1999 IMS Replacement

[valley996]

I am wondering if you can order Porsche replacement IMS parts and save a little money by not purchasing the LN Engineering kit?

[JFP in PA]

I am wondering if you can order Porsche replacement IMS parts and save a little money by not purchasing the LN Engineering kit?

You are kidding, right? Last time I checked, and it was some time ago, all they were offering was the "final solution" large diameter IMS that will not fit thru the opening in the rear of the assembled cases; you have to remember that according to Porsche, the IMS bearing cannot be changed without disassembling the motor anyway, so why offer the ones they know have problems.

At that time, the OEM parts were between $750 and $1,000 for the bearing and new matching shaft (which has to be changed to use the larger bearing in an early M96), so this wasn't exactly the low cost approach. Pelican has been touting an "OEM Like" bearing kit, but has not released it the last time I checked.

Lastly, why would you want to use a part that is known to lead to catastrophic failures, when there is another design, which costs less than what Porsche is offering, and has no record of a failure? Most of the cost in doing an IMS upgrade is in getting to it, the bearing itself is cheap by comparison,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Edited July 2, 2011 by JFP in PA

[valley996]

That is what I suspected but I thought I would ask. I have also checked with Pelican Parts on their kit, but they just keep saying it is being tested. I would rather pay $200 than $600 if it is equal quality. It's funny how a little competition can bring a price down. Pelican said they would announce on their website when it is available but no date yet.

I am wondering if you can order Porsche replacement IMS parts and save a little money by not purchasing the LN Engineering kit?

You are kidding, right? Last time I checked, and it was some time ago, all they were offering was the "final solution" large diameter IMS that will not fit thru the opening in the rear of the assembled cases; you have to remember that according to Porsche, the IMS bearing cannot be changed without disassembling the motor anyway, so why offer the ones they know have problems.

At that time, the OEM parts were between $750 and $1,000 for the bearing and new matching shaft (which has to be changed to use the larger bearing in an early M96), so this wasn't exactly the low cost approach. Pelican has been touting an "OEM Like" bearing kit, but has not released it the last time I checked.

Lastly, why would you want to use a part that is known to lead to catastrophic failures, when there is another design, which costs less than what Porsche is offering, and has no record of a failure? Most of the cost in doing an IMS upgrade is in getting to it, the bearing itself is cheap by comparison,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[logray]

The Pelican bearing is NOT going to be equal quality with the LN bearing as Wayne (Pelican CEO) has pointed out in the past. IT is reportedly going to be closer to the OEM quality bearing.

That being said (if it is ever released) it will be functional and perhaps you would have to replace "more often" than the LN bearing.

If you want "the best solution", then the LN bearing kit is the way to go.

If you haven't read through this web page, I highly recommend doing so. From top to bottom.

http://www.lnengineering.com/ims.html

Excerpts from the above website.

"What is the IMS Upgrade? To resolve these known IMS problems, we have engineered our IMS upgrade with a billet chromoly steel hub flange, an increased diameter bearing support/retainer (also manufactured out of chromoly), also providing increased bearing area and dynamic load capacity of almost 5,000 lbs. with our triple bearing - compared to 2200 lbs. for the single, 3060 lbs. for the dual row, and 3650 lbs for the MY06 and later single row. In addition, we use Porsche's revised seal to ensure leak free operation and we permanently seal the ims tube (behind the bearings) to prevent it from filling with oil allowing us to use open bearings for improved cooling and lubrication. Your shaft is returned to you, reconditioned and upgraded - cleaned, assembled, and bench tested. We offer this service for all intermediate shafts MY97 through MY08. LN Engineering offers our machine-in upgrade for early and later style intermediate shafts on an exchange basis or we can upgrade your IMS for $895 plus refundable core charge if on exchange basis. MY06-08 shafts receive a new OE Porsche flange, seal, and IMS, as well as an updated ceramic hybrid bearing and the shaft also goes through the same processes as earlier single and dual row bearing intermediate shafts, receiving single updated larger bearing instead."

"Does installing an IMS retrofit or doing an IMS Upgrade make my engine immune to an IMS failure?

It's hard to answer that question. Porsche revised the design three times across the MY97 to MY08 M96 engine and eventually decided to eliminate the IMS completely from the new MY09 engines. It may be advisable to consider the IMS a service item, like a timing belt in many modern cars. Seeing that we started to see more MY05 engines with IMS failures in late 2009 as well as failures in MY06 (with revised 3rd gen bearing) in late 2010, that may suggest that bearing replacement (or inspection at bare minimum) should be considered every four years or 50,000 miles to 5 years or 60,000 miles, similar to many manufacturers' powertrain warranties.

That said, we've put the best bearings we can in our IMS Retrofit Kits and Upgrades to give your M96 the best fighting chance for a long service life. Currently we have three years of service of our IMS Retrofit and IMS Upgrades with zero failures and several thousand in service"