IMS bearing replacement

[BretW]

I bought my wife a used 2002 Boxster a few weeks ago and she loves the car. It's a 5 speed with 48000 miles. I thought it would be needing a clutch soon, so I went ahead and order the LN IMS bearing kit along with a clutch kit. Pretty easy job, just a little time consuming since I've never worked on a Boxster before. The IMS bearing came out very nicely and had no obvious problems. The seals both looked good, but it was full of oil and all the grease was gone. Would it have been a problem done the road, maybe, but hopefully I won't have to worry about it from now one. Waiting for the new RMS to come in before I finish the job. I unfortunately messed up the first install so hopefully the second will be better.

[ronster]

Originally Posted by BretW

I bought my wife a used 2002 Boxster a few weeks ago and she loves the car. It's a 5 speed with 48000 miles. I thought it would be needing a clutch soon, so I went ahead and order the LN IMS bearing kit along with a clutch kit. Pretty easy job, just a little time consuming since I've never worked on a Boxster before. The IMS bearing came out very nicely and had no obvious problems. The seals both looked good, but it was full of oil and all the grease was gone. Would it have been a problem done the road, maybe, but hopefully I won't have to worry about it from now one. Waiting for the new RMS to come in before I finish the job. I unfortunately messed up the first install so hopefully the second will be better.

I also replaced my OEM IMS with the LN IMS at 84K miles on my '99 Boxster. There were no leaks from the bearing but, like yours, the grease was gone and it was being lubricated by motor oil. The oil that came out of the bearing smelled very burnt and had a brownish color to it. The bearing appeared a little sloppy but otherwise looked ok. It was sent to LN, as per their instructions, for analysis but it has been almost a year and I have not heard from them what the prognosis for the bearing is. Hard to tell when the bearings come out looking ok and have no leaks.

[BretW]

I kept my original bearing and boxed it up in the LN box. Since they only provide a warranty for a shop installing the bearing and I did it myself, I saw no reason to send in the bearing. Now if I end up selling to a person that has knowledge of the IMS issues, I can show them the original bearing that had no noticeable wear and they'll have the reassurance that a higher quality bearing has been installed.

[mikefocke]

The reason they wanted the bearing is for analysis by Ed who is a bearing engineer and for statistical purposes to help them quantify the risks for all the rest of us. The receipt and box would be enough proof for most buyers.

[ronster]

While it is true that the data from the analysis of the individual bearings is available to the rest of you, those of us who stepped up to the plate, paid our money, put our motors on the line and took the time were told we would get an analysis of our bearing, that is one of the reasons for collecting specific data from purchasers, installers and users. It is called the price of admission.