Wait for it to grenade and then....?????
02-24-2018, 09:16 AM
#16
I am torn on this dilemma too....But here is my story....I put in LN IMS at 47K miles....last summer the car grenaded at 54K miles because of oil starvation on the crank/piston bearing. Putting in a 997S engine now (with factory IMS) so in the end I could have saved the IMS cost. At 140K miles my view is drive until it dies...even with a new MS something else can go. Though it will be expensive, there are so many options for another engine.
As one ‘Carrera Wing’ owner to another, congrats on the new ride!
02-24-2018, 10:39 AM
#17
Honestly it depends on the cases I get when I start shopping. The car I drove was a 3.4 to 3.8 conversion that UFO put together. It had 38K miles on it since the build and ran flawlessly. Car was a bit beat up otherwise, but I'd have bought it for the motor/transaxle/body. Ran like a Turbo with K16s. Was WAY FASTER than my 996GT3 was from a stop.
02-24-2018, 10:57 AM
#18
Rennlist Member
Cars are like people. The exact same DNS and components, yet some are amazing and some are turds. Your car is not a turd. It made it to 140k. It has a good track record. You could roll the dice and just drive it. Do the oil filter inspections and keep track of any changes. Save your money over time and buy that new engine over time.
02-24-2018, 11:29 AM
#19
Rennlist Member
The PO had the IMS go at abt 30k, The car then sat in his garage for over a year before F6I was able to get to his, wait list is something like 13 months. Then did the 3.8 and IMS Solution. Hell of an engine it is! And it should be more reliable than a stock engine.
But, do you want to wait over a year to have your car back on the road after it detonates?
If the car is as nice as you describe, and you are happy with the HP, and plan to keep the car for a long time, then plan to take care of the IMS. The IMSB will eventually fail, it will. But it may be a long time coming and something else might get the engine first. Keep on top of the oil changes, etc and you may catch it before it's too late.
But, do you want to wait over a year to have your car back on the road after it detonates?
If the car is as nice as you describe, and you are happy with the HP, and plan to keep the car for a long time, then plan to take care of the IMS. The IMSB will eventually fail, it will. But it may be a long time coming and something else might get the engine first. Keep on top of the oil changes, etc and you may catch it before it's too late.
02-24-2018, 03:38 PM
#20
Burning Brakes
Many of the responses have to do with probabilities and statistics. I think there is a psychological aspect to installing the IMS Solution. If you are reluctant to drive the car, or have this thought in the back of your mind that it could grenade at any moment, I think it's worth a few thousand dollars for the peace of mind. Sure there are other things that can take out the engine, but other than bore scoring and a failed rod bolt, most can be detected and corrected.
02-24-2018, 04:14 PM
#21
Rennlist Member
My engine has the IMS Solution, as well as the 3.8 build, and that's why I bought it. I will never have to worry about the IMS issue ever. Splitting Atoms has a good point about piece of mind. Thus , if you like the car enough to keep it for a long time, that certainly is a good solution. No fuss, no.muss.
02-24-2018, 04:40 PM
#22
Three Wheelin'
Only you can answer that question. Normally when I get a used car, it eventually ended up better than the original condition after I'm done with it. That's just me, because I couldn't stand imperfections on my cars. Then there are those that just knows how to put gas in a car and drive it till it totally falls apart.
02-24-2018, 07:00 PM
#23
My plan as of now is to drive my 99 until it grenades. I'm slowly starting to shop for engine cases and will buy the parts for the 3.8 engine build. I drove a 2000 model with a 3.8L in it and was stunned by the torque and power. This is the route I plan to go SLOWLY over the next two years.
02-24-2018, 08:34 PM
#24
My 02 had 108K on it when I bought it. At 113K I had an LN bearing put in. The one that came out looked fine other than the fact that there was oil in it. At 140K i suppose there are a bunch of other things that could go wrong so whey not save the 4K at this point and sew what happens?
02-25-2018, 06:09 AM
#25
Many of the responses have to do with probabilities and statistics. I think there is a psychological aspect to installing the IMS Solution. If you are reluctant to drive the car, or have this thought in the back of your mind that it could grenade at any moment, I think it's worth a few thousand dollars for the peace of mind. Sure there are other things that can take out the engine, but other than bore scoring and a failed rod bolt, most can be detected and corrected.
03-13-2018, 03:43 PM
#27
Race Director
Data point: Bought my '99 with ~45K miles 5 years ago, put the money into a dual-row retrofit (Solution did not exist at this time) and a few other odds and ends. Car is currently at about 85K miles; no significant failures beyond a fuel pump, a couple of MAFs, and a few other odds and ends. I think it's probably accurate that, excluding tires, I put more into the car doing the preventive work when I first acquired it than I have in the intervening years. Spin-on adapter and TOTAL Quartz Energy 9000 5W40 Full Synthetic (the oil recommended by my indy shop, which is very M96 literate).
If I had it to do over again (today), I'd do the same thing, except the Solution rather than the dual-row hybrid retrofit bearing.
If I had it to do over again (today), I'd do the same thing, except the Solution rather than the dual-row hybrid retrofit bearing.
03-13-2018, 05:20 PM
#28
Data point: Bought my '99 with ~45K miles 5 years ago, put the money into a dual-row retrofit (Solution did not exist at this time) and a few other odds and ends. Car is currently at about 85K miles; no significant failures beyond a fuel pump, a couple of MAFs, and a few other odds and ends. I think it's probably accurate that, excluding tires, I put more into the car doing the preventive work when I first acquired it than I have in the intervening years. Spin-on adapter and TOTAL Quartz Energy 9000 5W40 Full Synthetic (the oil recommended by my indy shop, which is very M96 literate).
If I had it to do over again (today), I'd do the same thing, except the Solution rather than the dual-row hybrid retrofit bearing.
If I had it to do over again (today), I'd do the same thing, except the Solution rather than the dual-row hybrid retrofit bearing.
03-13-2018, 11:14 PM
#29
Shameful Thread Killer
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
My 14 cents.
Drive it like ya stole it. when the engine grenades, buy a cheap-azz 3.2L Boxster engine off ebay. Put in the new bearing kit, RMS and any other minimal stuff you want to do. Swap it in to the 996.
Lather, rinse, repeat. You won't know the diff of the missing 40-whatever HP.
YMMV, don't try this at home, may cause **** leakage.
Drive it like ya stole it. when the engine grenades, buy a cheap-azz 3.2L Boxster engine off ebay. Put in the new bearing kit, RMS and any other minimal stuff you want to do. Swap it in to the 996.
Lather, rinse, repeat. You won't know the diff of the missing 40-whatever HP.
YMMV, don't try this at home, may cause **** leakage.
03-14-2018, 09:01 AM
#30
If you wait until it grenades- you can cost yourself $$$ with other parts that become damaged during grenade event. Those $$$ could have been put towards a solution. My less than .02 worth says give FSI a call about options/facts- Jake and his team are top shelf. Of course- I am a bit biased with the FSI bundle pushing mine around.
