IMS advice needed

[dgjks6]

I know, you guys are thinking another IMS thread.

Well here goes. 1999 Carrera 4 Cab. 38K miles. No problems running. Took for prophylactic IMS change. Just called by the mechanic. IMS was going. Metal in the engine everywhere.

He gave me 2 choices

1 - rebuild for 12-15K. At this point no damage to engine and would be a good core.

2- change IMS and flush motor and hope no other problems

Any thoughts?

[JFP in PA]

I know, you guys are thinking another IMS thread.

Well here goes. 1999 Carrera 4 Cab. 38K miles. No problems running. Took for prophylactic IMS change. Just called by the mechanic. IMS was going. Metal in the engine everywhere.

He gave me 2 choices

1 - rebuild for 12-15K. At this point no damage to engine and would be a good core.

2- change IMS and flush motor and hope no other problems

Any thoughts?

#2 is a bad idea. You are not going to get all the metal out flushing the engine, and the damage the remaining grit does will eventually be fatal.

At this juncture, you still have a salvageable engine, if you run it and do more damage, that may no longer be true. Time to pull it and either rebuild or replace; and put the new IMS in it either way.

[JasonStern]

The 996s are new enough that you can get a salvage low-to-medium mileage motor for $5-7k. If you aren't planning on keeping the car for 40-50 years hoping it appreciates, then instead of rebuilding your core, I'd look into picking up a motor with good leak down (or at least good compression) numbers, and then doing preventative maintenance (IMS bearing replacement, gasket replacement, etc.). It would probably save you $4k+. And while you run the risk of abuse from the prior owner, that risk is also mitigated by the fact that you are running a factory motor instead of one rebuilt by a low-volume shop.

Or, if you have the cash, there is always http://www.flat6innovations.com/# - but that is only cost effective if you plan on keeping the car long-term.

[dgjks6]

The guy I am working with is a flat 6 certified and trained guy. He said he does the same rebuilds as they do with the same upgrades at the same cost.

I looked at other rebuild shops. Ruled out motormeiser from bad reviews. But I found another place called ufomotorsports that will exchange the motor for $7500. Anyone ever hear of them?

[dgjks6]

Here are the pics he sent.

Thoughts? (But I only want a response if you say that it does not look bad)

[Hilux2400]

I looked at one of the pics and enlarged it. I then noticed you can scroll and found quite a few other pics that you might not want to show, like your lawnmower. You might want to delete some stuff.

[JFP in PA]

Here are the pics he sent.

Thoughts? (But I only want a response if you say that it does not look bad)

I think you can stick a fork in that one.......................

[wyovino]

Scroll down a few posts - There is someone with a totaled 996 that might be willing to sell a low mileage 3.4l engine. Maybe it's a match made in heaven.

[txhokie4life]

What WYOVINO says --