IMS tell tale

[algiorda]

Originally Posted by That986

That poll shows 6 failures, i've not a clue how many members are in this forum but that doesn't equal 10% unless there's only 60 members.

So really it does still come back to hearsay which is why Porsche more than likely stopped talking about it.

My thoughts: stop hyping this up beyond what it really is (a small percentage of failures), offer the solutions and let people take their choice because the lack of real stats and figures says everything. To base a decision on whether to buy a car based on whether the IMS bearing has been changed or not to me is crazy as it might be the most cared for car you've just passed on. And how do we know that these "upgrades" really are that? On one thread i saw a choice of replacement bearings with one having a lifetime of 50000 miles, why is there a choice when really you just want one bulletproof solution? That just sounds like marketing to me and how do they know it lasts 50000 miles, has it been tested to that and then exploded?
Give people the stats and let them make their mind up, let's get past the paranoia.

It's basic statistics; the respondents (universe) totaled 60 and there were 6 failures. That is 10%. To be more accurate, you would need EVERONE on this board to respond to the poll. Or better yet, Every Porsche 986 owner to respond. That would get an accurate accounting.

Perhaps we should spin up a website for all 986 owners to register their VIN, answer YES or NO as IMS failure, IMS Replacement, or No action. Then we would have a true accounting.

But to turn a blind eye on this problem and do nothing is inadvisable. When I had my IMS pulled, it had play in it. It didn't fail, but it was trending failure.

[That986]

Originally Posted by algiorda

It's basic statistics; the respondents (universe) totaled 60 and there were 6 failures. That is 10%. To be more accurate, you would need EVERONE on this board to respond to the poll. Or better yet, Every Porsche 986 owner to respond. That would get an accurate accounting.

Perhaps we should spin up a website for all 986 owners to register their VIN, answer YES or NO as IMS failure, IMS Replacement, or No action. Then we would have a true accounting.

But to turn a blind eye on this problem and do nothing is inadvisable. When I had my IMS pulled, it had play in it. It didn't fail, but it was trending failure.

I think you should do exactly that, then at least we would get a true picture and not some half-baked stats we seem to have now.

Nobody is turning a blind eye but what I am saying is give people the FACTS and not hearsay and let people make the choice. As you said your bearing had play in it when it was pulled but hadn't actually failed. Last time I looked most bearings have an amount of play in them and if they didn't they wouldn't be a bearing, but i can bet when it was situated in your engine it wouldn't have had as much play as when it was in the mechanics hand. It's a bit like a headset bearing for a BMX, on their own outside the bike they're pretty poor but once installed and tightened to spec they can take forces that you can't comprehend and do it time after time.

I still think (and you don't have to agree) that there is a lot of hype and scaremongering going on over what is in reality a very small percentage of failures. Look after your car, change the oil regular and check the filter for any signs of metal but most of all get out there and drive it.

I know one thing for sure and that is if someone dropped on here looking for a car and info on it they would run away scared after reading half the threads on here thinking they would be buying a hand grenade unless they spent a huge chunk of money on something that just might not need doing. The IMS thing is well documented, it doesn't need to be mentioned on every thread.