Metal Shavings Behind LN IMS Bearing - Need Advice! - Page 2 - 986 Forum - The Community for Porsche Boxster & Cayman Owners

Jager · 04-09-2014, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benjamin

It's not a roller bearing, I can see the balls in it. It also doesn't say SPF. It looks like JAF, Japan, and 5204 Here it is with the debris wiped away:

When did LNE outsource to Japan?

Benjamin · 04-09-2014, 04:42 PM

If I'm reading the numbers correctly, it would be this:

Amazon.com: 5204 Nachi (JAF) Angular Contact Bearing 20x47x20.6 Japan Bearings: Industrial & Scientific

Definitely NOT an LN bearing.

DennisAN · 04-09-2014, 04:47 PM

Link to get JAF full line catalog here.

JAF Bearings Catalog | AST Bearings

DennisAN · 04-09-2014, 05:06 PM

I know JPF doesn't like the Dempsey "set screw" method of locking down the IMS sprocket. IIUC he thinks the sprocket can be pushed loose from the shaft, as it's a press fit.

thom4782 · 04-09-2014, 08:32 PM

It looks like others are right - your bearing doesn't seem to have the markings of a genuine LN one. Not that knowing this helps you. See the two pictures at the top of the following page: Is it Genuine?

Porsche9 · 04-09-2014, 09:56 PM

You got one of these? Mine is in the drivers side door jam.

Steve Tinker · 04-09-2014, 05:14 PM

Beaten to it by above posts by Jake & Dennis...

Benjamin.... What bloody awful luck, its everyones nightmare what you have just discovered.
That certainly looks like a standard quality, off the shelf 5204 bearing - not a ceramic hybrid bearing. It will be interesting in what Jake Raby has to say regarding the cause of assembly chatter

I think the minimum you are going to have to do is:
A) remove the bearing seals (are there 2 seals?) and determine how much wear there is on the bearing races and balls.

B) Get a strong magnet deep into the IMS tube to get any more debris out - papar towels won't remove all.

C) Do you have a magnetic sump plug? Even if you do, it would be wise to remove your sump plate and determine if there is any more debris laying in the bottom of the sump.

You MAY be lucky that the bearing seals have kept the metal shavings on the inside of the IMS tube, but I think you may have debris already in the system.
Best of luck - keep us all posted on the outcome of your problem.....

Jake Raby · 04-09-2014, 05:17 PM

Post pics of the opposite side of the bearing.

Benjamin · 04-09-2014, 05:45 PM

JFP in PA · 04-10-2014, 02:53 AM

That does not look like an LN bearing................

Trey T · 04-09-2014, 10:04 PM

One reason to stick with OEM bearing! Am I the only OEM imsb advocate on this forum?

jmatta · 04-10-2014, 04:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trey T

One reason to stick with OEM bearing! Am I the only OEM imsb advocate on this forum?

Yes, you answered your own question.

Jamesp · 04-10-2014, 08:24 AM

Because the IMS is a sealed assembly here should not be any communication between the engine oil and the inside of the IMS. That means the inside of the shaft should be dry, the fact that they are frequently full of oil is just a symptom that there is another problem. Oil can be forced through the bearing seals washing out the grease of the OEM bearing which greatly limits life. I suppose if the press fits are failing oil could enter there as well. The fact that the chips are on the inside of the shaft behind the bearing seal makes one think they may have been generated inside the pressed on shaft. There have been threads with borescope type cameras on this thread recently. You need one of those. Clean out the inside of the IMS tube and look at the interface between the pressed pieces and the tube assembly. A magnet is not effective in pulling chips off a ferrous surface. I'd go in with solvent and a cloth (not paper towel) followed up with a dry microfiber cloth to trap the fines. As the particles are in the tube, it is likely you will see damage where the parts meet inside the tube if you use a borescope camera. That beats splitting your engine case by a mile. Sorry to see you're having this trouble.

Benjamin · 04-10-2014, 08:28 AM

This is what led me to believe I had an LN bearing installed. From June of 2010:

If you look that part number up, it's the LN bearing kit.

Burg Boxster · 04-10-2014, 10:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Benjamin

This is what led me to believe I had an LN bearing installed. From June of 2010:

If you look that part number up, it's the LN bearing kit.

Hmmm... have you called shop to inquire if they put a LN in the car? I would.

If shop claims it to be LN and it ends up not (as signs indicate now)... I sure hope you show the entire receipt naming the shop to protect others...

Good luck

Trey T · 04-10-2014, 08:57 AM

It seems like everybody on this board, except for Jake Rabey, believes that all LN bearings are non-sealed and their branding stamped on the outer race. Hopefully Jake Rabey will chime regard to which bearing brand was used (OEM, LN, or others).

JFP in PA · 04-10-2014, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trey T

It seems like everybody on this board, except for Jake Rabey, believes that all LN bearings are non-sealed and their branding stamped on the outer race. Hopefully Jake Rabey will chime regard to which bearing brand was used (OEM, LN, or others).

LN bearings are not sealed on the center bolt side, and have specific markings that identify them as the real thing.

DennisAN · 04-10-2014, 09:47 AM

IIUC the OEM IMS bearing for Porsche is from NSK (Nippon Seikō Kabushiki-kaisha).

Hmm...customer supplied clutch and RMS, 6.5 pints of generic 75W-90 gear oil for $24.38 which from price alone isn't the Porsche fancy gear lube. No line for motor oil - did the shop just reuse the old oil drained out?

Perfectlap · 04-10-2014, 10:19 AM

$679 and the PO gets a $20 fugazy?

Hmmm me thinks that shop pulled a fast one thinking no one would check.

Please post the name of the shop

Someone was clever enough not to write LNE in the part description. That way it couldn't be refuted from LN's records,
the bearing would need to be pulled to call bs on the shop's claim that the bearings were at least ceramic. Deniability!

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Benjamin · 04-10-2014, 11:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Perfectlap

$679 and the PO gets a $20 fugazy?

Hmmm me thinks that shop pulled a fast one thinking no one would check.

Please post the name of the shop

Someone was clever enough not to write LNE in the part description. That way it couldn't be refuted from LN's records,
the bearing would need to be pulled to call bs on the shop's claim that the bearings were at least ceramic. Deniability!

They did write the part number, and if you google that number it appears to be the LN kit.

I purposely didn't include the name of the shop for a few reasons. As stated earlier in a quote from Buck Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove, "I'd like to wait until all the facts are in". I hastily put "LN" in the title of this thread, only to find out that it very well appears to be a knockoff cheapo bearing. Not very fair to the LN folks. I have a receipt from 4 years ago that says one was put in. I don't know if it has since been changed, or if in fact the shop put one over on the PO. If I had owned the car then and could know 100%.

I'm still mulling it over.... Right now I'm more concerned with what I need to do in order to clean everything out and getting it back on the road. I can't change the past, only deal with it.

"Gentlemen! There's no fighting in here, this is the war room!" - President Merkin Muffley, Dr. Strangelove