ims guardian question

[rosenfe]

im looking for another box and thinking of having guardian installed rather than automatically changing out ims.what are your experiences with guardian?has it gone off on you,has it prevented damage?

[thom4782]

I don't have any experience with the Guardian, but I would like to add a second question to the thread.

If the Guardian goes off, does this mean that one must clean / rebuild the engine to remove any metal flakes even though the Guardian has prevented serious engine damage?

I'm asking because if the engine must be torn down and cleaned, why not just install an upgraded IMS bearing and be done with it.

[rosenfe]

in speaking with a local porsche mechanic ,he said they were able to flush a engine after finding debris in filter.car is still running today.this is why i posed the question to get others view on having guardian go off.i respect jake raby and believe he wouldnt have created this product if it wasnt useful,ts a lot cheaper than just changing out ims rather than waiting till clutch goes and do it then.

[recycledsixtie]

I have had the ims guardian installed for about 2.5 years now. It has never sounded/lit yet. It gives me a peace of mind. Installing ims replacement would have been a lot more. I check oil filter regularly, drive the car in winter and no problems.

I will likely replace the water pump before replacing ims. My 2001 base Box has 43k miles. Hope this helps.
Guy

[Perfectlap]

How many miles are on your IMS? Do you know the full service history of the car?
I'm no expert but I see the Guardian as hold me over device until you do address the car because either the mileage is low, it's the less problematic dual row IMS bearing or the owner needs more time to gather funds.
A serviceable bearing needs to be replaced at a regular interval.

[san rensho]

According to Raby, if there is any metal in the oil (FOD), it doesn't qualify for an IMSB replacement, the entire motor has to be taken apart and rebuilt. The Guardian just saves your motor from grenading.

So it looks like the Guardian just an alarm that says, you need to spend thousands on a new motor.

More insidiously, there are reports of people getting a Guardian alarm and then just removing the Guardian and selling the car to an unsuspecting buyer.

[rosenfe]

wonder why raby even sells the thing if he says that as soon as metal shows up motor is toast.

[BIGJake111]

Originally Posted by rosenfe

wonder why raby even sells the thing if he says that as soon as metal shows up motor is toast.

The hope is that it doesn't show up. The guardian is for those that have no plans of replacing ims unless they absolutely have to. The hope is you buy it and drive with peace of mind.

[Jake Raby]

Originally Posted by rosenfe

wonder why raby even sells the thing if he says that as soon as metal shows up motor is toast.

We don't sell them.. I did develop it, though.

That said, the device is valuable in the fact that it gives a symptom to an otherwise symptomless condition. Thats all it does, and it does it well.

The camp that sees the biggest benefit from the Guardian is the lesser valued cars that people have a hard time justifying costs of a retrofit. The other campy hat uses the Guardian are the 06-08 owners.

We are now employing the system in 09 and later engines to warn against timing chain failures.

Keep in mind that core engines are not cheap and are hard to find, if nothing else the Guardian saves the core of the engine, and can even save the IMS assembly, which saves 1,100.00 in replacement costs if a bearing does fail. When the IMSB fails, its takes the shaft (and lots of other things) out with it.

If the IMSG alarm sounds and an engine is saved, it may have debris that can be removed after a repair (or IMSR) with extensive cleaning and flush oil services. Things like a spin on filter adaptor (no bypass), filter mag, magnetic crain plug and etc with sump cleaning and short service intervals can save an engine.

More insidiously, there are reports of people getting a Guardian alarm and then just removing the Guardian and selling the car to an unsuspecting buyer.

Yes, and I HATE this.. People are employing the system and using it for a trade in alarm. I recently busted a Rennlist member selling his car on Ebay, and then a few weeks later he sold his IMSG system (used) on Ebay, and oddly enough 2 months later the person who bought his car ended up on my failure call log. I busted him dead in his tracks with his own photos and his invoice for the system and ebay ads.

Its a cruel world out here, fellas... The owner of this car just bought it 4 days before it failed. It just came in yesterday, if anyone wants to attend the open house tomorrow evening for the Cayman Invasion they can see it first hand. Someone knew this was happening when they sold the car, but there was no Guardian installed.