Metal Shavings Behind LN IMS Bearing - Need Advice!

[Steve Tinker]

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]

Post pics of the opposite side of the bearing.

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

The IMS shaft is 4 pieces that are lightly press fit together. The drive can separate from the driven components and when this occurs the precursor is wear debris like this. There's no way for this to get out of the shaft, until the shaft separates, or the bearing is pulled.

Or a hack installed the bearing and left debris from a previously failing bearing in the tube/ engine.

Short of tearing the engine down, is there a way to confirm this is the problem?

[Heiko]

I don't understand why anyone would trust a $20 bearing for this application!!!
If its a cheap iron bearing, these can definitely show signs of magnetic wear like this... but what kind of shop would do that??? Some shops really need to keep their fingers out of engines - Scary!

5204 JAF NEW Double ROW Ball Bearing | eBay

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by Benjamin

Short of tearing the engine down, is there a way to confirm this is the problem?

No.. Even torn down you must measure for drive runout to find this issue.

[Benjamin]

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

No.. Even torn down you must measure for drive runout to find this issue.

So, what do you suggest?

[thom4782]

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]

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

[Trey T]

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

[JFP in PA]

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

[Jake Raby]

Post a pic of the housing bore of the IMS that this bearing was fitted to, please.

[jmatta]

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.

[Benjamin]

Originally Posted by Jake Raby

Post a pic of the housing bore of the IMS that this bearing was fitted to, please.

I hope these help. If not, let me know and I'll take more.

[Jamesp]

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]

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.

[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).

[DennisAN]

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?

[JFP in PA]

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.

[Burg Boxster]

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