Intermediate shaft, bolt failure?

[Cloudsurfer]

phillipj & cloudsurfer,

Thanks for your responses. The car is at an indepent repair shop and all signs are that they know their stuff. They told the insurance co it needed a new engine, but an agent has to verify this.

It amazes me Porsche would design this shaft with one end supported without a bearing, and the other a sealed bearing awash in oil.

I hope not, but if it turns out to be fixable should I install the British made ceramic bearing?

Thanks,

-Zook

The ceramic bearing is available from LN Engineering. If the motor is savable, that is absolutely what you want in there.

As to the design, it's been debated everywhere, but the long and short of it is that the company that brought you the 996 and Boxster is not the same company who brought you the 930. The modern day Porsche is run by the accountants, just like almost every other profitable, publicly traded company.

To further entertain you, consider the fact that these engines share the same head castings for both banks (again, to save cost), and this is why the IMS shaft has chains at both ends, vs all on one side (like all previous Porsche flat 6s).

[Rick Zook]

Verdict: New motor.

The IMS bearing came apart and filled the pan with shredded metal and balls. The weird thing is that it died quietly.

The new engine is coming from a distribution center in Los Angeles. Is there a way to know if the reman has the improved IMS setup?

I have looked at many blogs re the IMS failures, it appears that 10% of these engines fail within 90km miles, many unhappy comments from victims.

My insurance is from CNA National,they have been upfront and professional but I doubt they are interested in extending the warranty (5 months left, whew). Anybody have an insurance co they like?

Thanks again,

-Zook

[phillipj]

You could try Easy Care. They have a good reputation and they know Porsches. I had one of their warranties but never made a claim.. Don't forget to negotiate......

[Dharn55]

They changed the IMS in 2006 so I doubt there are any Reman left that don't have the later bearing. that being said are you aware that with the newer bearing it is larger than the opening and cannot be removed to upgrade to the LN bearing without splitting the cases. Unfortunately there are documented cases of the newer bearings failing, not at the rate of the older bearing design (I don't believe, but Porsche certainly won't say) but still they do fail. I would get the new engine, change the oil often, maybe remove the outer seal, and just enjoy the car. Life is too short to worry about these things..

Edited August 27, 2010 by Dharn55

[Rick Zook]

phillipj & Dharn55

Thanks for responding.

I tried Easy Care, they only go to 80,000. miles.

I'll have 2 years warranty on the new engine then I'll just have to wear ear plugs.

If something else fails, I had my fun. Besides, it might be time to get my grandpamobile, an RV with a Kia dingy.

Thanks,

-Zook

[Cloudsurfer]

Verdict: New motor.

The IMS bearing came apart and filled the pan with shredded metal and balls. The weird thing is that it died quietly.

The new engine is coming from a distribution center in Los Angeles. Is there a way to know if the reman has the improved IMS setup?

I have looked at many blogs re the IMS failures, it appears that 10% of these engines fail within 90km miles, many unhappy comments from victims.

My insurance is from CNA National,they have been upfront and professional but I doubt they are interested in extending the warranty (5 months left, whew). Anybody have an insurance co they like?

Thanks again,

-Zook

The "new" IMS is identifiable via a much larger retaining nut (22mm I believe). Unfortunately, there is no way to upgrade this bearing to the LN part, as the OD of the bearing is larger than the case opening, so short of splitting the cases you can't do anything to replace it. LN does, I believe, recommend removing the rear seal of the bearing to allow for better lubrication of the bearing.

Unfortunately, while considerably more robust than the earlier single row, there are still documented cases of the larger bearing failing.

At the end of the day, there are much more important things in life to stress about. If you can't live with the whatever small percent chance that this bearing may fail again, sell the car.

[sandyman65535]

The engine number now is #M96/ 03AT66566XXX, the old number is #M96/ 0366316XXX.

I bet the "AT" stands for replacement or reconditioned.

You might be right.

Austauschen in German means swap-out / exchange.

http://translate.google.com/#de|en|austauschen

[gweinand]

I am the second owner of my 2002 996 Carrera Cabriolet. I bought it used as an uncertified car from a Porsche dealer in New Jersey with 25K on the odometer.

It had a clean CarFax and I have only had a few problems - the worst being a cracked coolant tank and a clutch replacement at 33K (I blame the original owner/lessee as I have never killed a clutch).

I knew about the RMS issue and have been reading about the IMS issue in 996/997 engines of this vintage. The RMS installed by the dealer during the clutch job is the upgraded unit and I had my service advisor check the work order for the job - which shows the upgraded bolt for the IMS being installed at the same time.

I now have a little over 35K on the car and the only issue is a rattle at start-up on the left side of the car.

The dealership checked it out but said that there was nothing wrong.

Based on what I've read on the PCA tech site and here that can be either loose exhaust/cat baffles or - in one post - a noise made by the IMS.

What are the odds that I still need to worry about an IMS failure on this engine?

Edited February 1, 2011 by gweinand

[phillipj]

I am the second owner of my 2002 996 Carrera Cabriolet. I bought it used as an uncertified car from a Porsche dealer in New Jersey with 25K on the odometer.

It had a clean CarFax and I have only had a few problems - the worst being a cracked coolant tank and a clutch replacement at 33K (I blame the original owner/lessee as I have never killed a clutch).

I knew about the RMS issue and have been reading about the IMS issue in 996/997 engines of this vintage. The RMS installed by the dealer during the clutch job is the upgraded unit and I had my service advisor check the work order for the job - which shows the upgraded bolt for the IMS being installed at the same time.

I now have a little over 35K on the car and the only issue is a rattle at start-up on the left side of the car.

The dealership checked it out but said that there was nothing wrong.

Based on what I've read on the PCA tech site and here that can be either loose exhaust/cat baffles or - in one post - a noise made by the IMS.

What are the odds that I still need to worry about an IMS failure on this engine?

Just change the oil frequenly and drive the hell out of it....