[kuehjo]

Thats part of the answer I am looking for - those pictures are worth a thousand words!!

So the issues are two-fold:
1.) timing
2.) metal grit (bearing debris)

The proper LONG-TERM answer to #2 is a rebuild and a good cleaning

But regarding #1 - so the timing can skip as little as a tooth, or it can be catastrophic?

Does the engine tend to lock up? or it MAY, but it may NOT (depending on what broke or got bent)?

I'm looking forward to putting my hands on the car and pulling the old IMS - at 80K miles I would be thinking of replacing it ANYWAY - and this would be a great time to address the RMS at the same time. There is no guarantee that this one has gone bad - the PO is concerned that it MIGHT have it - but I don't think that he does a lot of his own maintenance beyond changing the oil. So I'm a little reluctant to accept his diagnosis without looking at it closely. And I won't know until I either start the car (which I am understandably reluctant to do if the issue POTENTIALLY exists) or pull the old IMS out and get a better look at it. The kind of noise he describes could be the IMS, a wheel bearing, the clutch, brakes (and probably a number of other things)... He says it does NOT change linearly with engine rpms - that makes me wonder, as I would expect IMS bearing noise to cycle with rpms.

I will start by checking the timing, emptying the oil, cutting open the filter, checking the fuel pump and relay, and possibly dropping the pan, in addition to PLANNING to replace the IMS - if evidence begins to mount that it has indeed failed, then I will do a rebuild or replace. The car is still a clean car, and the price is right