IMS Bearing -- Be careful when specifying a replacement

[Oldcarguy]

Originally Posted by Cbonilla

. . . On a related question, in a conversation with LN I learned that I should have had a sticker applied attesting to the install having been performed. It's nowhere on my car. What should I ask of my installer? Would you view this as a concern?. . .

My LN sticker is on the drivers door. LN sends a sticker set to the installer along with the IMSB. One of the stickers is returned to LN with the install info and the other is placed on the car.

Prior to purchase, I confirmed with LN that my PO had a LN single row classic installed on my 2004 986 in 2016 per the LN serial number on my door sticker (I also have the shop invoice - $799 for the classic IMSB). Many shops that don't want to spend the money for the faultless tool opt to install the LN ceramic single row. I'm perfectly comfortable with the fact that I have the classic single row. If I decide to keep the 986 for the long term, I'll probably have 'the solution' installed at the next clutch change, but I'm not worried about the longevity of the classic single row in the least. I knew of the LN 'pro' and 'classic' offerings due to my research prior to purchase. The only reason I will go with the 'solution' the next time around (if I still have the car in 4 years) is because it is a 550 Anniversary Edition in excellent condition.

I would definitely demand proof of install and the LN serial number from your installer. It's SOP to supply this info to the client after the install and IMHO it is suspect that your car does not have the sticker w/serial number.

Your situation appears to stem from a lack of information / feedback / guidance provided to you by your installer rather than any misdirection by LN. LN is very clear in their literature regarding the Classic vs Pro (or at least they were when I did my research in Jan 2017).

[njbray]

I have the LN sticker on the edge of my drivers door (similar to 78F350's photo) and also there should be a sticker on the shop/installers invoice. It seems very strange if you do not have them - LN make this a very important part of the IMS replacement process.

[Cbonilla]

Originally Posted by njbray

I have the LN sticker on the edge of my drivers door (similar to 78F350's photo) and also there should be a sticker on the shop/installers invoice. It seems very strange if you do not have them - LN make this a very important part of the IMS replacement process.

That will be part of my discussion with the shop today

[paulofto]

Originally Posted by njbray

I have the LN sticker on the edge of my drivers door (similar to 78F350's photo) and also there should be a sticker on the shop/installers invoice. It seems very strange if you do not have them - LN make this a very important part of the IMS replacement process.

+1 My sticker is on the inside of the rear trunk lid and one on the actual shop invoice.

[Cbonilla]

Originally Posted by Oldcarguy

Your situation appears to stem from a lack of information / feedback / guidance provided to you by your installer rather than any misdirection by LN. LN is very clear in their literature regarding the Classic vs Pro (or at least they were when I did my research in Jan 2017).

I'm not disputing that LN was very clear in their instructions to the installer regarding the IMS bearings. But I still disagree with LN holding themselves out as the brand name to ask for while not making it clear to the ultimate consumer that simply asking for an LN bearing was not necessarily going to get them the advertised product.

[Oldcarguy]

Originally Posted by Cbonilla

I'm not disputing that LN was very clear in their instructions to the installer regarding the IMS bearings. But I still disagree with LN holding themselves out as the brand name to ask for while not making it clear to the ultimate consumer that simply asking for an LN bearing was not necessarily going to get them the advertised product.

Hi Carlos, I understand your frustration. Out of curiosity I just checked the LN website and current product PDF. While the LN product page and PDF no longer have a picture of the classic IMSB or show it in the products for sale as they did in January 2017, it is still listed on both their website and in the PDF - "Also available (not shown) Classic Single Row IMS and 06-08 IMS upgrade".

Good luck with your discussion with the shop that did the install, I hope they can at least assure you have a real LN bearing and that it can still be registered with LN.

[cnavarro]

Originally Posted by Oldcarguy

Hi Carlos, I understand your frustration. Out of curiosity I just checked the LN website and current product PDF. While the LN product page and PDF no longer have a picture of the classic IMSB or show it in the products for sale as they did in January 2017, it is still listed on both their website and in the PDF - "Also available (not shown) Classic Single Row IMS and 06-08 IMS upgrade".

Good luck with your discussion with the shop that did the install, I hope they can at least assure you have a real LN bearing and that it can still be registered with LN.

Spot on. All our buying guides and brochures still list the part since it's still available. We push updates to our site and from time to time, a part gets deactivated if there is no stock. Probably what happened with the classic Single Row. People then try to buy it when we don't actually have it.

We do not stock the classic Single Row IMS Retrofit on our shelves at LN. They are special order for the wholesale accounts only (SSF, IMC) who sell them to shops. They have to order them in large quantities and wait 10-12 weeks for them. As such, the retail price point and cost to the shops for the classic single row is actually much higher than the Single Row Pro for the reason the wholesalers have greater carrying costs and we make them in lower volumes.

In all fairness to LN, we ran many promotions over the years to shops to help subsidize tooling cost and even then, the profit they make on one job will cover the cost of the tool and then some in its first use. You can only lead a horse to water.

All we can do is try our best to educate everyone, but even then, we still have shops not qualifying jobs and putting bearings into engines that need to be torn down. Then it's our fault when they need a new engine.

[CBRacerX]

Originally Posted by cnavarro

Spot on. All our buying guides and brochures still list the part since it's still available. We push updates to our site and from time to time, a part gets deactivated if there is no stock. Probably what happened with the classic Single Row. People then try to buy it when we don't actually have it.

We do not stock the classic Single Row IMS Retrofit on our shelves at LN. They are special order for the wholesale accounts only (SSF, IMC) who sell them to shops. They have to order them in large quantities and wait 10-12 weeks for them. As such, the retail price point and cost to the shops for the classic single row is actually much higher than the Single Row Pro for the reason the wholesalers have greater carrying costs and we make them in lower volumes.

In all fairness to LN, we ran many promotions over the years to shops to help subsidize tooling cost and even then, the profit they make on one job will cover the cost of the tool and then some in its first use. You can only lead a horse to water.

All we can do is try our best to educate everyone, but even then, we still have shops not qualifying jobs and putting bearings into engines that need to be torn down. Then it's our fault when they need a new engine.

Thanks Charles - previous customer here - I have a 2001 986S that is going on the lift later this week and will need an IMS update. I'll be calling to discuss the options once I have the existing bearing type identified. As part of my due diligence, I read thru the information on your site and the companion site IMS 101 – IMS Retrofit -
I found just about everything I needed therein.

The one thing I would like to find, and I'm going to have to start looking, is somewhere to rent the faultless install tool

Keep up the good work!