RE: IMS problem?

[Emi]

Hello,

Recently, found a large oil patch under my 03 boxster, I believed it to be a RMS failure. I removed the oil pan and found a lot of metal debris thinking it must be a IMS failure. The interesting thing is the car runs well and idles perfectly, it will only leak oil (a lot of oil!) when it is turned off? The other puzzling thing is I found a small spring and ball bearing in the sump - does any one know if the IMS has springs? Any ideas what it could be??

Thank you all in advance

[johnsjmc]

Stop driving it NOW any metal trash in the pan is a sign of a pending disaster. The spring might be from the IMS ball bearing seal . Have it towed to a mechanic and have it looked at DO NOT RUN IT until this is fixed.

[Emi]

Thank you for the reply the car is at home and I am not running it. What worries me is the metal in the oil. Anyone have any ideas how to clean out the metal pieces out of the motor effectivly?

[johnsjmc]

Would also suggest you cut open the oil filter and look for metal. First you need to find the source of the failure . If you drop the trans and pull the IMS cover and determine the bearing has failed. You might be lucky and be able to use the LN or Jake Raby bearing and tools . Look up the instructions on LN site. Then flush the motor with several oil and filter changes . Cross your fingers.

[ronster]

After you've fixed the problem install a magnetic drain plug then do the oil flushes. LN Engineering sells one. If you found a ball bearing and a spring in your sump consider yourself a lucky man that you got the car turned off in time. I'm talking $15K lucky.

[Emi]

Hello all.


Just removed the transmission and the center bolt on the IMS bearing was broken off it amazes me the car did not have a catastrophic failure? Is this normal to have the center bolt break off did I just get lucky? Is the motor still salvageable? Anyone have any experience with this type of scenario? Thr ironic thing is that I just had the clutch replaced by the dealer and nothing was mentioned?

thank you all in advance

[johnsjmc]

You might be VERY VERY lucky. Call Jake Raby at flat 6 innovations in Atlanta.706-865-1963 He and LN engineering developed the parts and procedures to change the IMS bearing without removing the engine. He will be able to tell you what to do and what your chances are of saving it without disassembly. Their website shows a engine with the centre bolt broken on the IMS and they were able to save it for something like $650 He posts on Rennlist once in a while .

[Wayne 962]

Yikes. Sounds like you caught it just in time. Our car has about 150-200 miles on it since the retrofit, and it was running fine (we pulled the engine in order to do some tech articles on it, but it will be going back in, in a week or two).

Our kit is not available at this time just yet, but I do recommend the LN Engineering kit that we sell in the meantime. Why don't you give Glenn in sales a call at 1-888-280-7799x230 and he can walk you through that.

If you follow the procedures in the IMS replacement article, then you should be able to save your engine!

-Wayne

Originally Posted by Emi

Hello,


I recenlty read your ims write up it was very well done and well illustrated. I have an 03 Boxster and have no noise coming from the motor however, a large oil leak that is indicative of a rms. I pulled out the oil filter and pan and it looks very much like the one in your illustrations. I am now under th assumption that the the IMS has gone bad and in the process of removing the transmission . Morever, How bad was your IMS bearing and was the car saved? I am concerned of the amount of metal circulating around the motor. I also found a very small ball bearing and spring in the oil pan any ideas? lastly, is your ims replacment kit avaiable?

regards,

Emilio
Toronto Canada.

[Wayne 962]

Here's the link to the article by the way:

Pelican Technical Article: Boxster Intermediate Shaft Bearing Replacement and Upgrade (IMS) - 986 Boxster (1997-04) - 987 Boxster (2005-06)

-Wayne

[ronster]

Here's a link to a video I made when my IMS was changed out to the LN Engineering ceramic one. It was done at Flintworks in Campbell, CA. The video has been edited down from 30 minutes to 10 minutes for YouTube so only the essential procedures are shown.
FLINTWORKS - VIDEO

[Zeke]

I think Glen is at x 240, not 230 unless it changed in the last 2 weeks.

[Admin at Pelican Parts]

Yeah he is at x240

[SteelCity]

Hello All - I am currently a honda 2004 s2000 owner (for 5 years) who tracks the car a couple times a year. I have been seriously considering moving to a boxster next year (MY05 S +) and have been researching the IMS failure. I was glad to find the information on Pelican and LN because to this point I didn't think there was any solution - it was simply "know what your getting into and keep your fingers crossed."

After reading some posts and LN's website - i seem to think i would preemptively change the bearing or the entire IMS when i got a boxster for piece of mind. I plan on keeping this car for a long time and i use my sports cars in all ways. Although it is not my only daily driver. Seeing the change in bearings from 2005 to 2006, although as you described you might not know what bearing will be in a specific engine, for somebody wanting to enter boxster ownership and address this issue right off the bat is there a better year to approach this? For instance should i get a 2005 with that was loved and hope that i can just do the bearing or as the saying goes by the newest one i can and do the whole IMS option from LN.

Thanks in advance. Regards, Damon.

[mikefocke]

What LN/Charles says:

It would definitely be the MY05, as it can be replaced. Most MY05 cars should be single row, but we’ve had a handful (maybe two) that had double row bearings, much to our surprise!

The MY06-08 cars cannot have their IMS bearings serviced unless you tear down the engine completely and as we’re starting to hear of MY06-08 failures more commonly now, I think it’s best to stick to something you can service. Unless… a car was purchased with the intention of purposefully going in and building up a larger engine, and in that case, it doesn’t matter. We have an upgrade for the MY06-08 IMS, but engine has to be split like previously mentioned.

[SteelCity]

Mike and Charles - thanks! That is what i deduced from LN's website but seems counterintuitive to typical used car buying. Regards, Damon

[mikefocke]

I think you can infer from the changes that Porsche was trying to make an existing design better before they had a scheduled major change which eliminated the IMS in '09. There have been varying designs with varying characteristics through the '97-'08 model years. And the last IMS may or may not be better but is surely much more expensive to replace. So newer is not better in the case you posed...the "I'm going to replace the IMS" case..

[txhokie4life]

Is the IMS shaft diameter larger in the my06+
cars?

Mike

I think you can infer from the changes that Porsche was trying to make an existing design better before they had a scheduled major change which eliminated the IMS in '09. There have been varying designs with varying characteristics through the '97-'08 model years. And the last IMS may or may not be better but is surely much more expensive to replace. So newer is not better in the case you posed...the "I'm going to replace the IMS" case..

[jperquin]

Can somebody tell from this pic whether this is a double or single row on my 1999 Boxster 2.5 (engine# M962065X03247) ?

[s_wilwerding]

You can't tell from the picture, but a 99 2.5 has a dual row.

[dad911]

Hard to tell from your pics. Look at figures 14 & 15 from Wayne's link above.