Be careful going by the VIN. It would be better to get the engine serial number. Your motor could have been swapped out with the latest large ceramic M97 bearing. If that's the case, I wouldn't swap the bearing out. If it's the original engine, then you'll have the most failure prone of all three versions of the M96 bearing - that is, the small single row bearing. These are the worst of the bunch.

 

Having had an IMS failure about a year ago, despite an LN replacement 50K miles back, this is my take: If you get a good deal on a 996, budget $2k for a replacement and have it done at a shop you trust after you buy it.
At present values, a 996 is a good investment.

I drove mine for 110K miles ( bought with 30K on the odometer ), and when the IMS failed with no warning, at 140k , I liked the car so much I placed a rebuilt engine at $24K and just decided to keep it forever.
( If the shop had registered the LN IMS replacement, I would have been able to get them to cover at least some of the cost.)

 

If you have a factory rebuilt engine, it will have the letters AT in the serial no. If it is the original engine, I would consider using the LN IMS Solution which converts it from a sealed ball bearing to a pressure fed bearing like the main and rod bearings. I did this conversion to my wife’s 2003 996 C2 last year as soon as we purchased it. I have been very happy with it. I have the LN ceramic bearing in my 2001 996. It was installed by Flat Six in 2015. I just purchased an IMS solution to install in the 2001. I wanted it initially but it was not available for the dual row bearing back in 2015. Installation was very straightforward but I welded a crowsfoot to the socket used to torque the nut so I could use a screwdriver to hold prevent the stud from turning.

 

Like the other posts have said just figure to do it any way. I have a early production 99 with the dual row bearing but I had it replaced with an LN any way. My RMS was failing but my mechanic said the bearing looked good. It was replaced any way with a new clutch and RMS. 2k for piece of mind vs. wondering and a 10k motor replacement.......

 

Volkers, the stock LN IMS Bearing is only warranted for two years (and that was just increased from one year). Further LN states.."normal maintenance every 4-5 years or 50-60k miles, maybe even sooner with the case of the single row bearing." You were about due to replace anyway (I know, not much consolation).

I am in the same boat. I have a car that the the prior owner claimed had the IMS done at 39k miles in 2013 but no registration (I did speak to his shop and the owner claimed he did the work). Now at 50k, I had a ppi done, and the oil filter was spotless. Having the oil tested as well. Shop says unless oil test is bad, to wait until clutch replacement before replacing again.

 

Porsche was manufacturing the problem “IMS cars” til early 2005 iirc, so anything up til then should be approached with that knowledge

I could be wrong, this is from what I have read over the years on this issue, somebody will correct me here if wrong.

 

No the problem is both M96 and M97 engines used until my 2008
http://theimssolution.com/

 

All of the standard LN Retrofit bearings (except the IMS Solution) have replacement intervals regardless of miles. If you don't want to worry with changing it out, then go with the IMS Solution. Remember, changing your bearing is a preventive measure and pulling a good bearing is what you want, not a failing bearing. So many people feel like they've been robbed when they go pull the bearing and it looks perfect. Again, that's what you want!

 

I find the whole IMS issue to be very confusing but I am still learning on the subject before I buy anything.

 

What are you confused about Choron? I'm sure there are many willing people here on the forum willing to bring light to the subject.

 

I had a ppi when I bought my car. I also paid for an oil change so they could see the filter to look for metal particles (was clean). I also authorized an oil analysis with Blackstone. This gives me enough peace of mind to wait until the clutch gets changed to address.

From my report: Wear from the IMS bearing shows up as iron, and the 9-ppm in this sample is just fine. Keep in
mind, the IMS bearing is a sealed unit so we don't see any metal from it until the seal fails. Watch for an oil
leak near the rear main seal or oil filter metal as symptoms of IMS trouble. Universal averages show typical
wear after ~3,700 miles of oil use. Wear metals are fine so we don't suspect any mechanical issues. The
5.0 TBN shows lots of active additive in the oil. We consider 1.0 too low. No fuel or water was found, and oil
filtration is fine with insolubles at 0.3%.

 

Curious, how would you advise someone to "watch for an oil leak near the rear main seal" when oil can also leak from IMS flange?

 

Replace it with an aftermarket solution, and get peace in your soul..

 

The solution installed costs about $4500, which is pretty steep imho for a preventive measure. Assuming a $15k costs to rebuild and a 5% failure rate, the max cost to prevent spent should not exceed $750 or you are paying to much for the risk. If you have no symptoms (check filter, run oil analysis, wait until clutch replacement to reduce labor makes more sense to me than just throwing money at the car.