Anyone experienced an LN IMS Retrofit Failure?
10-23-2018, 02:33 PM
#1
Anyone experienced an LN IMS Retrofit Failure?
I recently purchased a 2002 C2 and felt good about seeing the LN Retrofit Sticker. I can not pinpoint or find records of when the bearing was replaced. Based on the kit's serial number, I do know it's one of the earlier kits. Representative from LN said that it is due for replacement. Has anyone experienced a failure from their LN replacement? I feel good about the car but obviously always in the back of my mind. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
10-23-2018, 02:36 PM
#2
Rennlist Member
Howdy, due to a transmission issue, my engine was out a few years ago. The shop checked the IMS Retrofit bearing. It was a little loose/crunchy feeling. Had not failed yet. It had been in the car for 4 years and about 25,000 miles. Replaced it with the IMSS. Done.
10-23-2018, 02:44 PM
#3
RL Community Team
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
I would replace it with an IMS Solution and never worry about it ever again.
10-23-2018, 03:13 PM
#4
Burning Brakes
That seems really low miles etc for a failing bearing, was it single row? is it possible they really damaged it as they remove it? bearing extraction does damage the races but shouldn't be crunchy.
10-23-2018, 03:14 PM
#5
Rennlist Member
I recently purchased a 2002 C2 and felt good about seeing the LN Retrofit Sticker. I can not pinpoint or find records of when the bearing was replaced. Based on the kit's serial number, I do know it's one of the earlier kits. Representative from LN said that it is due for replacement. Has anyone experienced a failure from their LN replacement? I feel good about the car but obviously always in the back of my mind. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
That said, the IMS Solution is pretty much impervious to FOD by design. Unless you have a rod failure that chops the IMS shaft in half, your IMS Solution will survive through most engine failures and be reuseable (after a good cleaning).
Likewise, we've had zero failures reported on the classic Dual Row or Single Row Pro.
Please don't pull your ims bearing to inspect it and then ask if it's good to put back in. We've had people do that. In fact, there is a seller on ebay now selling used LN bearings pulled from likely failed engines for reuse, which will for sure result in catastrophic failure!
10-23-2018, 03:15 PM
#6
Rennlist Member
If you take any ceramic bearing and wash it out, it will be noisy, and once extracted, will have noticeable notchiness.
10-23-2018, 04:21 PM
#7
There have been failures of classic single rows as they are most susceptible to FOD, however there are kits that have been in service since 2008 and we've seen some of those come back looking and measuring exactly like new. There are many contributing factors to wear and tear on the replacement bearing, so replacement intervals are indicated as very conservative recommendations. It is important that when updating the bearing at time of service, that the pre-qualification procedure is followed again, as there are instances where conditions have changed since the original installation that can compromise the replacement bearing.
That said, the IMS Solution is pretty much impervious to FOD by design. Unless you have a rod failure that chops the IMS shaft in half, your IMS Solution will survive through most engine failures and be reuseable (after a good cleaning).
Likewise, we've had zero failures reported on the classic Dual Row or Single Row Pro.
Please don't pull your ims bearing to inspect it and then ask if it's good to put back in. We've had people do that. In fact, there is a seller on ebay now selling used LN bearings pulled from likely failed engines for reuse, which will for sure result in catastrophic failure!
That said, the IMS Solution is pretty much impervious to FOD by design. Unless you have a rod failure that chops the IMS shaft in half, your IMS Solution will survive through most engine failures and be reuseable (after a good cleaning).
Likewise, we've had zero failures reported on the classic Dual Row or Single Row Pro.
Please don't pull your ims bearing to inspect it and then ask if it's good to put back in. We've had people do that. In fact, there is a seller on ebay now selling used LN bearings pulled from likely failed engines for reuse, which will for sure result in catastrophic failure!
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10-23-2018, 04:24 PM
#8
Rennlist Member
It's best, when doing the clutch, just to replace the bearing. You're already there. Labor is overlapping.
10-23-2018, 04:54 PM
#9
10-23-2018, 05:16 PM
#10
Racer
My personal opinion. These cars are made to be driven, not stored. I don't know if any data exists that might point to low mileage cars suffering more failures than higher mileage cars. It's interesting that there are many cars with way more than 100K miles that never had a failure. I replaced my IMS with an LN one when I bought it 2 years ago with 36K miles out of an abundance of caution, knowing that it's a replaceable part and somewhere within the 6 year suggested replacement window, I will need a new clutch and I will replace the bearing again. I can do this two or 3 times vs the cost of the Solution. I am not putting down the Solution in any way. It's a brilliant long term answer for those who store their cars. Even though I live in NJ, I make sure to drive my car when it's dry all year long. Can never get enough driving this car and they are made in Germany, uhh, where they have snow.
10-23-2018, 05:30 PM
#11
Rennlist Member
My personal opinion. These cars are made to be driven, not stored. I don't know if any data exists that might point to low mileage cars suffering more failures than higher mileage cars. It's interesting that there are many cars with way more than 100K miles that never had a failure. I replaced my IMS with an LN one when I bought it 2 years ago with 36K miles out of an abundance of caution, knowing that it's a replaceable part and somewhere within the 6 year suggested replacement window, I will need a new clutch and I will replace the bearing again. I can do this two or 3 times vs the cost of the Solution. I am not putting down the Solution in any way. It's a brilliant long term answer for those who store their cars. Even though I live in NJ, I make sure to drive my car when it's dry all year long. Can never get enough driving this car and they are made in Germany, uhh, where they have snow.
10-23-2018, 05:56 PM
#12
Racer
Cannot disagree with you on potential resale value. But for me the value is the driving. I’ll deal with the resale if/when I decide to change her. Right now she’s a long term purchase for me.
10-23-2018, 08:30 PM
#13
Rennlist Member
10-23-2018, 09:21 PM
#14
Rennlist Member
All good points, it is impossible for me to know how it all took place and in what order. I trusted the shop at the time, they told me was going bad and needed to be replaced. Now not so sure...
10-24-2018, 09:43 AM
#15
Rennlist Member
We had one installed by a so called trusted shop and when the bearing they installed was pulled and returned to us, we found it full of debris. After cleaning and disassembly, we found not a mark in the bearing and it measured perfect. All the debris was FOD from something upstream that had contaminated the oil. Likewise, there is a video on YouTube uploaded by an internet expert that shows a "failing" LN bearing, when in fact any ceramic bearing that is washed to remove lube will sound like that. I take everything with a grain of salt. Trust but verify.
