My, "New to me" C4S Coupe. Quick question too

[sinner911]

Quick question:

This car is amazing and I got a great deal on it. Replacing the clutch, 60K service and it is done. The production year is 05/04. Should I be worried about doing the IMS upgrade on a later production C4S? PPI didn't show any problems and the oil is clean without any debris or metal shavings.

Thank you in advance for any advice. More pics to come.

[tonythetarga]

Very nice looking car! The IMS is an issue with any M96/M97 engine with an intermediate shaft. It is still recommended that the IMS bearing be replaced at the time of clutch change as they generally provide no notice of failure and a failure is catastrophic to the engine. Pretty cheap insurance when it comes down to it.

The post '02 cars have better castings and oiling and that solved the cylinder wall failures and oil starvation on high cornering (g loads) typically caused by track tires and better grip during long high speed corners (mostly on track).

The best thing you can do is drive the car and do frequent oil changes and hope nothing happens. How many miles on the car? Your post isn't clear...did you just have the clutch changed?

[sinner911]

Thank you, Tony. I bought the car last week and all that is needed is the 60K and a new clutch. My mechanic (Mark at Independent Performance Porsche) is going to take a thorough look at the car when I replace the clutch next week. He is a genius with a wrench so I trust he will do the right thing. What is the best replacement in your opinion?

Greg

[tonythetarga]

If it was me I'd put in the LN Engineering IMS bearing while you're there. You should read up about it and discuss it with your mechanic. I bought a 996 as well and need to drop the engine to some work. Before I sart the car it will have a new clutch and an LNE bearing, new AOS and water pump. All preventive maintenance but better to do when you have access to the motor.

[Halm]

Didn't Porsche start using the non-serviceable IMS about the time of his build? Otherwise I agree, add the LN part, or their Guardian for the peace of mind it can bring.

[tonythetarga]

The M96 engine was used thru 2004. When the 997, 987'S (M97) came out there was a change to the access but I'm not certain if it was 05 or 06. I'm wanting to say 06 when the Cayman was introduced, but either way, the 04 C4S can be repaired by removing the flywheel once the trans and clutch are off.

[sinner911]

Thank you for the very informative responses. I will go over all of these with Mark and see what he says. Thanks again, Pelicans.

Greg

[sinner911]

Thank you for the very informative responses. I will go over all of these with Mark and see what he says. Thanks again, Pelicans.

Greg

[ricks234]

I just bought a 986S that required a clutch. It is a good idea to thoroughly investigate the IMS. I replaced my with the LNE unit just to be safe, but my mechanic thought it was overkill. This issue is relatively uncommon, and impacts a very small number of M96 engines.

[88carrera]

I believe that the IMS was removed in the Mk II 997 engines beginning in 2008. I replaced my IMS bearing with the LNE ceramic bearing at 45K miles when I had my clutch replaced. It turned out that neither the clutch plate nor the original IMS bearing showed any signs of catastrophic failure, but I sure can sleep better at night for a total expenditure of ca. $2,100.

If you are doing the clutch anyway, it makes sense to spend the additional ca. $600 and do the LNE bearing replacement, IMHO.

[FPB111]

2009 on no ims