IMS Problem - Advice Needed
- Thread starter 944s2
- Start date
Thanks for the reply - appreciated. I've googled it to death and looked at rebuilds at specialists (PCT isn't too far from me and seem to be reputable).... I've seen some instances on the net where just the IMS can be replaced (http://www.lnengineering.com/ims.html amongst other sources), I'm trying to ascertain whether or not my car is genuinely in need of a rebuild, or whether or not it can be repaired. I'm not mechanically minded (I work in IT) and I'm trying to obtain some more unbiased opinion on what to do really before I take the car anywhere else. Thanks for the response anyway 
James, Feel for you - to only have the car for 2 months and this happen is bad luck. I'd echo what Dougie said - hartech are the guys to speak to (call them up) they have a reputation for being willing to explain your options. They really know that they are talking about because they have engineered solutions to the problems - and from my (distant) observation they don't do a hard sell! But also might be worth you containing this guy: http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=648812&mpage=1&key=򞙬 he has clearly had to bite a similar bullet.
Welcome James. Shame about the circumstances. As Dougie says, Hartech. IMO they have more experience than any other independent, and offer some cost effective solutions for this type of repair. You have the very large advantage that the engine still runs, but don't let anyone start it again.
Thanks for the advice guys, I really appreciate it, and I'm sorry to ask for help on my first post ! Yeah it is unlucky, I don't seem to have much luck with cars, my last few cars have suffered engine problems, even after inspections before I bought them and have fleeced me of 1000's. I didn't run the car for more than a few seconds (I got it recovered to Porsche as I had no intention of running the car after it happened), I understand running it at all could damage it up even more, I'll give Hartech a call and have a chat with them tomorrow, hopefully they can offer me a few options and can maybe give me something for how sick I feel about this now I'll let everyone know how I get on.... thanks again James
I'll let everyone know how I get on.... thanks again James
Hi all,
I never like my first post on a forum to be asking for advice, but I could really do with some helpful advice from people in the know or who may have suffered the same problem.
I own a 99 3.4 Carrera (996) which is my dream car that I spent a long time saving for. I've owned it for about 2 months and up until now it's been a very pleasant experience.
Last Friday I heard a strange noise coming from the engine so I immediately switched it off and managed to roll home (fortunately it happened as I arrived in the road where I live).
I sought some advice from someone who knows a bit about Porsches, we turned the engine on briefly (5-10 secs) and he said it sounded like an IMS issue. I thought the best thing would be to get it into a Porsche dealer for a proper diagnosis. It went into Porsche today and they said they ran the car for a very brief period and that it sounds like IMS failure. They said that the car hasn't dumped its oil or suffered any visible damage, but they've said the only real solution is a rebuild and to replace the IMS.
Porsche have given me a ballpark figure of around £5k+ but said it would need a stripdown to see the extent of the damage.
I'm really unsure as to what to do about this, the car only cost £13k, and sinking £5k+ into a car of this value is a really difficult decision to make. Has anyone else suffered a similar problem, by which I mean where the engine hasn't spat anything out but has had an IMS problem? Porsche have said the engine should have a rebuild... is this really the only solution to this problem?
I'm just trying to work out what my options are and what's best to do about it, I've not really slept since finding out it could be an IMS problem. If anyone has any advice they can offer me I would greatly appreciate it...
Thankyou for taking the time to read this
Best Regards
James
I never like my first post on a forum to be asking for advice, but I could really do with some helpful advice from people in the know or who may have suffered the same problem.
I own a 99 3.4 Carrera (996) which is my dream car that I spent a long time saving for. I've owned it for about 2 months and up until now it's been a very pleasant experience.
Last Friday I heard a strange noise coming from the engine so I immediately switched it off and managed to roll home (fortunately it happened as I arrived in the road where I live).
I sought some advice from someone who knows a bit about Porsches, we turned the engine on briefly (5-10 secs) and he said it sounded like an IMS issue. I thought the best thing would be to get it into a Porsche dealer for a proper diagnosis. It went into Porsche today and they said they ran the car for a very brief period and that it sounds like IMS failure. They said that the car hasn't dumped its oil or suffered any visible damage, but they've said the only real solution is a rebuild and to replace the IMS.
Porsche have given me a ballpark figure of around £5k+ but said it would need a stripdown to see the extent of the damage.
I'm really unsure as to what to do about this, the car only cost £13k, and sinking £5k+ into a car of this value is a really difficult decision to make. Has anyone else suffered a similar problem, by which I mean where the engine hasn't spat anything out but has had an IMS problem? Porsche have said the engine should have a rebuild... is this really the only solution to this problem?
I'm just trying to work out what my options are and what's best to do about it, I've not really slept since finding out it could be an IMS problem. If anyone has any advice they can offer me I would greatly appreciate it...
Thankyou for taking the time to read this
Best Regards
James
I should have mentioned before, but there was a chap on RennTech.org a couple of months ago with exactly the same problem as you. Only 9000 miles on the clock, the engine was running, but making the 'death rattle' noise. He fitted an LN bearing, flushed everything out that he could, and fired it up. It ran great for about 50 miles, and promptly seized solid. If if has got to the stage it has, anything other than a complete strip down is asking for trouble. If you leave it at the OPC, I'm fairly confident they will just want to put an exchange engine in it. Hartech have the facilities and expertise to fix it, and make it stronger than original, at a fraction of that cost. It won't be cheap, but it will give future peace of mind, and make it more attractive to buyers come selling time.
Hi Guys I recently posted my experience of IMS, I had mine changed by Autofarm when I had my clutch changed, it had not started to rattle but was making metal, foound when they changed the oil, so it was caught in time, just, Autofarm are worth speaking to about the rebuild, my expereince of them was excellent. If you are worrying about the IMS, do yourselves a favour and get the LN bearing fitted by AF, it takes the worry away from driving the car.
That is a potential option I guess, though it would pain me greatly, but then again so would dumping such a large amount of money into the car.
I've given Hartech a call, at the moment their price to rectify the issue (without going any further with it in terms of bulletproofing other areas) is pretty much the same as the dealer have quoted (after speaking to the dealer again today) which really surprised me. I have to get the car up there too which will cost me a few hundred quid... I'm still at a loss as to what to do about it. My gut feeling and what people have said here makes me want to go to Hartech, but the fact that Porsche dealer has offered me virtually the same deal due to the fact the engine still ran, they say it's salvagable and I won't need a new unit. Arggghhh! What to do! I wish I knew more about cars! Thanks for the other posts too guys, I'm really grateful of everyones time. Thankyou
vitesse
Active member
Get one of those rigid (but slightly sprung) tow bars-approx £30 at Machine Mart-persuade a friend with a suitable vehicle to tow you up to Hartech-they will only charge for what they find necessary whereas at present they have given you a rough estimate-extra cost just fuel & time.
If the intermediate shaft is damaged, then an OPC would want to change it. IIRC, the original shaft is no longer available, and has to be replaced with a later version but this is not compatible with the original crankshaft, so it would need a new crank as well. And cam chains, etc. The intermediate shaft and crank would cost £3500 alone. You might want to confirm this with the OPC. Bear in mind that an OPC's labour rates are at least double that of Hartech. Book time for stripping and rebuilding an engine is about 20 hours, plus about 7 hours for removal/replacement. That's well over £3000 without any parts. I would be worried that the OPC could be well out of the ball park
Agreed! My bet is once they have you trapped and the engine is stripped the original estimate will change to a replacement engine.
Hi James, Sorry to hear that you are suffering the dreaded IMS issue. You may want to read this thread from a member on here who had the same issue and what he did. I think he got it fixed at Hartech in the end following advice from other members. [link=http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=591699&mpage=1&key=ims]IMS[/link]
@Arbee - Thank you so much for your offer, that's incredibly kind of you. Unfortunately I'm a bit too far away to take you up on your offer, I'm in Redditch. @Everyone else - Yeah I see where you're coming from, thanks for the info regarding the availability of the parts complicating things and contributing further to the price, that's something I'd hadn't even considered. I'm going to give all this some real thought over the weekend and decide what to do. With what the car is probably worth I need to give some real thought on whether or not it's worth it financially doing the repair at all. Thanks once again for everyone's time, you've given me a lot of good advice to base my decision on. All the best James
thirteeneast
New member
As Richard said OPC wont be interested in replacing IMS they will put a new engine and there is no IMS upgrade for those. So if something were to go wrong in the future???.
AndrewEllinas
New member
Hi James, Really sorry to hear about your IMS issue. The IMS in my 996 C4 3.6 went last November. My OPC wanted to replace the engine at a cost of circa £14k. I ended up sending the car to Hartech who were great and extremely knowledgeable. They stripped the engine down and rebuilt it. The story is here: [link=http://www.porscheclubgbforum.com/tm.asp?m=591699&mpage=1&key=ims]IMS failure[/link]. Good luck and let us know what happens. PS: I still have the C4 with it's rebuilt, IMS worry free, engine - and it's for sale if anyone is interested. The body, paintwork and wheels are perfect as you can see from these photos: [link=https://picasaweb.google.com/112365153629544628000/Porsche99621May2011?authuser=0&feat=directlink]996 C4 3.6[/link]
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