IMS bearing replacement complete - giant tech article inside

[Dr.Strangepork]

Just finished replacing the IMS bearing on my '01S the other week.

I took a bunch of pics plus a video along the way, so I compiled them into a tech article that outlines the process. Also, since I did a ton of research before getting into this, I compiled all the most up to date, pertinent info I know of into one article. It outlines everything one needs to know to replace the IMS bearing.

Since it's quite long and has a lot of pics, here's the link:

http://boxsterguide....g-info-and.html

Please let me know if anything I mentioned is inaccurate or if I left something important out.

I'll be writing up another article about the semi-custom exhaust I did while the car was apart too. I'd like to shoot some sound clips of it first this weekend though ;)

Enjoy!

Edited September 17, 2010 by Dr.Strangepork

[JFP in PA]

Nicely detailed write up............

[Dr.Strangepork]

Thanks :)

[geoff]

Great writeup! Did you also look at the option in http://www.renntech....ge__pid__186215 ??

[goldenwarrior1]

Man, no offense meant but that has to be the dirtiest engine I have seen in any ANY car!

Edited September 20, 2010 by goldenwarrior1

[Dr.Strangepork]

Man, no offense meant but that has to be the dirtiest engine I have seen in any ANY car!

I know it's dirty :( it seems par for the course with Boxster engines for the top to be covered in dust as most owners don't ever even see the engine. I've seen others that look just like it. I haven't had a chance to give the engine a good cleaning as I've had other priorities such as replacing the IMS bearing, overhauling the brakes, top window, etc.

As for the grime on the block, guess you can thank the RMS for that...I did give it a good scrubbing though, you can tell in the final pics that most of the grime is gone :) gave the transmission a wash while I was at it too.

Great writeup! Did you also look at the option in http://www.renntech....ge__pid__186215 ??

I have yet to see that. I did mention in my article that LN and PP are the only ones in the US because I figured someone in the UK or elsewhere probably had their own solution.From an engineering standpoint, I'm a bit skeptical of that design. They're reinventing the wheel, which can introduce potential unforeseen issues. The LN solution is just making the original design more robust to make it more reliable.

Edited September 20, 2010 by Dr.Strangepork

[jmatta]

Great write-up. Work like this continues to take the mystery out of the IMS; making the decision to replace is that much easier when the time comes (I plan to do mine as preventative maintenance since my car has just 18k miles after eight years).

[demonz]

Nice write up. How was your original bearing? I did a car with 68k mi and bearing was tight and no issues.