I bought the cheapest Porsche 996 on Craigslist (as a non-runner) and I think the IMS bearing has failed. The car is a 2002 911 Carrera Coupe. It has 101k miles on the odometer.

I pulled the filter, opened it up and found feromagnetic flakes (see pics). There are also feromagnetic flakes in the filter housing and in the oil that I drained out of the filter housing.

How likely is it that I can save this engine? Am I better off buying a used engine? If the engine can be saved I'd like to rebuild it myself.

 

Will need a full rebuild. You could try doing it yourself or buying an engine or hiring someone like 9xx in Long Beach California. Those are your cheapest options. about 10K.

 

How much was the car?