Boxster advice?, 2000 S Options

[Tigre81]

They are great cars. I've had a 02 S since 05. It's up to 54,000 miles now. Last winter was a round of heavy maintenance. Brakes, clutch, inner CV boots and a upgrade of the intake to a Cayman airbox and 76mm throttle body.

Since I was tearing it down that far, I did the IMS bearing as well. I used the LN Engineering kit but since I had time, I used some existing motorcycle engine pullers and made the extra tools in house. I did put in the ceramic bearing. I've a lot of success with these in MC race engines. The bearing and housing that came out were in perfect condition, but it was still worth it for peace of mind.

If you've done engine rebuild work, and either have access to a lift or have the engine out, it's a very doable project.

Cheers,

Paul

[thomasotten]

About how much time did the IMS procedure take?

They are great cars. I've had a 02 S since 05. It's up to 54,000 miles now. Last winter was a round of heavy maintenance. Brakes, clutch, inner CV boots and a upgrade of the intake to a Cayman airbox and 76mm throttle body.

Since I was tearing it down that far, I did the IMS bearing as well. I used the LN Engineering kit but since I had time, I used some existing motorcycle engine pullers and made the extra tools in house. I did put in the ceramic bearing. I've a lot of success with these in MC race engines. The bearing and housing that came out were in perfect condition, but it was still worth it for peace of mind.

If you've done engine rebuild work, and either have access to a lift or have the engine out, it's a very doable project.

Cheers,

Paul

[Jake Raby]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/70933201@N07/.../in/photostream
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[thomasotten]

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/70933201@N07/.../in/photostream
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Yes, that is an excellent video. No warning, just bang! Then => Scheisse! Mein tolles Auto ist kaputt!


Well, I looked around and posted on 986forums.

It seems like with the IMS issue, there are four general remedies for the DIYer.

1. Do nothing and bet on the odds. Could cost you $4K for a replacement motor + time.
2. Replace your bearing with Pelican's kit. $165 + $189 for the tool kit. One could change the bearing every 40,000 miles. Would take about 6 hours of time to do it.
3. LN Engineering's ceramic bearing. $619 + $189 for the toolkit. Same time estimate as the Pelican kit.
4. Jake's permanent solution, which replaces the ball bearing with an oil fed bearing. I am not sure as to the availability as a DIY kit, or the price thereof.

With all the options, one could also do regular oil changes at shorter intervals, say at 4,000 miles, inspecting the oil filter for metal or plastic shards. One could also change your filter in between oil changes, looking for shards. Lastly, one could also install the IMS guardian for $389. This detects metal in the oil giving you an alarm.

[Jake Raby]

4. Jake's permanent solution, which replaces the ball bearing with an oil fed bearing. I am not sure as to the availability as a DIY kit, or the price thereof.

No DIY sales for the Solution. Been there, done that and learned our lessons. I told Charles at LN 5 years ago that the retrofit bearings should have never been sold to DIYr's and he admits now that I was correct.

With your car being a 2000 you have a chance that its a dual row equipped engine. In that case just retrofit it and be done. There are two kinds of M96 engines, those who are dying from IMS issues and those who have died from them.

This one will be entertaining for you. I have HUNDREDS more images like these to add to the video one day when I have the time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EOvhl77idA

The only bad choice you can make is to do nothing.

[hot_shoe914]

My 2000 is not an S, but it has 198,000 miles on it and going strong. I am not easy on my cars either, so good luck.

[jesiv]

I really struggled with getting a Boxster or the 911 because of the RMS and IMS issues. The fact that you could have a catastrophic failure while doing everything right and with the cost of a new engine was just more risk that I was prepared to accept. So my solution was to buy a Boxster with a CPO warranty. If mine was going to break, I wanted Porsche to pay the bill!! That was the peace of mind, I needed to pull the trigger. I have not regretted it for a single day!! Also, it is my daily driver. A totally awesome car!

One thing to remember is that, the more you research IMS and RMS issues/failures, the more common and frequent you will come to believe they occur! It is kind of like, if all you do is go to AA meeting one would begin to think everyone who drinks is an alcoholic! It’s the same with IMS and RMS failures. Try a Google search for “IMS did NOT fail”… Not near the result count! You really never hear of people who have had NO issues with their IMS and RMS. I have only know one person who had an IMS failure on a well maintained car and it was covered under warranty.
So I did what any paranoid Boxster owner would do… I replaced the IMS!! Below is my post on why.

Hope this helps!!

James


Well I did it!!! I replaced my IMS Bearing on my perfectly running 2003 Boxster S with 70K miles. Well I feel better!! I actually wish it would have been worn with metal filings everywhere. However, the bearing I replaced was in no way worn. In hindsight I see no reason to have replaced it. In fact, I feel I shouldn’t have done it. That being said, I replaced it because of what I have read on the web and more importantly a lack of response to the problem from Porsche. I actually talked with my dealer and he stated that Porsche had NO position on the issue. I think this is the greatest fear factor… a lack of response from Porsche. Their lack of response has caused me and I am sure many others to unnecessarily worry about the “potential catastrophic failure of the IMS” (not to mention others). In fact this was the biggest factor I had to overcome to buy my car. I could only buy a new Porsche with a warranty. Whereas, I had no concerns about an older Porsche as their weaknesses where known. Wheeras the newer models have virtually no history and thus we must rely purely on Porsche’s reputation. I am bothered by the lack of empathy from Porsche. All I want is to have Porsche to give me the best product it can and at least be me honest with me with the problems/defects. In the USA we have learned it is not the act the gets you in trouble… it is the cover-up… Seems like Mercedes is about to learn that concept…

Without Porsche’s input, I made the correct decision. I had the work done at Flintworks. As always, Alden was awesome. I really like to see what happens and with Alden I get to see. If you feel as I do, without a comment from Porsche, the only answer is to replace the IMS. I would do it again, knowing what I know now “replacing a perfectly good IMS bearing”

That being said, I still and have always loved Porsche!! I am currently looking to get a new Boxster. I know it will not have the IMS issues. I just hope Porsche will be honest with me regarding the new 2013 as to what the true issues are. Or I guess, I should get over it and be more understanding and love my new Porsche with all its “new” imperfections.

Regards,

James

Babbler Link

[Jake Raby]

My 2000 is not an S, but it has 198,000 miles on it and going strong. I am not easy on my cars either, so good luck.

Being hard on them keeps them alive.

The highest mileage we have EVER seen here is 147K.

[thomasotten]

Being hard on them keeps them alive.

The highest mileage we have EVER seen here is 147K.

That opinion seems to come up alot: being hard on them keeps them alive. But is there anything to substantiate that? If the bearing's lubrication is not a function of the engine speed, how does higher RPM help a sealed bearing?

[Jake Raby]

how does higher RPM help a sealed bearing?

Higher surface speeds unload the bearing. The way the factory IMSB is applied loads the races is unique to this bearing in an M96. The 6204 single row bearing is a GM Alternator bearing, it loads only 3 balls at once.

What I post on this topic is about 5% of what I actually know.

[thomasotten]

Makes sense.

[Tigre81]

About 2 months... It was winter and I wasn't in a hurry. It was also the first Porsche engine I had worked on so care was in order. Plus I had promised the co-owner (spouse) that I wouldn't modify the weekend car, so keeping the intake mods under wrap was critical ;-).

The actual work, maybe 6 hours. That from the time the flywheel came off until it went back on. You can get by without camshaft locks if you are careful, put the engine at TDC and mark the cam positions. Having experience with high performance MC engines was plus.

BTW, You can make the crank oil seal driver with PVC plumbing pieces.

Paul

About how much time did the IMS procedure take?

They are great cars. I've had a 02 S since 05. It's up to 54,000 miles now. Last winter was a round of heavy maintenance. Brakes, clutch, inner CV boots and a upgrade of the intake to a Cayman airbox and 76mm throttle body.

Since I was tearing it down that far, I did the IMS bearing as well. I used the LN Engineering kit but since I had time, I used some existing motorcycle engine pullers and made the extra tools in house. I did put in the ceramic bearing. I've a lot of success with these in MC race engines. The bearing and housing that came out were in perfect condition, but it was still worth it for peace of mind.

If you've done engine rebuild work, and either have access to a lift or have the engine out, it's a very doable project.

Cheers,

Paul

[Tigre81]

Indeed. Coming at this from a 2 stroke GP motor build, I'd consistently find less damage to the eccentric side balance shaft bearing in motors run by fast racers than slower racers. That installation is a worse case example of unequal bearing loads. If I'd replace one steel bearing with ceramic in those motors, it would be the balance shaft driven gear bearing...

how does higher RPM help a sealed bearing?

Higher surface speeds unload the bearing. The way the factory IMSB is applied loads the races is unique to this bearing in an M96. The 6204 single row bearing is a GM Alternator bearing, it loads only 3 balls at once.

What I post on this topic is about 5% of what I actually know.

[thomasotten]

I finally had time to put my Boxster alongside my 914 for some comparisons.

It was getting a little dark, but the pictures are still decent.

37 Years of difference, but they do not drive so different.

[JStroud]

I've got a 97 boxster, has LN engineering retrofit IMS bearing installed.
It's for sale if anyone's interested, I'll put an ad in the classifieds.

Jeff