Your IMS Bearing and Bore Scoring Questions Answered by Hartech

[Motorhead]

For those who missed it, follow this link to view the video of Tuesday evening’s presentation by the Hartech team which discussed in detail IMS bearing and bore scoring issues - and more - on the 996 and Gen1 987/997.

https://www.porscheclubgb.com/regions-registers/registers/modern/997/news/2022/january/997-hartech-evening

Be prepared for an in-depth technical discussion with some surprising outcomes, one of which is that Hartech consider IMS bearing failure a minor issue especially for post 2005 vehicles (which includes all Caymans I believe) fitted with the big bearing. I was very surprised how much bigger this bearing is compared with the original single row and later double row bearings.

Hartech’s approach to bore scoring and D-chunking is to use a thoroughly engineered Nikasil liner approach and the company’s principal Barry Hart was very sceptical of other repairers who insert a steel liner, Hartech seeing quite a few of these repaired engines which have only lasted a few thousand miles. For those interested in more power, Hartech offer capacity increases of ~300cc while the engine’s in for repair. Apparently their 4.1L 997 is a bit of a weapon, so a 3.7L Cayman should be a worthwhile upgrade for £2k on their standard bore repair.

Apart from the above issues, on high mileage engines Hartech are more concerned about main bearing failures which can cause catastrophic and irreparable damage to the engine. They recommended considering an engine rebuild from 100,000 miles.

Jeff

 

[JohnCRS]

Thanks for posting the link Jeff. This was an excellent event and well supported. Around 180 attendees I think. Congratulations and thanks to Steve (997 register) for arranging it. I would not be surprised to hear that Hartech have received a lot of emails and telephone calls since the event. They even offered to give an opiniion on any borescope images they were sent.

It was impressive how Baz and his team explained in a logical and understandable fashion how they arrived at their solutions to the different issues and the signs to look out for. But it was also reassuring to realise that for every one that goes wrong, there are plenty of engines out there that are running fine.

 

[Motorhead]

I thought that it was an excellent technical presentation John, with a lot of useful information for 987.1 Cayman owners. Certainly there were a lot of members tuned-in!

On the bore scoring issue I was surprised to hear that they get quite a few engines in for repair on the basis of an incorrect interpretation of borescoping results, the bores being perfectly OK. It sounds as though it’s worth getting someone who really knows what they’re doing to conduct the borescope examination.

Jeff