Best/ most economical place to replace the IMS bearing on the Boxster 986 in London?

[ghazalif]

1 hour ago, Castaway said:

What he said. Save your money and replace the IMS only if it begins to go, which it probably won’t. You’ll need the money for suspension and brakes, 4-wheel alignment and other surprises the car throws at you (£200 yesterday for a new steering lock)! I spent £1600 on a suspension refresh just to get the car to handle like it should and without creaking.

All fair points. I have no doubt that there is more spending coming my way other than the IMS. The difference is that bad brakes or suspension can be replaced before engine failure, while an IMS (if it breaks with no warning) could lead to a totalled car. 
 

I don’t know who here is a mechanic and has been around these cars enough, but what % of failed IMSs let go slowly enough to be noticed and replaced veggie engine failure? That’s really the question I think

[mike597]

1 hour ago, ghazalif said:

All fair points. I have no doubt that there is more spending coming my way other than the IMS. The difference is that bad brakes or suspension can be replaced before engine failure, while an IMS (if it breaks with no warning) could lead to a totalled car. 
 

I don’t know who here is a mechanic and has been around these cars enough, but what % of failed IMSs let go slowly enough to be noticed and replaced veggie engine failure? That’s really the question I think

I think you might be missing a point that has been made earlier.  It is that IMS is only one of several possible engine failures that can occur that will total the engine.  On here, in the 10+ years there have been very few IMS failures (some but not many I'd guess less than 5 out of 1000s of owners) but I recall more engines being totalled through other failures e.g. bearing shells failing which has been of the most common failure I think.  I don't recall a single Tip engine failure. The point is that to spend probably 30% of the cars total value to protect again one possible but really very unlikely failure mode doesn't really make sense when another can hit you similarly without warning and without any recourse but to a new engine. 

If you're already getting the clutch done then maybe it makes some sense but in the case of a Tip, I would personally leave it well alone and spend the money elsewhere or just save it so if the worst happens you have the funds available to replace the engine or just to cover the loss if you sell it on for scrap.

 

[ghazalif]

13 minutes ago, mike597 said:

I think you might be missing a point that has been made earlier.  It is that IMS is only one of several possible engine failures that can occur that will total the engine.  On here, in the 10+ years there have been very few IMS failures (some but not many I'd guess less than 5 out of 1000s of owners) but I recall more engines being totalled through other failures e.g. bearing shells failing which has been of the most common failure I think.  I don't recall a single Tip engine failure. The point is that to spend probably 30% of the cars total value to protect again one possible but really very unlikely failure mode doesn't really make sense when another can hit you similarly without warning and without any recourse but to a new engine. 

If you're already getting the clutch done then maybe it makes some sense but in the case of a Tip, I would personally leave it well alone and spend the money elsewhere or just save it so if the worst happens you have the funds available to replace the engine or just to cover the loss if you sell it on for scrap.

 

Alright I see what you mean. I'm new to the Porsche world and I'm not going to lie the contradictory info makes decisions challenging. In my mind the IMSB was always the most likely cause of engine failure, but if it's not then you're right, the money is better kept for other repairs that'll undoubtedly come. 

[mike597]

1 minute ago, ghazalif said:

Alright I see what you mean. I'm new to the Porsche world and I'm not going to lie the contradictory info makes decisions challenging. In my mind the IMSB was always the most likely cause of engine failure, but if it's not then you're right, the money is better kept for other repairs that'll undoubtedly come. 

I think if you were to ask, you'd find probably less than 5% of 986 owners have actually replaced the IMS bearing.  Even long time owners like me with 10+ years and no intention to sell haven't - in my case because the economics just don't add up.  If my car gave up tomorrow, I could just scrap it and get another and lose less than the cost of the bearing replacement.  Prices are starting to rise so maybe that economic argument will shift again but where we've seen £4k 986s for a long time it just doesn't make sense.  If the bottom of the market moves up to the £10-12k range then it's perhaps a different story.

 

[edc]

Most who do change, myself included, only do so when the clutch is done.

[ghazalif]

2 minutes ago, edc said:

Most who do change, myself included, only do so when the clutch is done.

The car I’m looking at is a tiptronic so there is no other repair to pair the IMS with (as far as I know)

[Ninesomething]

How many miles on the clock? There's a general theory that if the IMS is going to go it will go reasonably quickly. As the mileage goes up it becomes less likely not more. I think everyone that considers one of these cars starts out with the same feelings you have - I certainly did. 

There's no way to be sure but you can check the oil filter at oil change time for metal particles. Little shiny bits are a bad sign. You can also get a camshaft deviation test. As the IMSB gets loose due to wear the camshafts go very slightly out of sync. This can be seen in a diagnostic test. If it's within tolerance I wouldn't worry.

If you have to change the clutch then by all means get it done while it's apart.

[ghazalif]

4 minutes ago, JonSta said:

How many miles on the clock? There's a general theory that if the IMS is going to go it will go reasonably quickly. As the mileage goes up it becomes less likely not more. I think everyone that considers one of these cars starts out with the same feelings you have - I certainly did. 

There's no way to be sure but you can check the oil filter at oil change time for metal particles. Little shiny bits are a bad sign. You can also get a camshaft deviation test. As the IMSB gets loose due to wear the camshafts go very slightly out of sync. This can be seen in a diagnostic test. If it's within tolerance I wouldn't worry.

If you have to change the clutch then by all means get it done while it's apart.

Approx. 60K miles on it and it’s an 04 986 S 3.2 liter

[Ninesomething]

There are no promises but there are those who will say if it were going to go it would be showing signs by now. What is known to happen is that the seal that holds the grease in the bearing breaks down. Although this sounds bad what happens is that engine oil gets in and lubricates the bearing which is good. Enough oil gets in the bearing will run as normal for as long as. 

If the car is nice and a fair price I would say buy it. Have the tests done and if it's OK forget about it.

[ghazalif]

8 minutes ago, JonSta said:

There are no promises but there are those who will say if it were going to go it would be showing signs by now. What is known to happen is that the seal that holds the grease in the bearing breaks down. Although this sounds bad what happens is that engine oil gets in and lubricates the bearing which is good. Enough oil gets in the bearing will run as normal for as long as. 

If the car is nice and a fair price I would say buy it. Have the tests done and if it's OK forget about it.

Yea I'll just do the necessary tests and enjoy the car while we can drive ICE cars for the next decade or two

[grumpy58]

My 02 2.7, 986, 53K mls has a badly leaking RMS so I am having the clutch replaced at the same time, if the IMS is on the way out they will do it all at the same time 😞 

Potentially expensive but has to be done as the pool of oil it leaves over night is steadily getting bigger and bigger...................................  thank goodness I bought the car cheap 🙂