IMS Changed
 

I changed mine at 65,000 kms (40,000 miles). Tiptronic so no clutch change to do IMS. Original bearing single row, full of oil but no grease. When cleaned very loose and outer race surface starting to fail (chatter marks, see pic). But SINGLE ROW.
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1500812660.jpg

97 tip 132k blew engine intermix Original ims, swapped used engine again original ims no issue

04 se 78k original ims and no intention of replacing it unless clutch goes first

'99, 118k, not terribly worried. If I had a single row bearing I'd probably do it though.

Sample quantity one anecdotes are interesting but meaningless.

I'm guessing around 30k bearings changed considering all suppliers and all bearing types.

I will just add this, all bearings need to be replaced at some interval, even dual row. There is no such thing as a lifetime bearing doing the heavy lifting of this particular application.

01 S, Rain Forest Green Metallic - 74K miles, 3500 mile trip coming up. All Clutch components will be replaced prior to trip. Regular yearly oil changes using DT-40. Oil Analysis and filter element examinations been great. Nothing to indicate anything breaking down. I am second owner and have no documentation that the IMSB was replaced.

'97 with 77K miles, only 8K miles under my ownership over 15 months. No documented IMSB or clutch work done, no RMS leak. Engine runs smooth and feels strong, so no worries, just biannual oil change and keeping the rev above 3,000 rpm 90% of time and often over 5,000 rpm at every gear shift to keep the bearing lubed and me smiling. if it blows up, I'll have a joy of debating to keep it stock or upgrade to 3.4. I like the way I can floor my 2.5 often without risking me or anybody getting into trouble.

13 years and 58,000 miles on original clutch and IMSB. RMS weeps. Don't worry either but will replace both when clutch goes.

'98 base with original IMS, RMS, and clutch 77,800 miles. Blackstone oil sample check done last oil change showed much lower than average metal in oil. No leaks.

Brave souls. If it does fail and trashes the engine it will be hard to find a replacement. From what I have heard, someone or probably several someones, has been buying up every available engine. porsche no longer offers a core allowance either. For a relatively cheap maintenance item, I just don't understand the thought process and I had three with no failures prior to replacing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

i have 206 000 km original IMS

Sixty K on the original IMS.

02 base, 88k miles and owned since new. 40+ track days, no IMS

Nothing brave about it. Take care of your car and it will take care of you. Regular oil changes and proper maintenance will keep it singing for years, or you can treat it like a Hyundai beater and watch it fail. My car has 103000 miles on it and done 10000 this year, it gets driven hard and gears don't get changed most of the time until after 4000 rpm. I use it like Porsche intended it to be used and love doing so, i believe that if you get out and actually drive a car it does it the world of good as things stay lubricated and spinning. As Magnus says "get out and drive" and i reckon that the happiest cars are getting exactly that.

As for the scaremongering that seems to happen on this forum about this subject it really needs to calm down as people are more than informed about their choices on this and don't need it ramming down their throat in an almost religious zealot fashion.

The comments below may only apply to an M96 with exactly the same IMS-related tolerances as the hyundai beater cited.Your engine may be different - better or worse.That is the essence of the M96 IMS issue - multiple mechanical variations leading to unpredictable failure. Postmortems can give an explanation of some of the proximate causes of failure.Driving style is cited but only in a few of the contributory factors(e.g. acidity in lubricant).
The IMS research findings on this Forum are that M96 engines vary in critical dimensions and tolerances. The more adverse tolerances your engine has, the sooner the bearing will fail.
Chest-beating comments like 'drive it like you stole it' do not frighten out-of-round IMS tube measurements into obedient concentricity.
The recommendation below may hasten IMSB failure(and other weak components) but according to the recommendation below .the car will die happy. We may be muddling Mechanical Engineering and collective Forum wisdom with Anthropology ?
First, do no harm.
Second, find a competent,honest Indie.
It is all in Search.
Yemv

Blah, blah, blah, about what I expected. I was wondering when the united ims replacement front would show up.

Can we actually get back to the thread in hand and pass on the "omg you better replace it now" comments?

'01S 43K miles. Replaced single row IMS with LN Single Row Pro @ 40K when replacing the leaky RMS. The IMS was sealed and original, full of dirty engine oil and no grease. Peace of mind is wonderful.

If you have a technical comment to add to the collective wisdom at Rennlist or this Forum -we're all eyeballs.Did you understand Mike's comment?
Replacing the IMSB proactively may be futile - see below.
One unique example - I personally did a complete rebuild on an M96 that had had the original (85kmiles) 'still serviceable' single row IMSB.The P.O. replaced it but failed to address a more serious issue. The upgrade hybrid ceramic replacement was irrelevant to the outcome. FOM damaged #5 within less than 500 miles of the replacement IMSB being fitted..So the engine is on it's 3rd IMSB even though no part of the IMS system was ever shown to be defective.
Sometimes the cure is worse than....
Very difficult to make a useful generalization on the IMS problem other than the tolerance issues.Unless you can correlate the symptoms,diagnosis and outcomes you encourage people to gamble.Mileage is but one factor, driving style another but if you read Rennlist and this Forum carefully ,it is obvious there are many other issues.It is not random.And IMSB failure may not be the caused by the bearing .
First, do no harm.Particularly to others.

I've nothing technical to add because there are a lot more people out there putting their spin on what needs doing and when without conclusive reason as to why.

I do know this much, it gets real boring when every other thread on here turns into another ims thread.

Boring???? At this point this topic from this forum has reduced any 986 that has not had an IMSB replaced just about worthless and next to impossible to sell. Next fun topic, How about, how many have replaced your IMSB only to have your car totaled from a thunderstorm?

Now that sounds like fun!!!

Can we then have a who totalled their Boxster while making out and driving at the same time thread?

2003 S with original IMS at 67k miles

I just bought mine 03 Boxster 5 spd has little over 71k miles 3 months ago. No service history. Clutch is still solid. No indication IMS bearing was replaced. I do feel uneasy but I will wait till needs clutch to do the IMS bearing. I do rev. up the rpm to 4000 plus when driving car most of the time fear that will lube the INS bearing.

Did mine at 50k. 2000 S, #113 double which was in good shape.

So you replaced it then....... :rolleyes:

Responses Need Statistical Analysis
 

Unless someone tabulates responses into a statistical analysis of failure incidence, no conclusions can be drawn.
My 2000 not-S seems fine. I doubt if former owner(s) replaced IMS bearing. Clutch is smooth at 104,000 miles, the last 1,000 by me often at 7,000 rpm wishing for another 1,000 rpm in second gear on Palomar Mountain.
I am so pleased with my car. It deserves top tires which I installed (Yokohama Nuevo AD08R).

I have had mine for the past eight years, MY 02 original bearing, currently at 94K and counting. I vote for a who has had sex in car, more interesting.

2001 Base, 45k miles, still going strong on original clutch and IMS. I change my own oil and cut filter apart every oil change, never any nasty shiny things. Maybe when I get a new clutch, no plan as of yet, I will consider a new IMS but not sold on that either.

1997 with 78K miles, bought last spring with no documented IMSB or clutch job, RMS is bone dry. Put almost 10K miles with no fear about IMSB, just keep the oil fresh and wind up the motor often to get things lubed up!

I have a 99 Tip have had it 4 years 84k have not changed the IMS.

1999 Boxster - 89K no IMS
 

Just bought this last year, from an owner who had for 7+ years. IMS was never changed oil changes do not show any flaking you'd see on a bearing breaking down.

Ims
 

2002 Boxster S, 96,600. I have had the car over 6 years now. As far as I know it has the original IMS, RMS, clutch, flywheel and water pump. It doesn't drop any oil or use any. I have put about a pint of water in the tank since I bought the car.

old 01s had oem bearing when sold at 90k
old 99 996 had oem bearing till 172k when hail totalled
current 03 has oem bearing at 53k currently

i think it's a hit or miss...i've been lucky i guess
paying 2-3k for an aftermarket bearing is a waste of money for me. I'd rather put that money into mods.
If it goes i'll deal with it then. Everyones priority is different.....

Just changed mine out just over 100,000 km the original bearing was fine

http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1504661129.jpg
http://986forum.com/forums/uploads02...1504661144.jpg

Mine looked pretty much the same when I changed it out in the spring of 2016. In fact if I am reading it correctly it is the exact same bearing out of my 03 S

I am currently in the market for a '97-'01 986 and won't even consider a car if the IMS has not been replaced. Definitely less cars to choose from, but this way I don't have the expense or the worry if a PO has it already taken care of.

Call me crazy, but not willing to take the 1%-8% chance on an original IMS car. I have spoken with 3 sellers already with new IMS that had them replaced along with their motors when the original bearings went out. :eek:

What the bearing looks like with the grease seal on is meaningless. Mine looked great after 147,000 miles, too. But when I pulled the grease seals off, there was just a slight amount of grease left, more a residue than actual grease on the balls.

I don't know how much longer mine would have lasted, but I'm guessing it wouldn't have been long. I feel relieved that I had the bearing replaced.

I understand your position, but what if the PO had the IMS bearing replaced without the proper pre-check to ensure it qualified for the aftermarket IMS bearing? There are stories out there about IMS bearing being replaced then the engine blowing due to another issue. IMHO, you would be better off finding the right Boxster, getting a PPI done then, if the IMS bearing hasn't been replaced, have it done.

Agreed and that's the plan. I am presently evaluating a 986 owned by my Indie shop (have another P-Car as well) that just had the clutch, flywheel and an LN Engineering bearing installed. They are currently in the process of going through the entire car for me right now so I will know where it stands mechanically prior to making an offer to purchase.

Well as it happens one of the guys has just had something let go in his engine which had everything replaced. Just because an IMS has been replaced doesn't mean the rest will be bulletproof.

The paranoia is real with you guys.