.7 the 64,000 miles with original IMS bearing. I will only replace when the clutch needs replacing or if signs of metal particles show up on oil changes. It has a Dec. 98 engine build date so it is almost assuredly a dual-row bearing. Oil changes every 4-5K miles with, originally Mobli1 0W40and most recently Castrol Edge SPT 5W40. I have a magnetic drain plug and I cut filters open after each change for inspection - no signs of problems to date.

Brad

The failure rate is anywhere from 1% to 8% according to the class action lawsuit against Porsche, which presumably was based on actual evidence from Porsche. And, if it's a good car, it darned well ought to have the original IMS (name any other make whose owners have to go into the heart of the engine and make changes as a preventive measure). Okay granted that some people are nervous nellies who make needless changes, but regardless, with the question you are asking, presumably you'll only get responses from people who have the original IMS and therefore your response rate ought to be 100%. I just don't get what that proves. At best it would be anecdotal evidence. Just going for a warm fuzzy feeling?

just testing the waters to see how many replace their bearings, i dont feel that i would care to replace mine unless i saw the shavings in my oil... thanks for the replys.

123,000 miles. Original IMS bearing. 1997 2.5.

Warm it up fairly carefully, then rev the snot out of it. Change the oil circa 5-7k usually.

My view is dual-row are best left. If I had single row, it would be a tricky choice.

2001, base, stick, 80000mi. same ims from factory

2008 Boxster S LE, 36K mi, 6sp, Castrol 5w-40, changed every 5K mi or once a yr (last 3 yrs has been latter)

2008 Cayman S Sport, 17K mi, 6sp, Castrol 5w-40, changed every 5-6K mi.

I sleep well at night when it comes to IMSB. I do have some concern about DEs with my Cayman and oiling issues, AOS failures, and PS over heating.

Jake, you have 2 things going for you - your Boxster's yr and trans. For whatever reason, conventional wisdom is Tips have fewer ISM failures than manual trans. Your year Boxster has the more solid IMSB. The change in 01 is when the problems really started happening.

2000S, 6-speed, 98K miles, Mobil1 0w-40 every 5K. Driven hard, autocrossed. Original IMS & RMS. Dry. If I ever put a clutch in then will decide then :)

This is my philosophy now. Lots of relatively gentle trips up into the higher RPM. Mine's a garage queen. Original IMS. 57K. 2002 BS. Had her for 6 months and put about 450 miles on her so far.

99 base with 155k miles.
Clutch just went out, so the car is going on the lift next week.
Going to inspect the bearing. If no play it stays.
The engine is leaking oil from every posibl location, so new RMS, new sales for the IMS cover, including incapsulated bolts for case.
If the bearing is bad, I will probably go with the cheapest duel raw bearing I can find.
My previos car got he LN bearing at 75K miles. Old bearing came out in perfect condition.

2001 base 2.7 manual 85000. Castrol syntec 10w40 per JFP's recommendation once a year. Have owned 18 months. New water pump, low temp thermostat, and AOS but original IMS as far as I know. If single row is found when clutch is needed, will update. Not likely will I mess with a dual row.

2001 2.7 stick. 68k miles. Original IMS and no RMS leaks. Fed on Mobil 1 and Castrol every 12-15k miles.

2001 S ~70K on original IMS (Dual row bearing IMS I think) and RMS,

Bone dry, no leaks or seeping. Gets the Standard Oil change interval.

I drive it hard frequently and bump redline now and then.

1997 Boxster, 5 speed, Mobil synthetic (I can't remember off the top of my head what weight I put in with the last oil change. Probably means, it's due for one), 92k

You want to see the some stats? Ask any Boxster owner who is NOT a member of a Porshe forum. Spoken to a few and there response......whats a IMS?

Thats what they say until they pull to a stop and their engine stalls with no apparent reason. Then they start it back and it sounds like ten thousand marbles in a can, moves 100 yards and dies for good.

Those are the ones that call us and can't believe that their perfectly maintained Porsche had an engine failure. It was just running perfectly 30 seconds before.

The informed generally don't have the issues.

That's right, folks. I wouldn't ask a real estate agent if he thinks I ought to buy a new house, nor ask a car salesman if he thinks I need a new car.

2001 Boxster base 46k miles. 3rd owner and I am sure it is original IMS. No issues with metal in filter. Change oil every 5k miles. Got IMS Guardian. I used to worry about it and now don't. I am in my 3rd year of ownership. If it blows up then I will face the music then decide what to do . $4k here for clutch, rms, ims is too much to spend on a second hand car.
Guy

58,000ish miles. Original (family) owner. Change the oil every 9-10,000 miles with Mobil-1. I check the filter every time and haven't seen a speck.

99 with 5-speed manual trans
133000 km
Castrol 5W40, changed every 5000 km
driven hard, redlined frequently

Might change it when the clutch needs changing, might not. Don't really want to have a perfectly good IMSB sitting on the shelf next t to that perfectly good water pump I changed. I guess it will depend on the mileage when I change the clutch and RMS and what I see when I go in there. Currently the car does not use or leak any oil.