I'm a complete newbie to the forum and recently acquired a 2003 C4S that only had 17.6k miles at time of purchase. It was owned by an elderly man that had driven it less and less over the past 3-4 years. The last time it was serviced was 2000 miles and 4 years ago so I of course took it in to my local independent shop immediately for all of the fluids to be changed. (oil, brake, coolant)

Upon inspecting the dissected oil filter, there were a handful of very thin metal flakes (prob 5-10). The oil seemed clear otherwise and the flakes were only found by opening the filter. The shop indicated that they were not consistent with the ims bearing metal and that its not unusual to see some metal debris. They stated that I should not worry but to see what happens next time I take it in for service in a few months or 3k miles. After reading all of the forums about the ims bearing failure, I of course am a little scared to continue driving.

Any feedback is greatly appreciated...

 

First.... Congrats on the C4S purchase. It's a great car and of course...we need pics. Second....it's unfortunate that your first post on the board is one that may be IMS caution related. This topic always takes the wind out of sails of owning such a great vehicle. You purchased a vehicle that has obviously been sitting for a while and as you know or will know...you HAVE to drive these cars. Sometimes extremely low miles is not necessarily a good thing. However, if you get everything checked out and repair/replace items or issues...you will have a gem. Personally, I'd probably take it in and replace the IMS (upgrade), RMS, clutch depending on the condition, etc. for peace of mind. It's 10+ years old and hasn't been driven much. Plus, you already discovered some metal shavings. I purchased mine a year ago and I knew I was going to do the IMS upgrade and other maintenance before I did anything else. Some folks will say wait until the clutch needs to be replaced, but my luck isn't that great. I'd rather get in front of a potential issue before I'm surprised with something that may or may not happen. Enough on that.... post up some pics and enjoy your new ride!!

 

Thanks Stone,

The shop did indicate the RMS did have slight moisture and they cleaned it off indicating that with driving, it should be fine. The engine sounds great, but I do suffer from slight OCD and will probably take it in this week for the ims retrofit for peace of mind. I'll get some pics up soon and thanks again.

 

Any other thoughts are appreciated...?

 

I went through this recently and as a precaution replaced my IMS and clutch. I track my car and wanted some peace of mind.

 

If the flakes are real thin and non-ferrous the odds they are aluminum, which given the engine is almost (almost) entirely aluminum that's to be expected.

The engine is still "new" (based on miles covered) and engines shed material for a while after they leave the factory. They never really stop but the amount they shed drops way down over time.

So I do not think you have anything to worry about.

The RMS will probably at some point leak enough to have to replace. POA oil causes seal shrinkage (it is blended with some ester which helps counter this) but absent regular usage the seals dry out/shrink over time and there's no fix other than replacement when they leak.

FWIW, my 03 Turbo bought used in 2009 with low miles (~10K), its RMS developed a leak at around 110K miles and this I suspect was due to the lack of use the car received its first 6 years of life. Oh, the front diff axle flange seals started leaking too for the same reason I believe. The transmission selector shaft seal (one of them at any rate) developed a leak at around 40K miles and this could be also do to the lack of use.)

OTOH, the RMS in my 02 Boxster, the RMS which was installed at 25K miles to replace the original one that developed a leak, has remained leak free now for 250K miles. That's right, the car has 275K miles on it.

But an RMS leak is a relatively minor issue. Cost my $1700 to fix in my Turbo.

 

First off, congrats and welcome. Nice to see another St. Louisan on the board.

I'm not technically equipped to suggest whether those flakes are IMS-related. I can only tell you that I proactively replaced the IMS and RMS. My posting about that is on this thread: https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...fit-kit-2.html