IMS - Issue Characteristics

[GaryDG]

I am considering purchasing a '90 996 and I have read the posts about IMS issues and the catestophic results of that failure.

1) How can I determine if the IMS has been updated? The current owner is unaware if it has been done, it wasn't done in his 6 years of ownership.

2) Other than complete engine failure (mosts posts) are there any precursers to the event itself? Does the car make a sound or run poorly or does it just happen?

3) Some posts say that "IMS is serialized" what does that mean?

4) I see $1,000 posted as the general price for having the IMS Upgrade? Is that still accurate?

[JFP in PA]

1) Unless it was done by Jake Raby, probably the only way is to take the car apart and look at it. False upgrade claims are a common event in the used car market.

2) Not really, the event is usually quick and catastrophic in nature; very few are "caught" in the act of failing. Signs of a problem manifest themselves in a large amount of metal debris in the oil and filter, but that is usually too late. Early signs can be see in cam deviation values, but that requires diagnostic software.

3) When Jake Raby and LN Engineering introduced the upgrade, they developed a numbering system to identify which car what bearing was in for data tracking. Unfortunately, when installers failed to report back the necessary information, the data base broke down.

4) $1K is not realistic; $2500 to $3000 is more in line as the update usually also includes a clutch and RMS update. With the dual row IMS update part costing $650 alone, you are not going to get one done for $1K.

[GaryDG]

Hey Thanks for that great response!

Any idea what % of 996's have an IMS failure? Does year or production number within a year have any statistical bearing (no pun intended)?

[racer]

Seems all year 996 and early 997 motors have experienced IMS failures. Factual numbers I don't think exist as I am sure Porsche doesn't admit that there is an actual issue. If you read the interweb long enough, you would think 100% have or will fail.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by GaryDG

Hey Thanks for that great response!

Any idea what % of 996's have an IMS failure? Does year or production number within a year have any statistical bearing (no pun intended)?

Any M96/97 with an IMS is at risk, but the single row design (2001-2005) are amongst the worst offenders.

[BYprodriver]

#1 LN IMSB retrofits are barely 6 years old at the most so it is highly unlikely it was done by the previous owner.

[wtbzanzibar911]

You said you have a 90 porsche
If so,it's not a 996

[Nostril Cheese]

The thing I've noticed is that if the car has been driven hard and received frequent oil changes, i have yet to run into an IMS issue.

In the cars that I have changed the IMS on, the babied cars are the ones that seem to have the problem more often. I cant say why, but just an observation.