987 / IMS questions
 

I have been focusing my search on 04 and older, mainly because of the cost. I also like the looks of the 986 than the 987 but I'll enjoy either. But I'm starting to see some 06's that aren't priced much than the 04's I'm seeing especially after I factor in the IMS/clutch replacement. Not being able to replace the IMS concerns me, what would I look for maintenance way. I thought I read if the oil was changed regularly the odds of failure are unlikely. Just looking for some insight.

While the 06 IMS is not serviceable, you can remove the rear seal so that it lubricates using the engine oil mist, much like the LN IMS hybrid bearing does. We have done several of these and they are all still on the road (and track) without issue.

There are no real ways to conclusively determine the health of an IMS. You can do an oil analysis and check for excessive amts of metal in the oil. You can see if there are records documenting oil change intervals - best case scenario is 5-8K mi. Any other methods involve some sort of expensive surgery, starting by removing the transaxle to get to the IMS. Basically, it's a crapshoot determining the health of an IMS in the 987 M97 engine (06-08 models). Thankfully they were the best IMS version Porsche produced for their water cooled engines.

Unless the oil was changed every 15K mi (which was the factory recommendation in 06) and previous owners lugged the engine at 1K rpm, you should be good. But YMMV.

I own two 08 Porsche 987Ss. My Boxster S LE just turned 60K mi and is my semi-garage queen as I only drive her in good weather. I bought her new and drive her approx. 6K mi / yr. My Cayman S Sport is my all season "beater" and DE car. I bought her when she was 3 yrs old and had 7400 mi. She now has 55K mi, many of those mi driving to or on a track (Laguna Seca, COTA, Kansas Speedway, and Indy). Two basically similar cars, two different lives. But I don't worry about either blowing an IMS.

Look for records for oil change intervals, water pumps, plugs and coils, brake pads and brake fluid flushes. These are normal maintenance items.

Do all 06 Boxster's have the 'larger' bearing? I was reading something that said some 06's can have the smaller bearing. I thought the cross over year was 05 but all the 06's had the larger bearing.

05 was the crossover year, all 2006 carry the oversized bearing.

I realize that on the 2005 MY you don't know which IMSB you have since it was the transition year. But if the clutch had been changed, would it be visible so that the mechanic would see whether it was the Gen 2 or Gen 3 bearing?

Yes. The center bolt on the oversized IMS bearing is unique, it is the only one that is 22MM.

OK, thank you JFP, I had a feeling that "yes" was the answer.