Does anyone have any information as to the frequency of the intermediate shaft or bearing failure on 2005 to 2008 997? I had this problem in my boxster s and have read on web sites such as flat six innovations that this is a problem on all porsche engines from 1999 to 2008 except turbo and gt 3. I have read that this problem happens on
between 15 to 25 per cent of all Porsches. I am considering a 2005 997 S so your help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Rumor is that the shaft was continually improved upon by Porsche between 2005 and 2008. Apparently the 2005 997's are more likely to have the problem but I doubt a full quarter of them do.

Jason

 

If it was even as high as 1% Porsche would be in deep trouble. Don't believe everything you read and hear. 15 - 25% of "all Porsches" would mean that 100,000+ engines had a shaft failure.

 

get an '06 or newer. there was a final change for the IMS starting MY06

 

15-20% of m96/7 engines will develop some minor slop in the IS anterior clearance, hence making a little rattling noise in some(mine did). But as '99 points out the actual fail rate is probably <1%.

 

Interesting, any problems as a result of the IS anteior clearance issue or is it just an annoying sound?

Jason

 

I doubt the percentages are that high. Cars manufactured after June 2006 have a different intermediate shaft support design and are supposed to hold fine.

 

in all the cars we've ever worked on (997/996/987) that have an M9x engine we've only seen intermediate shaft failure twice. Both times Porsche stepped up and replaced the engine within days and the owners were back on the road. I'd say it's a very very rare occurance.

 

My car has a rattle around 2800 rpm that is driving me nuts. I am hoping it is just from the exhuast or heat shields. Going to take it to the dealer soon and have it checked out under warranty. Didnt know that you could hear the IMS making noise.

 

FYI,

I was reading the latest issue of Excellence and there is a whole article on the M96/97 engines and their reported issues and subsequent fixes. The IMS failure was brought up but the article really focused on the old 2.5L and 2.7L in the early Boxters (I got the feeling that these were considered the most problematic). The article also mentioned that the IMS was continually modified but never fully perfected citing the lack of an IMS in the new engines as cause for reflection. While they recognize the issues with the M96/7 engines, Excellence also mentioned that most engines go on to run perfectly for over 100,000 Miles and that those that have had problems have had zero problems getting support from Porsche.

Jason

 

Usually sounds like shaking a can of marbles, mine did it at idle. I know they made modifications to the m97 997 engines which reduced the incidence alot. If your car is doing it, make sure the dealer notes it in your service record even if it is 'normal'.

 

32,000 miles before i switched to a TT - no IMS failure.

 

I own a Porsche 911 (997) C2S Tiptronic on a 2005 '54' plate which I bought in October 2007. The car had done less than 15k miles and since I've owned it, I have covered less than 13k miles and only need a single service which I got done by Porsche Silverstone last year.

My engine died on me and the fault reported back by Porsche Tonbridge who looked over the vehicle was a failed Intermediate Shaft and that I'd need to get a replacement engine.

After having a few days to get over the shock of the experience and digest the potential £12k bill to replace the engine, they spoke to Porsche GB who have confirmed that they will pay 80% of the engine cost and 50% of the labour.

It means my share of the cost is £3k, which is a major result to me.

I did look at buying a used engine for around £5k, but with no guarantee and the additional cost of shipping the engine and getting it fitted, I could have ended up still paying a small fortune on to get my car back on the road.

I'm far from happy that the engine has failed given the few miles I've done, but as far as I'm concerned, my ownership experience will continue to be a happy one.

The dealer has been very good and although I've got a big chunk of money to pay out, at least I get a 24 month parts & labour warranty included.

I'm due to get the car back on 18th June 2010 - I will report back if anything goes wrong, but given how things have progressed so far I should continue to be a happy 911 owner.

 

My wife's '98 Boxster is going on 100k miles with no IMS or RMS issues.

J

 

Notice the mileage difference between posts #14 and #15. Quite telling.