After 140K of happy motoring, and having replaced the IMS pre-emptively several years back, it looks my LN IMS failed.
I notices a PSM failure light on and scheduled a service, after just having a dealer service 400 miles back.
On the way to the dealership the Service Engine Light came on.
Its a 4 mile drive...
On arrival the oil pressure is below normal...
Very little unusual noise from engine.

They requested to pull the engine during a diagnostic ...metal shards found.
This happened Friday .
It's now Monday and the diagnosis is IMS failure.
Quote 22K for new engine.

Any suggestions on things to suggest doing while they are at it?

 

You aren't seriously considering putting a $22k motor into a car that could barely be sold for $22k are you?

 

You have my sympathy.

The dealership tech should know what to do when swapping engines. But just in case speak to the tech to ask him to please look around for anything in the engine compartment that needs attention which would be much easier with the old engine out and before the new engine is installed.

Off hand I couldn't swap an engine without at least checking the starter motor wiring for any signs of degradation due to age/exposure to the elements.

Be sure all the heat shields are intact and the exhaust system hangers and what have you are in good condition.

It is bit costly in terms of parts but it might be a good idea to replace *all* coolant hoses. The labor would be less since with the engine out access to the hoses in the engine compartment are easier.

 

Thank you for those helpful suggestions.
Will definitely address these.

It may seem crazy to put 22K into this, but I looked after this car extremely well, and had the transmission rebuilt 4 years ago, so I feel I can probably get several more good years out of this car.

On the flipside, it is worth nothing.

No way I can get a well maintained C4 cab for 22k.

The only reason I put this on this thread is to say: if you contemplate a 911 of the 2002 - 2005 vintage, go for a turbo without the IMS issue.
It's worth the extra bucks.

 

Thanks for the optimism - probably worth 16K

 

Sorry to hear of this...sounds like you have a good plan going forward. Are you going to do any "post mortem" to see why your replacement IMS failed - how many years ago was it installed, how many miles on it, how regular were your oil changes, etc.?

 

I know where you are coming from. Every time I take my 2002 Boxster, with currently over 312K miles, in for anything other than an oil/filter service I am probably spending a large percentage of the car's value but I have taken care of the car extremely well and know it very well. The engine, the car in fact, still runs just great and I still get a kick out of driving the car. My 2nd car is a 2003 996 Turbo so it is not like I have a real POS facing me if I don't want to drive the Boxster.

Unless forbidden my recommendation is do an early oil/filter service. When I bought a new 2008 Cayman S in April of 2009 I did an oil/filter service at 750 miles. The oil filter element was filthy with trash -- normal for a new engine -- and the oil filter housing oil had a very visible metallic sheen to it from all the alum. bits that got chewed up by the oil pump -- which is also normal for a new engine based on my engine rebuilding experience. A subsequent oil/filter service -- around 750 miles later -- found the filter and oil in much better shape -- which I expected. You can change the oil/filter early then again at the end of "break in" (2K miles IIRC), then I have followed a 5K mile oil/filter service interval for both of my Porsche cars since I bought them. (The Boxster new. The Turbo used with just 10K miles. It has over 155K miles on it now.)

Best of luck with your new engine.

 

Thanks, will definitely follow those recommendations.

As far as my cars history: The IMS was replaced at 99K miles. ( i.e. 40 k back )
It has been serviced according to factory recommendations.

Ironically, I just had the dealer do a service at 136500 miles three weeks ago.
I had mentioned seeing a PSM failure light come on momentarily ( it promptly disappeared ).They did a full service and said it was due to the rear center brake light switch and replaced it.
There was no warning of the IMS failure at all.
The tech said the IMS replacement are usually good for 50K ( which I was not aware of ). Well, mine lasted 40K with normal driving, no track events or anything like that.
So it goes.

 

Hi,
That is a drag.
You are in Tennessee so you are next door to flat six innovations / jake raby, in Georgia.
You should contact him, he's the go to guy on this.
Is your dealer putting in a brand 996 new engine, or a rebuild?, or a sourced donor motor... and its 22k US total including labor and miscellaneous parts?
There is another company called RND engines that does rebuilds including upping the displacement, core swap, nickie's sleeves, etc
I only know about this from reading on rennlist, hope it helps.

 

Your experience regarding the IMS (bearing) going from OK to toast in practically no time is a very common theme to these failure reports. Unfortunately that's the nature of the beast.

 

"Very little strange noise" is not common for an IMSB failure though... I would think that if it's the imsb it'd be making a racket...What did they base their diagnosis on? I think that IMSB failure has become the de-facto "go to" marketing tool of unscrupulous service dept's when it comes to the 996. I'd be seeking a second opinion before giving them any $.

 

The OP reported the engine was pulled and metal shards found. I believe there must have been some disassembly.

It is not a hard dianosis to make. I've seen two engines, a 996 and a Boxster, in a dealership with a bad IMSB. With the transmission removed the IMS flange is removed and with the bearing exposed it is quite obvious if the bearing is the culprit or not.

See pic for what I'm talking about.

 

Ha... if it had a bearing like that, "marbles in a can" would have been a mild symptom. From my reading of the original post (and I'm going from memory here) he said it didn't make any unusual noises - it was a CEL that tipped him off...

 

Sorry to hear about your trouble.

If something like that happened to me, I would seriously consider a Renegade LS-3 V8 conversion.

http://www.renegadehybrids.com

 

I think shops are quick to say IMS failure as a catch-all when an engine dies suddenly. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.