IMS bearing

[bellaboots]

IN the process of buying a 2005 boxster 2.7 with 31000 on the clock 1 owner with full service history from independant porsche dealer my question is i,m sure been asked before is should i be concerned about the ims bearing i have seen the car up on the lift and there are no visible oil leaks there is nothing in the history to say the bearing has been modified.My other question is is car a 987 and what no.is given to the engine.
Many thanks Bob

 

[gdavison]

http://www.oregonpca.org/...earing-the-full-story/

 

[bellaboots]

Thanks for the reply and yes i have read up on a lot of whats already been written but how many cars does this happen to and should i be considering replacing bearing now or not buying at all

 

[gdavison]

 

[C2dweller]

This is a hot topic and one I talk about often with customers. I would urge people to look deeper into the above analysis before selling their M96 and running to the hills!

The 1% and 8% failure rates above are estimated failure rates, based on an analysis of the engine and a specified operating environment (which I think is unrealistic). This estimated number is then multiplied by the volume of sales to give an estimated amount of failures. To my knowledge this number is not verified ... So the number could be woefully high ... Or low! It certainly isn't fact.

 

[Robin M]

If it's dry now after all this time it may well stay like that. If the risk to you is too great, then walk away though.

 

[C2dweller]

What I normally say is that I see very few IMS failures in my 'already customer' base - well two! One dual and one single to date.

When we talk to customers for the first time because they have an IMS failure it is more likely to be a single race. We have probably helped about 10 to date.

In these there are no patterns to spot. Some are low mileage, some are high. Good service history and bad ... And so on. I would conclude its a factor of machining tolerance - which in turns affects the flow of oil into the IMS gallery that then causes bearing failure.

My advice is individual to a customer. If you are risk adverse then get it renewed.

The process of removing the excess oil is as important as replacing the bearing. If you want to reduce your risk further still, then replace with a ceramic coated bearing (standard bearing is £20, ceramic is £500!).

To keep risk low you will repeat this every 4-6years depending on your attitude to risk. If you coincide the bearing change with a clutch change then the additional cost is quite low.

KR Lee

 

[C2dweller]

Just another 2p from me...Oil residue can be from either Rear Main Seal (RMS) or IMS as they sit in the same axis. It is more likely to be RMS on an M96/M97 engine. Without removing the gearbox you cannot be sure.

When it has been the IMS - not often - it can just be the endcap seal. But ... in the one instance we caught an IMS before it destroyed the engine, we spotted it because oil was pouring out of the endcap - lateral movement in the IMS bearing had caused the end seal to fail. This was very lucky for the customer (For continuity ... this was the one dual race failure we have seen, mentioned above).

Hopefully ... useful guidance. If not too confusing!

 

[Gordon Attar]

The 2.7 engine is the most rellable and has the lowest risk associated with it.

Bearing was gratly improved in late 2006 models and my understanding is the ceramic bearings have been problematic and superseded, so I would suggest you investigate further if you wish to upgrade before you part with your £1000.