Jake Raby

The retrofit replaces the factory conventional roller bearing with a hybrid, silicon nitride ceramic bearing. This bearing technology was not available when the M96 engine was developed, it was still limited to aerospace applications and military weapons..

I have utilized silicon nitride components inside other Porsche engines with excellent results dating back to around 2000. The material is so hard and wear resistant that about the only thing that will cut or drill into it is a diamond tipped tool.

Its a bearing thats basically as big and as strong as we can place inside the stock IMS without parent material removal. No stronger bearing could be made.

I have started a program of training local shops from across the world to work with these engines and do our procedures. The primary goal by years end is to have that program in place with a step by step DVD to walk the DIY or professional mechanic through a successful bearing extraction, inspection and replacement.

As far as the sound of the bearing, well that takes a trained ear... No sound clip could be made with enough clarity to represent the sound of an impending bearing failure and they always sound slightly different according to what mode of failure the bearing is experiencing.

BruceP

Lurking on this thread. Hope this isn't rude, but I wanted to offer up one owner's experience to add to the discussion: Attached is a picture of my trouble free, leak free, 94,000km engine after we opened it up to install the LN retrofit kit. You can see the leak around the IMS seal starting to happen. Also, the shaft itself was filled with oil.

I'm glad I did it. For me personally, I would have been glad even without the leakage. You may believe I'm an idiot for paying so much for insurance, and maybe I am. But when you hold the piece in your hand and look at what it's replacing, it really is reassuring.

Dave!

Here's a youtube clip of an IMS dying--you can hear it come in a little after 1:00 while the engine still has power, but who knows if the engine was already toast at that point. Pretty low quality audio so the sound was probably noticeable sooner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BQ5XAIzNVA

It's kind of painful to watch because you hear the sound come in and he keeps on going and you just know and oh god oh god why isn't he turning the engine off CLACK clunk clunk clunk clunk... ****.

Jake Raby

SWEET!!! Thats ONE of the noises.
Classic example. Thanks for the video.

blinkwatt

Thanks for the video, I linked it on 986forum.

RF5BPilot

So, I take it from your answer that you hope it works. There's no guarantee. It may, in fact, not perform better than the factory original. Only time will tell.

Dave!

From your experience, what are the chances the engine could have been saved if he had shut down immediately upon hearing the noise? He still had power for a couple of turns so I'd imagine the engine would be save-able, right?

Jake Raby

We are keeping track of every IMSR bearing sold and serializing the units along with tracking VIN numbers..

Due to this we'll be able to prove the effectiveness of the bearing over time through the data base. It'll take years to prove that the bearing is THE absolute resolution to the problem. I am confident that it'll maintain a flawless record as I have prior experiences with silicon nitride bearings and other engine parts that have proven to be absolutely indestructible.

We are keeping total track of the bearings that are being employed for a couple of reasons:
1- People are already selling cars that are advertised with the IMSR bearing that HAVE NOT been subjected to the retrofit.

2- So in a few years we'll be able to use the trend data of the component to answer questions from discerning owners just like you.

I prove what we do and do a better job of that than anyone.

Dave!,
If that engine had been shut down immediately after the noise had been notable the chances of it's salvation would have been very good. At track speeds it doesn't take very long at all for the cam timing to retard just enough to kiss the exhaust valves into the pistons resulting in a secondary failure thats just as damaging as the primary failure.

If you hear a noise that you haven't been hearing and if that noise sounds metallic shut the car down and have it diagnosed. Not many things in these engines can make a sound if they are "healthy"... About the only thing that can make a sound similar to this and be a "simple repair" would be a noisy water pump due to trashed bearings.

If in doubt STOP!

Dave!

Great, now I'm going to be shutting the car down every time some change rattles in the ash tray.

Just kidding.

Another question: I'm planning on dropping the transmission soon to replace a noisy bearing, so I was thinking about doing this retrofit at the same time. I wanted to do this as a DIY, but looking at LN Engineering it says

Locking the cams and pulling the tensioners is beginning to sound like something I might not want to mess with, or might require fancier tools than I have. I just wanted to know if this is something you could recommend as a DIY (easier than it sounds) or if I should let a shop handle it at that point (Dave, please don't break your engine).

Tippy

Raby, is the bearing made by *** in Germany. That is the brand our jet engines use.

Just curious.

fasteddie99

Jake: Have you trained anyone in California to do the IMSR retrofit?

chsu74

Bruce,

Welcome back! Missed you. Did you send your car down from Toronto or did you have it done locally?

BruceP

Hey, Chao,

I had it done locally. It was the first in Canada to get the part for the double-row version (maybe the first, period, but I don't know that for sure). Charles Navarro from LN provided great support for my indie by phone. These guys have done more since mine, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to anybody in my area for the work.

Guys will probably think me a fool, but I'll probably get them to drop the engine again in the spring so we can eyeball the new seal. I personally believe that the 'value' of my car lies in its future enjoyment, not in what Autotrader says, so I don't mind spending the money.

Tippy

Welcome back Bruce.

chsu74

Do you mind sharing how much you paid and how long it took them? labor charge per hour and how many hours it took them..