IMS-Preventive Maintenance per LN Engineering for MY 05-08

[Uwon]

There are enough threads on this and other forums dealing with retrofitting the IMS bearing but precious little on what action people are taking or have taken to maintain the larger, stronger non-retrofit bearing in the MY 05-08 cars.

Personally, I have adopted LN's recommendations and installed a magnetized oil drain plug; I maintain my revs. above 2,500; ensure that the oil level NEVER goes below the first bar; I avoid short trips; I change the oil (Motul 5W40) and filter every 5k miles; and I open up the filter, spread it and run a magnet across it. In addition, I always have the oil analyzed by Blackstone Labs.   

When and if the IMS Guardian comes out for the 997 ( including a matching dash button) I will certainly instal that.

I am now contemplating performing LN's only major preventive maintenance recommendation on these cars which is to pull the seal on the IMS bearing so that it can be lubricated by motor oil rather than relying in the sealed grease. But first I thought that I should ask this forum whether anybody has ever done this with success. Please weigh in with your experience and, for that matter, anything else that would be beneficial. Cheers.....

[White987S]

I am doing just about everything you are doing, sans the magnetized drain plug and oil filter dissection. My Blackstone UOA's have all been excellent with Red Line 5W40 and Mobil 5W50. I am just finishing my 7th driving season and rolling over 52,000 miles.

I am switching to the Jake Raby approved Joe Gibbs DT40 5W40 oil tomorrow, in fact, during my year-end maintenance routine. I have no plans to do anything else, like you mentioned (pulling the IMS bearing seal). If my car ever goes "BOOM".......I'll either part it out and buy another Porsche, or stuff a 3.6 or a 3.8 motor into it. And drive my 993 Turbo more while the work is being done on the Boxster.

I have BIGGER FISH TO FRY. I can't worry about every possible internet issue with Porsches. I am on top of all my maintenance and take great care of my cars. If something breaks, I'll just fix it. Stroke the big check, and move on. No lost sleep. That's part of the price of addmission. Works for me. But, I understand it does not for everyone.

[phillipj]

I am doing just about everything you are doing, sans the magnetized drain plug and oil filter dissection. My Blackstone UOA's have all been excellent with Red Line 5W40 and Mobil 5W50. I am just finishing my 7th driving season and rolling over 52,000 miles.

I am switching to the Jake Raby approved Joe Gibbs DT40 5W40 oil tomorrow, in fact, during my year-end maintenance routine. I have no plans to do anything else, like you mentioned (pulling the IMS bearing seal). If my car ever goes "BOOM".......I'll either part it out and buy another Porsche, or stuff a 3.6 or a 3.8 motor into it. And drive my 993 Turbo more while the work is being done on the Boxster.

I have BIGGER FISH TO FRY. I can't worry about every possible internet issue with Porsches. I am on top of all my maintenance and take great care of my cars. If something breaks, I'll just fix it. Stroke the big check, and move on. No lost sleep. That's part of the price of addmission. Works for me. But, I understand it does not for everyone.

:thumbup:

[smokersteve]

How do you pull the IMS seal?

[JFP in PA]

Basically take everything apart just like you were going to pull the IMS, but because it won't come through the case, use a small pick to pull the rear seal off of the bearing, then reassemble everything..............

[Uwon]

I am really surprised that nobody has reported on their experience with removing the outside seal from the bearing (facing the flywheel). I am going to post the question in the 996 section and in Pelican.

[brendel]

If your engine works well why would you do that?, the 05-08 design has proven to be highly reliable

Buy yourself peace of mind with Porsche Guarantee ( up to 10 years and 125 000 Miles )

[Uwon]

Hi folks. For those interested, there is more discussion to my question in the Renntech 996 and the pelican 996/997 forums. Similar heading.

Grendel, we in Canada cannot get the 10 year warranty, 6 is max. and I'm well past that.

[renntech101]

I have a 2005 Boxster 2.7, built around April-May depending on the module dates shown on the Durametric. I bought a stethescope and have started listening to the bearing every once in a while. One wheel on a 2 inch block of wood there is just enough room to reach the casing near the bearing with the tip of the scope. I hear a clean noise like balls going round a race. I'm an engineer, I discussed this with a colleague who worked at SKF. In his opinion the bearing would go bad quite slowly and sound terrible on the scope before it failed. Be interested to hear if others have more practical knowledge on this....

[JFP in PA]

There is a fair amount of truth to your proposition; there is actually a methodology that claims to have identified the harmonic frequency trace of an IMS bearing going bad using an external sensor and a recording oscilloscope device. This concept was written up in a publication some time back.

Unfortunately, there are flaws in this approach. The measurement technology requires some pretty sophisticated equipment (read expensive and not very portable), and it generates a fairly complicated data set that requires technical interpretation to determine the bearing is bad. Add to that the simple fact that by the time the bearing is either making bad noises, or harmonic frequency traces, it probably has already filled the engine with the typical fine metallic grit that a dying IMS creates, eliminating any chance of saving the engine without a complete tear down and rebuild.

Raby’s “Guardian” system would probably have picked up the IMS decay earlier, before it had done enough damage to be detected by either sound or harmonics, and more critically before in rendered the engine in need of a total tear down…………..