LN Engineering IMS KIt

[Jake Raby]

Too many shops are treating the IMS Retrofit like a brake job, therefore retrofitting every engine that comes in the door.

I interfaced with over 600 technicians in the classes that I instruct last year alone. When I begin my IMS section of that class I ask for a showing of hands of those who carry out inspections to grade engine health prior to beginning an IMSR procedure.

All year I had 5 people raise their hands. The common complaint was "We aren't getting paid to do that, or to pull the sump plate, so why should we be doing it?"

My response was "To cover your ass, and to ensure that the customer isn't wasting his money on an engine that has another issue".

Its not about how many IMS jobs any shop has done, we've done more than anyone in the world, including the first one. We treat every one like its the first one, follow the same protocol, gather the same information and do the same testing. With numbers come a false sense of accomplishment thats a lot like riding a motorcycle for years. Once you think you have mastered it, it will show you who the boss is. Your scars can remind you later.

Experience is both good and bad.

[Perfectlap]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Its not about how many IMS jobs any shop has done, we've done more than anyone in the world, including the first one. We treat every one like its the first one, follow the same protocol, gather the same information and do the same testing. With numbers come a false sense of accomplishment thats a lot like riding a motorcycle for years. Once you think you have mastered it, it will show you who the boss is. Your scars can remind you later.

Experience is both good and bad.

This is true, but as an owner I'm not going to pass up the shop that's done many more retrofits over the one that's done very few. The Porsche community, around these parts at least, is not a big one. These shops rely heavily on reputation for intergrity and competency to continue bringing in work. In the internet age, if you botch even one of these, word spreads very quickly. And folks are especially sensitive on hearing negative feedback about a shop when it comes to this topic. If a shop has tackled many of these jobs for several years now without nary a complaint on any of the of the various Porsche forums then as an owner that goes in the plus column. To me that speaks well not of the just the one mechanic who may have done the job but of the shop as a whole.