IMS Failure

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by Porsche man

Hi all, I expect we are all getting very tired of this subject, but I have recently purchase a 2000 Boxster S in great condition with 80k on the clock. The car has regularly been serviced and the previously owner had a new clutch installed recently by a Porsche dealer. Unfortunately the dealer did not address the IMS situation and is unable to tell me now if the IMS bearing was a single or a double.
I have read that 2000 Boxsters up to engine number 11237 have most likely have had a double IMS bearing installed.
I have also read that vehicles with double IMS bearings have only a 1 percent failure rate against those with the single bearing having a rate of approximately 8 percent
My engine number is M96 / 2167Y05233
How reliable is the information regarding the pre 11237 motors ?
It seems amazing to me that a renown company such as Porsche has no factual records of what motors have what components installed.
Hope someone can help
Cheers
Chas

On the 2000 and 2001 cars, the only known way to correctly tell which bearing is in the car is to take it apart and look. All of the VIN number and build date lists have proven time and again to be useless.

[pjv]

Porsche Man, I think the advice given by JFP is the best you will get. I also think that even if you knew which bearing was in your car, you would still be wondering what was going to happen around the next corner, so best to get it inspected and maybe replace it while the gearbox is out. I had exactly the same concerns about my wife's reaction to a major engine rebuild as you have, and in the end she was surprisingly easy to convince that going the whole hog and installing the IMS Solution was the way to go (my car is 04 model).