Poll:IMS related engine failure

[san rensho]

Originally Posted by StarFox

I have a 01 Boxster S
Just replaced my IMS last week....pain the arse!

What was the condition of the old bearing? How many miles? Driving style? Oil change history?

[Overdrive]

From Pedro's site:

"...Curiously, the latest engines (A19) on 2009 and newer cars were completely redesigned to not have an intermediate shaft..."

Here is the source:
Kaboom!

You'll find that right before Pedro starts talking about D-chunk, about halfway down the page.

[dennis]

Thanks overdrive. I know I am jinxing myself, but i dont feel it is an epidemic by any means

[FlyBoy767]

Just to add to the discussion - '98 Boxster Tiptronic 58k miles - mechanic says my IMS bearing was the worst he'd seen without a catastrophic failure. I found metal and black seal pieces in oil filter canister and stopped driving the car. The 911 in the shop wasn't so lucky. He drove to the shop and half way there his engine blew. I wouldn't consider my Boxster a "garage queen" but with 13 years and only 58k it hasn't had that much usage which definitely puts it in the low usage IMS bearing failure category.

[fivepointnine]

Originally Posted by FlyBoy767

Just to add to the discussion - '98 Boxster Tiptronic 58k miles - mechanic says my IMS bearing was the worst he'd seen without a catastrophic failure. I found metal and black seal pieces in oil filter canister and stopped driving the car. The 911 in the shop wasn't so lucky. He drove to the shop and half way there his engine blew. I wouldn't consider my Boxster a "garage queen" but with 13 years and only 58k it hasn't had that much usage which definitely puts it in the low usage IMS bearing failure category.

how much debris did you see in your filter?

[heliguy]

Add me to the poll...2003 Boxster S, 88k miles, no oil leaks, clutch is tight, never a hint of as problem.

[Overdrive]

Philintl, I don't think it's really specific to any model years. For all we know the quality and tolerances of the parts of the Boxster that came down the assembly line right after yours blew its engine in 6 months. But that's part of the problem, too...we will never really know how serious the problem is or was from year to year in the first two Boxster generations.

As for the slipped sleeves, porous blocks, and those other issues that happened to early cars, I believe that was only on early 1997 models. It's not an exact science by any means, but I'd say look for a car that was built in late 1997 that would still be a 97 model (around August/97), or get a very late 97 build which is most likely an early 98.

Do you happen to know what the build date was on the placard on your car's driver's side door jamb? It would be very interesting to find out that yours was a very late 96 or early 97 build and survived as well as it did.

[Icanfixit]

2001 Boxster tiptronic 90,000 miles no problem with IMS bearing. Engine still doesn't leak. Nothing leaks on this car. No spots on garage floor, ever.

[Orville104]

I recently purchased an '03 with 52K. The engine failed at 14k and was totally replaced by Porsche under warranty with a new engine. My question is this...were IMS upgrades/improvements made on the new engines that Porsche installed under warranty?

[san rensho]

Originally Posted by Orville104

I recently purchased an '03 with 52K. The engine failed at 14k and was totally replaced by Porsche under warranty with a new engine. My question is this...were IMS upgrades/improvements made on the new engines that Porsche installed under warranty?

What was the failure?

[failedims]

Originally Posted by Orville104

I recently purchased an '03 with 52K. The engine failed at 14k and was totally replaced by Porsche under warranty with a new engine. My question is this...were IMS upgrades/improvements made on the new engines that Porsche installed under warranty?

How did you get the car repaired? was it under warranty or you talked to Porsche?
I have a '03 Boxster with a failed ims on it. just 66k miles. i brought it to service and they asked for 10k$ just for disassembly- assembly.

Thanks.

[zzlion]

Looking at buying a 2003 Boxster S with 16k miles. Would any one care to expand on this IMS issue I'm reading about? How does one check on this prior to purchase and is this a preventable issue?

[2003S]

Originally Posted by zzlion

Looking at buying a 2003 Boxster S with 16k miles. Would any one care to expand on this IMS issue I'm reading about? How does one check on this prior to purchase and is this a preventable issue?

Pedro has a very nice write up on the issue:
Kaboom!

Don't let it scare you away; a small number of the cars ever have the problem, and there are now aftermarket solutions to detect it before it destroys your engine, and superior bearings with which you can replace the stock one.

[mikefocke]

The best source of information is the web site at LNengineering.

Any rotating bearing wears. Some IMS bearings have gone 255k miles, some 10k.

Will a Pre-Purchase Inspection detect a failing bearing? Depends on who is doing it. Someone with the right software (late revision of Durametric..maybe PST2, PIWIS) can detect camshaft deviation which is a common early warning sign. One of those cases where a great PPI is worth every bit of what you'll pay, a lousy one worth very little. Ask if they do a camshaft deviation test, if they don't, go elsewhere.

Can it be prevented? Reduce probability by using a good oil, changing it much more frequently than Porsche calls for, drive it every day and keep the revs up. To prevent it, the best known commonly available approach is to replace the bearing with one that uses a different lubrication technique and a better bearing (when you do the clutch, do the RMS and the IMS). There are detection kits available (flat6engineering) but if the buzzer goes off, you still have to replace the bearing.

Your 2003 probably has the least desirable bearing of the 3 Porsche used.

The good news is that, even with all the above, the probability of failure in any one car is very low.

Owned 2, loved 'em both. As close to zero problems over 6 years as any of the 40 cars I've ever owned.

[jdiba]

Did you purchase it from a Porsche dealership ? If so, they could help. If not, would providing Porsche
the VIN # be of any help ? I'm guessing here....

[Brockmeister]

My car is at the shop as we speak. It's a '99 with 72k on the clock. I decided to do the clutch, rms,ims fix because it has been vibrating a little more lately. Good thing I did.
Turns out, the clutch was on it's last legs. It had worn through the rivets and the flywheel was scored. There was also play in the twisting of the flywheel. Flywheel was toast.
The RMS seal was still good with no leaking.
the IMS was on it;s last legs as well. It was loose and had only a few miles left on it. had I kept driving it until the clutch wore down to nothing, I would have had been making payments on one very expensive lawn ornament.
I hasd planned to use the tax money to do this and I'm glad that I made the right decision!
13yo car w/72k ? IDK, but I'm glad this forum exists, or else I would be out even more bucks.:dance:

[spdylw986]

Replaced mine last week. IMS, RMS, Clutch, Flywheel. IMS was in great shape.

2002 with 32,000 miles

[boxster]

1999 2.5, 75,000miles. no problems so far, but the stories creep me out!
I'm not sure what to do. Is it fair to say tat the single row bearings suffer more than the double row ones perhaps?

[schnellman]

My '98 2.5L with 45,000 miles runs like a champ. Not a single problem since she joined the family three years ago.

[Skrapmot]

Originally Posted by cabjose

Have a 2002 Boxster S with tiptronic transmission with 76K miles; car is daily driver but is AX periodically and has been driven regionally (20 hour nonstop trips) twice. No IMS failure yet; I have annual oil changes.

Any advise out there as to probability of an IMS failure with this mileage, type of transmission, and oil change schedule?

Any advise as to what I should do to avoid an IMS failure?

Many thanks for any replies. Cabjose.

You should be fine, those 02 motors don't crap out until at least 80k.