Russ21

That's why I mostly put $ and £ most of the time:-)

Russ21

Yeh but don't be too harsh because if we didn't have porsche the only other options are ferrari and lambos and most of us on this site including me can't afford one, well not one worth having.
and it was 15-20 years ago most of these were made, in an era when most cars we doing less miles and had a life expectancy 10 years,
and I doubt they categorically knew the bearings would fail.
and just because they were sued and lost doesn't mean the court was right in its judgment. ( only in America :-)

Russ21

I'm sure someone will correct me if i'm wrong but if the original imsb lasted over 100k wasn't it far less likely to go?

Russ21

Quite, mostly the companies with long warranties are the worst, they're just trying to give customers confidence to buy their product, unless it's an insurance backed lifetime warranty.

AWDGuy

From this thread:

https://rennlist.com/forums/996-foru...l#post14724109

vicomel

I had a highly qualified shop ( they have installed dozens of retrofits) put an LN Engineering retrofit into my 2002 996 with about 42,000 miles about 4 years ago. The retrofit failed after about 8 months and 2000 miles. I spoke to LN and asked them to throw me a bone and just refund my $630 for the part. They said the part is warranted for 3 months and there was nothing they would do (the equivalent of telling me to go pound sand). The shop (that will remain nameless) told me the same thing. After a $14 k rebuild I sold the car and got a 997 TT with the Metzger engine.

TonyTwoBags

The plain bearing (IMS Solution) is not a wear part, it's like an IMSb in a Mezger - fit for the life of the engine & not a point of weakness. The part is $1700 while a top-notch inspection and install is between $3500 and $5500, depending on the shop and parts involved. For example, my bill was around $5500 and included an engine out refresh of various washers, a new AOS, bolts, gaskets, etc to address things that were worn out from 13 years of use. That was 15,000 miles ago and my 996 continues to be as reliable as my Honda.

The ball bearing (single row, double row, 997 OEM, remanufactured OEM bearing, ceramic or steel, etc) is a wear part. That's why the industry leader, LN, specifies a recommended replacement interval. The ball bearing design is inherently flawed in that the design is susceptible to wear in certain operating conditions that have been extensively covered on these forums. Saying "after XX,XXX miles it's not an issue" ignores the fundamental problem that ball bearing IMS designs wear and eventually need replacement.

Once you go past those fundamental truths of IMS bearings, you can move to the next step: what works for me? The safety profile of the LN bearings is extremely good, and it's reportedly perfect for engines that were formally inspected before install to ensure they're healthy. Tolerances, wear, cylinder health, etc all get inspected when you go with an LN-certified shop retrofit. That's what I did when I had the Solution installed. The bill was expensive, but I already priced in the retrofit before I bought the car. And it's been smooth sailing since then. If I was shopping for a 996 today, I would be open to buying a car with a ball bearing retrofit, it's a perfectly acceptable part to have in the car. A pre-inspection by a certified LN installer adds to the safety profile as that group is mindful of the issues that pop up in the m96, and they're incentivized to be honest about engine condition at the time of inspection.

808Bill

I'd suspect something else was going on internally.

jhbrennan

A little more detail on the failure?? And you called out LN but not the shop - why not?

TonyTwoBags

Failing that quickly after a retrofit means either God hates you, the engine was failing, or the bearing was installed improperly. Since the installer didn't inspect the engine beforehand, we'll probably never know the answer.

Porschetech3

I don't know , but I had one poor soul that had a 2004 Targa that I put 2 factory complete engines in before it had 10k miles !! It was under warranty and he didn't have to pay a dime , but was still not happy being on this 3rd engine, but it made him feel a little better to have the "new" large single row bearing on the last engine. The RO total was 30k on the last engine and probably not much less on the first one.

Charles Navarro

This is why we require registration including sending in the original bearing and require the shop to follow our pre-qualification procedures. If this isn't done, it doesn't matter if it is a 30 day warranty like on the classic single row, 2 year warranty on the Single Row Pro/Classic Dual, or 5 year on the IMS Solution? How do we know the installation was properly qualified.

Not to say this individual did or did not call us, but we do offer various levels of assistance, but it requires some cooperation from the customer including sending in the original bearing and shaft. Some have been gracious and I will typically be more gracious in my offering some level of goodwill regardless of the situation and the opposite if you call and don't want to play by the rules.

911Dreamer

I've looked at your website and all the requirements involved that the qualified shop has to do when they replace the IMS, send in old bearing, sample of oil, etc. What does your warranty really cover? Seems only top grade 996s would be granted a warranty under your system. But what is the warranty? I'm in the hunt for a 996 and will prob get the IMS done

JTT

My father used to tell me to always treat people like you would want to be treated...and every once in a long while, one will return the favour. Charles is one of those rare examples.

il pirata

Russ21 you have a PM.