Help please IMS removal have crank locked at tdc

[showbiz]

2000 C4 996 have crank locked in place at tdc question do I have to remove the back two tensioners or all four ? removing the IMS bearing.

[47silver]

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

this may be applicable to your engine too.

[FPB111]

Back two have been all most folks have removed. As long as the crank is pinned you should be OK.

[showbiz]

thanks 47silver and FPB111 took off the ims cover off tonight and Im glad I saw the little specs in the oil filter paper this bearing was about to go anytime ,have to still pull out (waiting on parts and puller from LN) but only has about 4 balls left in it. Porsche ran fine no noise and the pan was clean.

[DaveBerry]

How many mile on your 996?

[JFP in PA]

Try watching this video that Jake Raby just shared on another site:

Porsche 911 Carrera - Intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing, replacing 996 how to - YouTube

[showbiz]

Originally Posted by DaveBerry

How many mile on your 996?

Dave Only 62000 miles and I have records from Porsche dealer bought and serviced since new

[FPB111]

Pics of the bearing, Please

[showbiz]

Originally Posted by JFP in PA

Try watching this video that Jake Raby just shared on another site:

Porsche 911 Carrera - Intermediate shaft (IMS) bearing, replacing 996 how to - YouTube

Thanks Excellent video! wish I would have seen this before I started ,I just locked the crank at tdc and set screwed the ims shaft , removed the rear tensioners removed the IMS cover to see the shape before ordering the kit from LN hope my cam timing did not screw up,will post pics of bearing when removed. Greg

[Gus Berges]

Can you post pic of what the filter looked like. Would like to know what amount of metal in the filter would be considered normal and what is not. Do you have a magnetic drain plug too? If so, did that give you any kind of indication?

After spending some time on a 930 this weekend, I am afraid that I am leaning back towards the 996/997 (2005 only) series of cars as the IMS bearing is replaceable, but the more I look into it, the more I see that it can fail without any notice. Car I am looking at now is a Tip, so tearing it down "just to see" is a pricey option.

[showbiz]

Originally Posted by Gus Berges

Can you post pic of what the filter looked like. Would like to know what amount of metal in the filter would be considered normal and what is not. Do you have a magnetic drain plug too? If so, did that give you any kind of indication?

After spending some time on a 930 this weekend, I am afraid that I am leaning back towards the 996/997 (2005 only) series of cars as the IMS bearing is replaceable, but the more I look into it, the more I see that it can fail without any notice. Car I am looking at now is a Tip, so tearing it down "just to see" is a pricey option.

no magnetic drain plug in at this time Gus but ordered one up from LN,here is a pic of my magnet across the paper filter after 700 miles of oil change.

[Gus Berges]

Thanks. So would this be considered normal? I am assuming you are changing the bearings just to be safe, correct?

[DaveBerry]

Not normal. The question is, can the engine be saved, or is it toast?

[cnavarro]

If the bearing has already failed as described, it is not advisable to proceed with an IMS Retrofit since FOD can compromise the new bearing as well as many other things inside the engine and lead to a much bigger repair bill down the road.

[showbiz]

Made up a tool and removed bearing,all 16 accounted for ,very smooth shavings inside tube,nothing in pan or pick up tube ,used magnet and vacuum to get out and cleaned out with lots of brake clean , will vacuum out again once is dry and use magnet again.This 996 engine was running fine with no audible noises,after looking into the filter seeing specs and then dropping pan to find only a very small piece of rubber,I was just about to button up do the oil and filter change and drive,good thing I wanted to look at the bearing just to make sure..after hearing about the IMS bearing problems.I will "Not" be going with the LN bearing for now(as per above post) but will go with Waynes from Pelicans,will run the engine up without transmission installed till operating temp , change oil and inspect and change oil and filter a few times in this state . here are the pics of the bearing there was NO noise.when removed the seal the bearings fell out,when first looked at the bearing inside the IMS shaft thought there were only four ,but all 16 are there just worn ,ready to cause a major failure.

[KNS]

That looks terrible.

Good luck moving forward!

[showbiz]

I am very positive on the out come and will post all results

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by showbiz

I am very positive on the out come and will post all results

Before you go any further, pull the sump cover. If you find more of that metal grit all over the place, putting a new IMS bearing (any type) in the engine is going to be a bit of a fool’s errand as the residual grit throughout the engine is eventually going to kill either the new bearing or the entire engine. We have seen this time and again, and it is why Charles suggested against putting a new IMS bearing in it; there is a valid reason why both LN and FlatSix recommend against retrofitting the IMS bearing if the OEM unit is already in the late stages of death, it rarely works out…………….

[showbiz]

Took the sump cover off after seeing the filter specs,also the oil pump pick up screen no metal found was very clean. The only metal soft shavings we could see were in the IMS shaft tube,very close to the bearing.We will drop the sump again and have another very close look,any findings and will do complete rebuild.

[Gus Berges]

So this engine was about to blow at any moment with no warning whatsoever?! I wonder if the IMS Guardian would have detected this on time, thus preventing from the original bearing to get as bad as it has.

I was unaware that if the OEM bearing was deteriorated, that replacing with a new one is ill advised. I am guessing then that the best thing to do with all M96/97 motors is to open them up, change to a LN bearing, and know that every 40K miles this needs to be done as part of regular maintenance?! If so, Porsche owners can no longer laugh at Ferrari ownership (maintenance related...)