IMS bearing confused.com

[Cheshireporsche]

i have very recently purchased I Carrera 4 year 2000 convertible, it has 55 thousand miles with full porsche history and just two previous owners. The car is basically mint and runs like a dream however I am getting conflicting opinions on wether to change out the IMS bearing as a precautio, oh it's a 3.4. I would welcome comments and opin from members on what to do if anything.

 

[dij999]

Expensive when they fail but it's a considerably exaggerated rate of occurrence.

Buy a Porsche warranty if you are worried.

 

[Geoff_Fields]

Regular annual oil change with careful inspection for metal fragments in the filter should suffice. If a manual transmission then maybe consider during clutch change. Its a bit of a lottery, some fail others seem to last for 100k miles.

 

[wibble]

As above - Mines a 3.4 C4 with 98K on original bearing. Last service my sump started to leak, so sump was dropped for new sealant - no debris in the sump. It is essential to check oil level and condition. Later 3.6 had extended service intervals, some owners prefer to change oil as per earlier 996s.

Be aware that replacement bearings can fail too...

 

[Richard_Hamilton]

The dual-row IMS bearing in the 3.4 is the least likely to fail. If it was me, I would leave it until it needs a new clutch, and then just get the outer oil seal removed. Or if it was a Tiptronic, I wouldn't (and didn't) bother.

I agree with the other guys though - more regular oil changes, and unwrap the oil filter element to check for debris,

 

[tykes]

I replaced the bearing on my 2001 Carrera 3.4 with 75k as I had to remove the gearbox to change a brake pipe. The removed bearing, which was the original, was unmarked and would no doubt have gone on for another 75k. I would not have done it purely for precautionary reasons.
As others have said - regular oil changes and check for debris.

 

[Cheshireporsche]

Thanks guys your comments have been helpful, mine is a manual so will leave well alone and check oil filter at changes, it will be changed out when I do the clutch.

 

[DPBedhall]

I changed mine at 64,000 miles and put in new clutch and dual mass flywheel. I did this work for peace of mind, but glad I did as the IMS bearing seals had failed and grease was washed out of bearing.Considerable play too. I put in the ceramic LN unit.

seems a bit of a lottery to me, my engine ran beautifully prior to work.

1998 C4 3.4.

 

[The Saint.]

When I had just bought my C4 I decided to have the ims bearing changed, and glad that I did. My indy rang me to come and have a look at it. It was about to let go, just caught in time. The car was on 61000miles and was a 3.4. That's why when I bought my C2 the ims bearing was changed. Seems like a no brainer to me, although some people take the gamble.

 

[DPBedhall]

I've still got my old bearing as a souvenir, happy to send to you if you want to have a look at the offending item. Just pm the address.

 

[C2dweller]

My two pennies:
- dual race IMS on your 3.4 is much more reliable
- time between start of bearing break-down and outright collapse is not well known, but likely to be much less than 10k miles. Relying on oil changes and sifting for metal relies on luck ... or bad luck, depending on your view. Also, once you get metal debris in the engine it's usual to see bad effects elsewhere from this.
- Removing the IMS outer cap is not trivial and requires replacement with updated end-cap part and seal. You are well on your way to replacement - cost and time wise ... I would just replace the bearing over this.
- it's about your personal attitude towards risk management ... accept or reduce...
Kind Regards Lee

 

[davidbradford]

Quick question there Lee, are all the 3.4s a dual race bearing? I heard, though it was on the internet so I didn't take much notice, they changed to single half through the 3.4 run.

Any truth in that do you know?

 

[mobs]

Not sure if this helps but...

My old 2000 C2 tip 3.4 had IMS "play" & the engine was replaced (by Porsche) at 30k miles. The car was running fine, but happened to be in at an OPC for a major at the time it was noticed. So, as other folks have mentioned, it's really down to ones attitude to risk & seems to be a bit of a lottery.
Having been around these cars (& their owners) pretty much from the off, I would recommend a 3- 4k slush fund per year (which is sensible on any performance car) or maybe a maintenance plan if anyone is still doing them? If the maintenance plan sounds good, then the provider would do a once over anyway before issuing the insurance. This would then highlight any potential looming issues & the call could be made either way.
Porsche warranties only run for 14 years (the 14th year being the last year in which you can add the car to the plan if I recall correctly).

It's such a shame these cars (as have many other performance cars) have a few Achilles heels as they are brilliant fun to drive vs the air cooled cars I've driven & owned. To be fair though, the air cooled stuff is great, but in a very different way...
I eventually went the 996 Turbo route (the 996 cars really are that good in my opinion!), but still have a soft spot for the n/a 996.1. I love the look too & would consider purchasing again in the future - for what it's worth?

As I say, no idea if this helps or hinders..! But enjoy a truly great drivers car!

Cheers

Mobs

 

[Pieman7]

I've just changed my bearing in my c4s 2003 tip. I did open up the oil filter and there were some tiny bits of debris. I decided to go for the ims solution exspensive know but I did my own home work for my decision. The main reason for the resale point but I'm a builder for a living bought the work shop Manuel and gave in a go. Was a great experience for me and seeing as I tend to keep the car for a few more years I've given myself stress free motoring. What about the bearing that came out I here you say it was fine @ 48k. Do plenty of homework and make your own decision.

 

[Backlane41]

In November I bought a 2001 Carrera 4 cabrio 3.4 tiptronic that has covered 67k miles. It has a very good service history and seems to have been well looked after but I've had the IMS bearing replaced with the LN ceramic bearing purely as a precautionary measure. It was not cheap but was important to me for my peace of mind and I guess it's possible that I'll recoup some of the cost when I come to sell the car. Like most people, I read extensively across the various forums to try to form a view as to the level of risk involved before concluding that you just have to do what feels right for you.

Tim

 

[GringoHairpiece]

Hi,

thinking about buying a 996 myself and obviously all the talk is of IMS bearing failure all over the internet. I know the actual occurrences are relatively small, at least that seems to be the general consensus, but obviously it does make me slightly concerned. Never owned a Porsche before, been a dream since I was in my teens so wouldn't mind some advice around this area as follows.

1) If the owner has all the paperwork, including bills, what will it appear on the paperwork as? Have their been failures with the replacement bearing that Porsche developed?
2) If the owner doesn't have the paperwork, and yes I know alarm bells should ring but treat this as a "what if" scenario. Can I contact any Porsche dealer with the registration and get a copy of it's service record by emailpaper?
3) Do independent specialists give out this information on request?
4) If i find an ideal car and the work hasn't been done what sort of budget should i set aside for getting it done?

Thanks in anticipation.

 

[tykes]

I think I am correct when I say that Porsche will not change the IMS bearing. If there is a problem or a customer wants peace of mind Porsche will change the entire intermediate shaft and bearing which obviously means opening up the engine and therefore big expense.

Most independents will replace the bearing and the most popular is the LM ceramic hybrid bearing although I believe there are others. My independent charged £1200+VAT to remove gearbox, replace bearing and RMS seal and check clutch with a 12 month unlimited mileage guarantee on the bearing. I was having the gearbox removed on my car anyway to replace brake pipes so killed 2 birds with one stone.
I have never had problems getting service info on my cars from OPCs or independents - guess it depends where you are.
If the seller states that the bearing has been changed then I would expect them to have evidence!

As I stated in an earlier post the bearing removed from my car had 75k miles on it and was still perfect.
There are plenty of good cars out there but I would avoid garage queens - these cars need to be driven!

Hope this helps.

 

[blytha]

Hi Guys,

I've just had my IMS bearing replaced with the latest LNE kit, as part of a repair to fix an RMS oil leak on my 2005 Carrera 4s Tiptronic, with 53K miles.

Although expensive, I thought it was worth doing whilst the engine was out just to be safe, because without a clutch there's no reason to take the engine out. If there had not been a leak I would not have bothered and would've just continued to check the oil and oil filter for any signs of metal.

Having examined the bearing there is not anything wrong with it and it turns freely without any noises. I now have a paper-weight for my desk at home. I think there is too much scare mongering about the IMS

cheers,
Anthony

p.s. My car is a bit of a garage queen![]

 

[matbmw]

Hi, I've had my 3.4 C4 for 6 months and I've covered 600 miles in that time taking the mileage to just over 104000 , the ims issue is still hanging over me wether to get it changed or not , I had the oil changed when I purchased the car and there was no evidence of metal debris and no oil leaks there does seem to be conflicting views of what's best to do , I've got a lot of history with my car but none to say that it's been changed , iam assuming that's it's the orginal one so with the mileage it has done is it due for a change ?

Thanks,
Matthew.

 

[thirteeneast]

Go against the grain and say No.
Keep the money in your pocket not in Jake raby's.