IMS bearing in rebuilt M96-97

[davea1954]

Hi all, a simple question, but one that I have not found an answer for - yet. Looking at purchasing 2002 - 05 911. Found one with an under- warranty replacement motor in it and low, low miles. My question is what type of IMS bearing would Porsche have installed during the rebuild? If rebuild occurred pre 2008 would they not have installed the same kind of IMS bearing that failed in the first place and was the cause of the engine self destruction? Seems logical to me. But so far I have yet to find someone who can confirm or refute this opinion. Hopefully someone here has the answer. Also don't know if rebuild was installed under initial new car warranty or under some type of extended warranty which could have put the motor exchange 2008 or later when the IMS reliability issue was fixed. Thanks. Dave

PS I currently drive a 2003 Boxster S with over 100K miles and the only problem I have run into so far is a busted water pump at 87K. Didn't even have to change front brakes till 91K, still on the original clutch. Oh, the wonders of freeway driving! But now that I am looking into selling it and move up to a 911 all I can see is Dirty Harry asking me "Do you feel lucky, uh, do ya?" At the price of a new motor you really have to think twice, or thrice, or more about buying a 1999-2007 911/Boxster because who really knows what percentage of M96-97 motors succumb to bad IMS bearings. Thanks again.

[JFP in PA]

Originally Posted by davea1954

Hi all, a simple question, but one that I have not found an answer for - yet. Looking at purchasing 2002 - 05 911. Found one with an under- warranty replacement motor in it and low, low miles. My question is what type of IMS bearing would Porsche have installed during the rebuild? If rebuild occurred pre 2008 would they not have installed the same kind of IMS bearing that failed in the first place and was the cause of the engine self destruction? Seems logical to me. But so far I have yet to find someone who can confirm or refute this opinion. Hopefully someone here has the answer. Also don't know if rebuild was installed under initial new car warranty or under some type of extended warranty which could have put the motor exchange 2008 or later when the IMS reliability issue was fixed. Thanks. Dave

PS I currently drive a 2003 Boxster S with over 100K miles and the only problem I have run into so far is a busted water pump at 87K. Didn't even have to change front brakes till 91K, still on the original clutch. Oh, the wonders of freeway driving! But now that I am looking into selling it and move up to a 911 all I can see is Dirty Harry asking me "Do you feel lucky, uh, do ya?" At the price of a new motor you really have to think twice, or thrice, or more about buying a 1999-2007 911/Boxster because who really knows what percentage of M96-97 motors succumb to bad IMS bearings. Thanks again.

Any factory reman engine built after 2005 would have the non serviceable large IMS bearing. And be aware, these bearings can fail as well, but cannot be replaced without tearing the engine down.

[Hunt3R]

Although they have a much lower fail rate, supposedly around 1% and its extremely rare to find someone who had it happen. They used the larger dual row bearing in some earlier years too but somewhere in 2005 they again started using the larger dual row bearing thru 2008. Hopefully there's paperwork on the engine replacement showing which year engine was used and maybe even details about the IMS? If not then the IMS may just have to be inspected if you want to know which one is in there. TuneRS motorsports make a Direct Oil Feed system to better lubricate the IMS bearing, stock or upgrade, and it works on any year 97-08.

[davea1954]

Thanks guys for the replies. 2005 IMS bearing improvements were a good step forward for a problem that never should have happened, but serviceability issues really makes you wonder where their heads were, and what their priorities were when they came up with this fix. If 1% is the true failure rate for the larger 05 - 07 IMS bearings then that's something I can probably live with and not lose too much sleep over. Thanks again.

[FPB111]

You can still add a DOF (Direct Oil Feed) to the larger bearings to help keep them lubed.
DIRECT OIL FEED (DOF) FOR IMS BEARINGS | TuneRS Motorsports

[tonythetarga]

Short answer is yes. That's what they're designed for.