Doing some research and it looks like pelican will have an IMS kit available soon. Is that all it would take to prevent the catastrophic engine failure? Also when do most people change their clutches? Should i just wait until clutch goes to replace IMS?

 

Hello and welcome to 6speed. Search LN Engineering, they have a replacement upgraded bearing. I have had my 996 for about 2 years and am now at over 90,000 miles. I will be installing there bearing when i get my clutch changed in a year or so. From what I have read I believe that this engine is very reliable as long as you keep in maintained and drive it often. Enjoy your new 911

 

Thanks for the welcome!!

So it isnt something I need to be worrying about right away? I am at 46k and probably wont need a new clutch until 100k.. I dont drive a ton, so that could be 5-7 years.. will the bearing last that long? Pelican is releasing one here in the next couple weeks and it is only ~$150!

 

I wouldn't sweat it or worry about it right away. The Internet certainly makes it sound like the engine is a ticking time bomb, but that's far from the reality.

Your 2000 year car probably has a stronger bearing in it, the dual row which are known to be stronger than the 2001-2004 engine models (and about as strong as the 2005-2008 models).

The pelican bearing, while cheaper, is calling for replacements at more frequent intervals because it is not as strong as the LNE ceramic kit, probably not as strong as the bearing you have now, (and the pelican kit also has the same design as the OEM bearing which is part of the controversy behind the OEM design... read more here: http://www.lnengineering.com/ims.html).

There are plenty of cars on the road with over 100k, even some with more than 200k on their original bearings. And the best guestimate from LN engineering on the number of cars that will suffer a failure is 10% of cars in 90,000 miles.

Personally having owned my 996 for over 4 years I have already replaced my bearing with the LNE ceramic kit. However, if the IMS Guardian from flat 6 innovations was available before I did the retrofit, I would have just purchased that instead.

No offense to you and I don't mean this in the wrong way, since I enjoy doing this, and apparently you didn't spend any time with search. But it's interesting I seem to make the same replies about every day or two here or over on RT or RL.

 

I've got 108k on my original intermediate shaft bearing. I'll upgrade it when my next clutch gets installed.

My car is a daily driver and it's very reliable.

 

Just changed my oil and there was no sign of metal when i cut open the oil filter!!

 

do what I do...just drive the car and don't worry about the engine

 

Guys- Don't worry about the engine failing and all- Just drive your 911s and you will forget all your troubles and anxieties. At least that's what I do.

Unfortunate events happen- but tackle it if/when you get to that bridge. I'm sure most of on this board are smarter than shelling out the full dealership cost in case an engine fails. There are much cheaper alternatives- ALWAYS.

Until then... Happy driving!

 

Believe it or not, Honda engines blow up too!

 

my honda lawn mower went 20 years

 

in case you missed this article (forgot who/where it was first posted)

Another one I saved


Porsche 911 the least defective vehicle of the century

The German Technical Inspection Agency, TÜV, says the Porsche 911 is the most trouble-free vehicle of this century.

Calculated from data collected from approximately eight million technical inspections between June 2010 and June 2011, the agency found that the Porsche 911 has been the car with the fewest reported defects of vehicles built since 2000. This is regardless of the kilometres travelled by the vehicles.


Before any vehicle model is added into the rankings, it has to have been inspected at least 500 times. TÜV has found that in the 10- to 11-year-old category for the 2011 report, the Porsche 911 had the least faults with a fault rate of 8.3 per cent, followed by the Toyota RAV4 (10.5 per cent), and then the Porsche Boxster (11.2 per cent).

In the eight- to nine-year-old vehicle category, it’s the Porsche 911 out in front again, with a fault rate of 8.3 per cent, followed by the Porsche Boxster (9.8 per cent), and the Toyota RAV4 (10.2 per cent).

In the six- to seven-year-old vehicle category, again, it’s the Porsche 911, with a fault rate of 5.5 per cent, followed by the Porsche Boxster (7.1 per cent), and the Subaru Forester (7.3 per cent).

In the four- to five-year-old vehicle category, it’s a three-way tie for first, with the Porsche Boxster, Porsche Cayman and Toyota Corolla Verso all reporting a fault rate of 4.2 per cent, followed by the Porsche 911 (4.6 per cent), and Porsche Cayenne (5.0 per cent).

Lastly, in the two- to three-year-old vehicle category, the Toyota Prius is recorded as having the least faults, with a fault rate of 2.2 per cent, with the Mazda2, Toyota Auris (Corolla) and Porsche 911 all as the equal-second-least defective vehicles (2.3 per cent), and then the Smart Fortwo (2.5 per cent)

 

Perhaps setting aside money now in the event of future failure will lessen your anxieties. Expensive toys, not for the faint of heart. If you're paranoid about it, set the money aside and forget about it.

My only problem is keeping the "porsche fund" in a place where the wife won't access it =)

 

The TUV report is reassuring to say the least. I was aware or this report, but I still installed the IMS Guardian which will alert to a variety of pending engine problems that can then be fixed before disaster strikes.

 

Yes, I wonder if IMS Guardian can be installed on a tiptronic one also?