smithk993

I was looking back at some prior repair work orders on my 02 C4S that the prior owner had given me. There was some repair info shown as follows:

Problem: Check fluid leak under vehicle
Cause: Leaking rear main seal
1)transmission removed and reinstalled
2)tech measured crankshaft at 9.71, 9.68, 9.69, 9.7
3)sealing ring f cranks. flywheel removed and reinstalled

Assume this was for leaking rear main seal

Problem: Check for burning smell after driving vehicle
Cause: Leaking intermediate shaft seal on engine
1)bearing cover f intermediate shaft removed and reinstalled
2)996-105-024-01 shaft housing

Are these both related to rear main seal or is the second related to the intermediate shaft bearing?

Thanks.

Keith

Dennis C

They probably replaced your intermediate shaft seal also. It's an easy fix when they go in for the RMS work, but in this case it looks like they had to go back in and replace it afterwards...

deckman

I they didn't pick up the IMS leak while fixing the RMS, they suck. My bet is the previous owner complained of both a leak and a burning smell when he brought the car in. The way the Porsche dealers present issues on the repair bill can be confusing.

Macster

Maybe. Unless dealer can represent the trip in to fix the IMS as a separate issue and get reimbursed for the labor/time to go back in and fix IMS leak.

Remember, as readily as dealers will try to shaft car owners they're not above shafting Porsche if they think they can.

I suspect Porsche recognizes this and as long as it is no too bad even turns a blind eye to it as a semi-official way of helping out dealers that aren't selling as many cars and servicing as many cars. Trouble is it sets a bad precedent that I'm sure dealers will seek to exploit in ever more creative ways.

Sincerely,

Macster

smithk993

Thanks for the comments. Sorry both of the problems,issues were on same repair order and were taken care of on same service visit. I assume that the IMS seal has nothing to do with the infamous IMS failure.

Thanks.

deckman

The IMS seal has lot's to do with the IMS failure. An RMS leak is an annoyance, but an IMS leak can lead to a very bad day.

abiazis

Keep all your records , especially the RMS, IMS related ones.

On my third RMS/IMS seal replacement for my 03 C4S and related upgraded related bolt replacement, I was OUT of warranty coverage and communicated with Porsche NA by sending them all my related records and they covered the cost of the evaluation, i.e. tear-down to find out if RMS or IMS, which dealer wanted me to pay up front as warranty was out, and replacing both seals.

Porsche would not cover the bearing replacement on the IMS, despite history of torn seals. The good probablility of bearing failure seems to be the ticking "time bomb" people have referrred to on this site and dealer advised me on.

The dealer recommended that I go to an upgraded part from LF Engineering.
$ 1,200 worth of work which I chose not to do....I sealed it up and sold the car with seals fixed on a trade-in.

If the car continues to give you IMS/RMS issues, you may come to that crossroad......I hope yours is fixed for good, if that is possible.

deckman

Abiazis, you have described my situation exactly. I am on leak #3 and now out of warranty. Dealer wants me to bring in car have them open it up and THEN see if Porsche will pay for the fix. I want to know before I take it in if Porsche will pony up to do the right thing.

abiazis

Call Porsche first provide documentation and get approval first...

smithk993

WOW. Three RMS failures! How many miles do you have on your car and what is your normal driving conditions.

deckman

Almost 47K, the last leak was just 5K miles ago just before CPO warranty expired. Regular driving (a lot of between 3500-4500 rpm), mixed in with occasional fun runs that involve higher rpm's.

abiazis

With that level of low miles, I would go for new engine with Porsche NA since they have done it previously with others in similar situation and then sell the car........ since the engine may have the possibility of the same issues......

47K is too low assuming the maintenance was followed, etc...which I am sure it was...

Mine happened at roughly 60, 68 and 78......I followed maintenance to the T and did not abuse car.....

Heck, I can run the pee out of a, i.e. Corolla or even any comparable American car for 47K, for that matter 100K, and not have these issues, as I had with the P-Car due to a poor engineering design with M96 engine......

I also had to replace, under CPO warranty - all ignition coils, waterpump, oil filler tube, 2 horns, 2 catalytic converters, 3 O2 sensors, and a clutch throwout bearing........the brakes lasted 80 K plus though, which was great!!

C4S was a blast to drive, but going to shop 6 times a year for 6 years was not convenient....but I got to know all the techs at the dealer.............

It is kind of ridiculous when having 80K miles on a Porsche is considered high mileage in these days of synthetic oils and improved reliability of cars in general.....Porsche blew it with the 996 and early 997.1 version....IMHO....