Hi all,

I've been shopping for a 996 2000-2003 and alot of people and mechanics have told me about the IMS bearing. The cost to replace it with an aftermarket ceramic bearing runs between $1700 - $2500. I found a car i really like but the IMS bearing has not been replaced. I asked the seller and he told me his mechanic told him its NOT an issue.......
I called his mechanic...a Porsche specialist in Southern Cali and they told me they have rarely replaced the IMS on the 996's....but he also told me the Turbos were more problematic with the IMS bearing than non turbo....I thought turbos did NOT have an IMS bearing- to which he corrected himself.

So, now this seller is believing that the IMS bearing is NOT any issue and I'm trying to convey to him that if i bought his car, I'd replace it for preventative destructive damage to the engine, if the IMS were to go out.

Am I way out of line ? Am I wrong in that the IMS bearing is very problematic for the 1997-2003 996's?

Opinions?

 

Dude USE SEARCH! this issue has been beat to DEATH! People who have problems with their Cars POST people who dont have problems DONT post much! you wont see many people saying oh i have a 2001 996 with 120k no issues, but you will for sure see i have a 2001 996 ims failed!

 

I agree with his mechanic, the IMS is not an issue, IF YOU ARE SELLING THE CAR!!!

But if you are keeping the car the IMS is one of the known weak points in the car. And it is one where a failure of the IMS bearing is catastrophic. If not caught in time the engine is toast, and new engines are fast approaching the value of the cars. What percentage of engines are having IMS bearings fail, hard to say, but it is too many. In my opinion the LNE bearing replacement is relatively cheap insurance against this failure, particularly if done at the time of a clutch replacement as most of the labor is redundant.

I would also question the veracity of a mechanic that says IMS failure are more common in Turbo cars than non-Turbo cars. You rarely hear of them in Turbos, which are an entirely different engine design, with pressure fed bearing.

Before you buy get a PPI from someone other than the seller's mechanic.

As for the bearing replacement, it is much like buying collision insurance. Most people never wreck their cars, and if you never have a wreck it is money down the drain. Then again, if you have a wreck it is certainly nice to have. Given that you can buy a pretty nice 996 in the $20-25K range these days, and a new engine is $20K+ the same argument for not doing the upgrade could be made for not having collision insurance. IMHO

 

How many miles on the car. If it is under 30-40k, no questions, have it done. Higher mileage cars tend to not have the problem as much.

 

I had my 2000 model 996 in for an RMS seal at 44k miles. I asked about the bearing and my mechanic said it was probably fine. Here's my recollection/reasoning. The factory bearing is apparently sealed and does not get lubrication from engine oil. Failure is rare, but potentially catastrophic. Indeed my bearing was okay, but I chose to have it replaced as a precautionary measure, and my mechanic sent video at each step of the way. You have to decide if the cost is worthwhile peace of mind. Good luck, below are the videos from my clutch/rms/ims job.

--Woody

Update #1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylvRrEWmfiY

Update #2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SftXlsMcrag

Update #3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnGvH8tP_54

 

Dude, thats amazing service! What a mechanic!

 

One question I always have when these discussions come up is this: Why do people feel that the LNE bearing upgrade guarantees them that they won't have IMS failure? Do we have long-term data for the LNE bearing? The design improvements seem to be substantial, and it seems like this upgrade will be helpful, but do we really know? It just strikes me as odd that people automatically assume this new bearing guarantees you of no failure in the future.

FWIW, I'm about to roll 100K miles on my 996 on the original IMS bearing.

 

I thought the service was above and beyond as well, so of course I'd recommend him if you're in the Southeast. I will not hesitate to go back next time the car needs something I don't want to do myself. Here's the mechanic/shop info:

Casey Hooper
Eurasian Auto Service
2831 4th Ave South
Birmingham, Al 35233

http://eurasianautobham.wordpress.com/

FWIW, the shop was full of cars nicer than mine, so I'm by far not the only one that appreciates the work.

 

Good point. As I said above, my bearing was not bad when it was removed. My car had to be apart for the RMS, and the IMS bearing is easy to access at that point. I guess the tipping point for me was that if the stock bearing lost its lubrication (say a seal failed on the clutch side), it would not get any lubrication from the engine oil. I am mechanically inclined and do much of my own work, but I wasn't confident that I'd hear the failed bearing in time to prevent engine damage. I don't think the LNE bearing is a guarantee, but I felt like my odds improved a little with its addition. It might have been money poorly spent, but I'll never know now if the factory one would have failed eventually or not.

--Woody

 

I don't think it's money poorly spent. All bearings wear with use. On my next clutch change, I will seriously consider going to the LNE bearing just to get a new, updated part in a critical place. Even if I decided to simply upgrade it to a new OEM bearing, I think it makes sense to replace while you have access. I only made the comment because I see so many posts about this upgrade, and people seem to assume that it guarantees them that there won't be a future failure.

 

I just replaced mine at 68000 along with my clutch and rms. It was leaking a little but there was no problem with the bearings when I removed them. My clutch was getting really close to metal to metal but it had no signs of slipping. The rms was leaking a little so I replaced it as well. We also replaced another ims that had 80000 something on it, the bearings appeared fine as well after being removed.

 

It was new clutch time for me, so had Perfect Power do the RMS, and LNE upgrade while it was up on the lift for the clutch job- Glad i did, w\ 80K miles the bearing had a ton of play after it was pulled and inspected.

PS. thanks to Sol and Beth !!

 

In December, I purchased a 2003 C2 that had 19,500 miles. I replaced the RMS and IMS (I did the LNE) at around 20,500 (basically after I drove it home from Florida). My IMS was in seemingly perfect condition. Could I have driven it for a while and been fine, probably. I do now, however, feel much better. I drive the car and enjoy it instead of listen to every single sound, analyzing it, thinking my motor is going to go boom. If that bearing goes, your motor does too. Get it, feel better, don't worry, enjoy the car. That's what we buy them for. Just my 2 cents!

 

I think the general thinking is along those lines - IMS bearing is a wearable part, replace it as part of general maintenance whenever the clutch is due.

 

Just wondering if the IMS can go at any amount of milage but seem more prone to cars that are not driven on a regular basis, what about the vehicles that sit for extended periods on dealers lot. When they make a sale are fingers just crossed once the new owner drives off the lot ? Or are they retrofitting and passing the cost onto the consumer?