wizee

If you want the larger/stronger IMS and minimal bore scoring risk in a 987.1, either get 2006-2008 Boxster/Cayman base, or a 2006 Boxster S.

fgv1it

Agree with the above. And I know this thread is about 987.1's; however, if you expand your search just a little bit, the real sweet spot for me is a base 2009 Boxster or Cayman. No IMS, no direct injection, no bore scoring. Good luck with the search.

sgt1577

Drove my ‘06 base Boxster to 115K before moving on from it. Lots of little things (but expensive) were starting to fail. The engine was as strong as the first day I got it! Replaced it with an ‘06 S!

losblancos

Yep this is why I jumped on my cheap 07 base. I didn’t want/need S power and figured it was the least troublesome engine option you can get up until the much more expensive 9A1 cars.

Gonna be swapping the flywheel soon and will probably take a look at the IMS along the way.

solo118

I researched what I could, and found that some 2005 models were a mixed bag when it came to the IMS bearing. The particular car I am looking at is March 2005 build date, and I saw another poster that had April 2005 build date with the upgraded IMS. General consensus is (I hope) that the IMS starting hitting the 987.1 in about 1/2005 production dates.

I know there is no guarantee unless you see the engine #, or even rip off the transmission..... however is there any way that I can get the engine # without physically being next to the car? The car is about 1 hour away, and do not want to waste anybody's time if it will need an IMS replacement.

Can I try to reach out to a Porsche dealership to look up the engine #? Or is there any type of vin decoder (even if it is a paid service) that would have the engine #? I tried VIN Analytics, and while it is great there is no mention of engine #.

Thank you all in advance!

losblancos

@Charles Navarro and others can chime in, but I was under the impression that even the engine serial # is not necessarily dispositive either way. I tried hard to find an 06 and later for that reason (although in the end it wouldn’t have made much of a difference as I’m going to be dropping my transmission anyways!).

How much mileage on the car and how much do they want?

solo118

Thank you, that would also make sense, but I was going by the famous photo in the Porsche repair manual noting that 2.7 engines after 61.504716 would have the improved (yet not serviceable) IMS

Dion_Dunn

Why walk away if it has the older style bearing? At least its serviceable and you can fit an IMS Solution bushing and be done with it. I know the larger bearings in the later years have a better reputation, but even my local Indy who has a stellar reputation has seen a few Mx7 engines pass through with failed IMS bearings, so it's not like a guarantee or anything. I think Porsche's biggest design mistake with the encapsulated bearings was to make it non serviceable.

If it's an early serial number, try to use it as a negotiating factor to build it into the price of the car. That's what I would do..

solo118

I will be perfectly honest, for the price of doing IMS and water pump/thermostat (car is at nearly 60k) I was quoted about 6k plus tax for the parts/labor. I assume I can find another car with the work done, or an 06-07 with similar miles for the same or less money.

Regarding the car I am buying, I negotiated the best I could. He said the dealer checked the oil just 1k miles ago during an oil change and saw zero metal shavings or sparkle.

Dion_Dunn

Fair enough. $6k seems a bit steep to me, but I'm also a DIY guy and actually look forward to doing this type of work so it does tend to skew my perspective on things.

foodbiker

Not sure it’s much of a help, but I just sold my ’05 Boxster S (987.1) back to my friend after owning if to 7 years -- and here's my experience over the time. Bought it at about 68K miles, sold it back at about 92K. Almost no major issues over all those years except a new clutch. My friend had regularly driven this on the highway as a daily driver commuter, so it saw a lot of regular use even before I bought the car. At the time of the clutch replacement, the local P-car specialist removed the seal so the IMS would ideally continue to be lubed. Don't remember if I changed the water pump. Moved over to a 981 for both IMS peace of mind and 981 performance upgrades…even though the chance of IMS failure in this particular 987.1 was realistically so low as the car was driven a great deal. I'd be more worried if the car just sat in the garage; I drove it regularly. Still driving my ’92 BMW E30 325ic when I want a more analog feel (hydraulic steering) like a 987…let alone in the snow.

beetleman

Hi. I’m looking at an 05 BS. My question is why are they not subject to bore scoring and how rare is scoring on the 3.2?

Mansu944

after much extensive research into both the IMS and Bore Scoring the 2006 Boxster S is THE sweet spot. Hence my purchase.

M. Essaie

Interesting, Mansu.

I've got a 2006 S as well so I'd be happy to hear a bit more about what you found.

Charles Navarro

The biggest difference is the 2.5, 2.7, and 3.2 all use cast Kolbenschmidt pistons, where the 3.4, 3.6, and 3.8 all used Forged Mahle pistons. The KS pistons have an iron clad plating rather than the iron skirt coating used by Mahle.