Poll:IMS related engine failure

[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.

[zzlion]

to mikefocke and 2003S thanks for the feedback. It is greatly appreciated.

[SoK]

My cars been fantastic in the nearly 2 years I've owned it. I'm extremely pleased with the reliability so far for a car this age. All I've done is standard maintainance and recharged the AC.

When I bought it in 2010, I did have the dealer replace the RMS and all the other seals/gaskets throughout the motor and transmission. While doing this, they inspected all the engine components and gave it a clean bill of health.

I hope I don't have any IMS issues, but it's a daily driver (work/weekends, rain/shine), I change the oil every 5k with Mobile 1 and stretch it's legs a couple times a month. I think I'll be fine. I plan on replacing the t-stat, AOS and waterpump this coming spring as preventative maintainance. After that, I'm confident I won't have to do ANYTHING to the car until 100k (I'm at 58k now).

It's been an excellent experience so far and I'm glad I didn't let the horror stories on this site scare me away. I will buy another Porsche in the next 2 years (Cayenne S). Wish I had a S model now...