40th Anniversary 911: My First 6 Months with This Special 996
If it ain’t broke, fix it. My 40AE 911 was running and looking great, but there were some areas that needed to be addressed.
Last August, I became the proud owner of a Porsche 911 40th Anniversary. Car number 1383 was mine and I immediately realized just how fantastic these 40AE cars are. I gained a new respect for the much maligned 996. My example looked like it had just rolled out of the showroom floor.
Over the course of 16 years the car had only travelled about 7,000 miles. It is one of the lowest mileage examples in the world. However, low miles can mean its own set of issues. I want to be the best custodian of this car as possible and ensure it is on the road for many years to come.
I have my Cayman S for track duty and some other vehicles for daily tasks so my 911 is not likely to see a ton of miles in my hands. However, I do want to drive it as it was meant to be. It would be a waste to never drive such a great car. But, as I said, I want to do everything I can to protect the car. It deserves to live a long and healthy life. That being the case, my first 6 months of ownership included a few wonderful drives, but the focus was to “robustify” the car.
Let’s start with the obvious, the IMS bearing. 40AE #1383 was still on the original single row bearing. There were no signs at all of any issues. However, the potential fatal flaw was still spinning away back there. I wanted it addressed for piece of mind. Also, I just got sick of being asked about it every single time I mentioned anywhere that I owned a 996.
Honestly, if an alien life form visited Earth, the first thing they would realize is that our atmosphere is comprised mostly of nitrogen and oxygen. Next, they would be told that some Porsche M96 and M97 engines were destroyed by poor IMSB design. The upside to having such a well-documented potential issue is that remedies have been developed.
There are two well-known options co-developed by LN Engineering and Flat 6 Innovations. There are the IMS Retrofit and the IMS Solution. This is not a technical article and there is already a world of information out there on these options. But at a high level the Retrofit offers a much-improved ball bearing design that will keep your engine safe.
The Retrofit kit is recommended to be replaced every six years or 75,000 miles. The Solution eliminates the ball bearing completely and is designed to protect the engine for life. For my car I decided to have the IMS Solution installed. I wanted this to be done once, and not have to worry about it ever again.
I turned to my friends at Performance Automotive in Malvern, PA to do the mechanical work on my 40AE. They have done great work on my Cayman for years, and I highly recommend them. Since I decided to have the IMS Solution installed there was other work I figured I would have done while we were in there.
I asked to have a new AOS installed as well as a new RMS. Again, there were no signs of issues with either, but an ounce of prevention never hurt.
What I didn’t expect to replace on a 7,000-mile car was the clutch. However, the pressure plate showed significant hot spots. One of the previous owners must have had an, um, unique driving style. I did not feel any issues while driving it.
However, since everything was apart anyway, I decided to just have a new clutch installed as well. In for a penny, in for a pound. This was not an inexpensive service, but I feel much better having this work completed and feel that I gave my 40AE the best chance for long term survival.
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