chsu74

Have only heard that affecting 3.6L engines and not 3.4Ls so far. I am thinking about throwing in a LWFW during my engine out R&R.

ivangene

my only advice would be to talk to some of the so called experts and form your own risk/benefit opinions - I would talk to J.R. he is easy to talk to and can offer a better opionion over the phone...for all I know its the best thing going...but I would ask first

Abby Normal

John,

No problem, I just did these exact services on my 90,000 mile C2 and see these cars torn down all of the time. I get to speak with a couple of top notch Master Techs and gain their insight. In addition, the amount of knowledge on this site is astounding and quite helpful.

I would for sure use OEM parts. And trying to save money on getting your own parts can backfire sometimes. If said part is bad or has a problem after install, the labor is on you. Reputable shops stand behind the parts they supply and if there is a problem, they eat the labor to replace it.

I'd ask the dealership or shop for two favors on this major service. One, you will agree to buy all parts from them but want them at 20% or less over cost. And also that they look at the over lap in labor involving the additional services you will do while the clutch/flywheel is being done.

The LN IMS is a product that carries a warranty when done at authorized dealers, so I'd have your shop look into becoming an authorized dealer and go with that. If they will not, I'd go to another shop. You want the LN product in your car. End of story.

The AOS part of the job is a slight pain but shouldn't be more than 1.5 hours labor with the gearbox out. A new RMS is cheap and will not be but an additional hour or so of labor also. I think the clutch is 8 hours book time so that will give you a range for what you are looking at for labor.

Hard call on clutch life. Some start to squeak, others slip and then there are those that get so hard you can't hold them in traffic.... all of that varies with mileage. I'd say a non abused clutch is good for at least 60k on average. It also depends a lot on if those miles are city or highway. It makes it nearly impossible to put a real word number on it.

Are you using a independent or dealership for the service?

silotwo

I am using a dealership, the one I purchased the car from. As to the parts, it was actually the dealer who suggested I purchase the parts from Suncoast because other than the 10% PCA discount of up to $100.00 this dealer will not discount parts. I purchased my rear brake parts from Suncoast and the price compared to my dealer was very close to getting 2 O.E.M. rotors for the price of one. I will compare part prices for this service and will have to balance the good old risk vs. reward.

They have been good about the over lap labor charges so far. For example, when they replaced the trans they also replaced the RMS and IMS seal and the clutch release bearing. I paid for the release bearing only and had a bill of $oo.oo for labor. The RMS was dry and the IMS seal I would call damp, but they said they ALWAYS replace the RMS when it is right in front of them. They did tell me to wait on the IMSR until I needed to replace the clutch - and specifically said that if I did the IMSR at that time that the labor for the bearing would be under one hour if things went smooth. But I will double check on all of the anticipated work.

I have a lead on a indy not too far from here, but my preference is to have all service records at a dealer. Plus, I really like the fact that the dealer is close by and I can also stop in unannounced and speak to the mechanic and observe him working on the car, (and of course ask him a few questions along the way) I am sure that some might have a different opinion on this. And I'm certainly open to hearing about that as well.

I will most likely stop at the dealer this week and ask some questions and let you know what I am told.

Thanks again - keep the good information from experience flowing.

Optical TDI

I have a similar relationship with the dealer near me. Talk direct to the tech, go under my car while it's on a lift, and get a Cayman or Benz as a loaner.

Wellardmac

I'm curious as to what you have been quoted for the jobs.

I'll probably replace my clutch this year and I asked about the IMS retrofit and was told that they would do an extra 8 hours of labor on top of the clutch, which to me seemed excessive considering the fact that the transmission is already out for the clutch. It would be good to get a sense as to what people are being charged ($ and time) for the clutch, IMS and RMS jobs.

chsu74

^ many DIYs and indy shops here have quoted the IMS as an extra hour and a half on top of a clutch job. This also includes the RMS.

Abby Normal

That sounds right.

Abby Normal

Suncoast pricing is really usually quite good. And it sounds like you have a good relationship with your dealership so I would stick with them. Not all Porsche Dealerships are bad

DaveSpeed

I had new clutch, LN IMS upgrade, AOS, H2O pump, RMS and couple small items done in april at a pcar dealer for just under $4k. All parts from dealer, they ordered the LN IMS.

I am very Happy with my local pcar dealer!

John,

Are you using WVM?

rpolin

For what its worth, I have an '02 C4 Cab with 39k miles and I just did the IMS (LN Enginering) upgrade so that I can just sleep better at night. No one knows or is willing to say just how many 996's are affected by the IMS issue but the cost to replace the engine if it fails just isn't an option so the IMS upgrade was the best solution, at least for me. The IMS Guardian for $400 was a thought but since the clutch was likely going anyway, it was a no brainer just to go straight to the IMS replacement, which has at least some history behind it whereas the IMS Guardian is still new and relatively unproven (personal opinion only).

While I know enough about cars to be dangerous, I'm no mechanic so read what I write with that in mind. The clutch was very stiff and caught very high which was leading me to believe that it was on its way out as well so while they were doing the IMS, I had them inspect the clutch and it was confirmed that it was near the end of its life cycle so in the end, I had the IMS, RMS, Clutch and Flywheel done.

I am very happy with the indy I used but holy crap, the invoice almost caused me to pass out. Admittedly, I had some other minor stuff taken care of while the car was there as well (replaced the driver side window regulator, installed an antenna booster, and adjusted the e-brake) but living in Fairfield County, CT definitely brings a premium with it!

Needless to say, it is like driving a new car now. The clutch works so incredibly smooth that i thought something might have been wrong. It shifts easier and quicker and there's significantly less jerking motion. The leg strain is no longer there at all.

+1 for the indy for what appears to be a job well done.
-1 for my wallet as its going to take some time to recover from this one. Fortunately, my wife doesn't read these forums.

Wellardmac

Thanks! I'll see if I can get a recommendation for a local indy to take the car to.

silotwo

Here is an update: I managed to visit the dealer on my way in this morning and although not completely nailed down here is what I have.

They suggest that I purchase the clutch kit and flywheel from suncoast (they cautioned me that the flywheel is expensive), suggested I purchase the AOS from them to pick up the warranty. They assume that they are authorized to perform the LN IMSR because they are an authorized Porsche dealer - I will check with LN on that one.

They again told me that they can't get close to Suncoast parts pricing and that there is never any warranty for a wear item. In their experience the risk of a manufacturers defect on a true O.E.M. part, for the parts I am replacing, is near zero to none.

They confirmed that the core repair is where the labor charge sits, I am assuming that in this case it is the A.O.S, assuming that because that is the only part they recommended I purchase through them and I am assuming the trans needs to be out for that but I didn't think to confirm it. All other labor is time only, LN still expected to be under 1 hour, trans remove and replace is still ball parked at $800.00 to $900.00.

I keep hearing mention of water pump replacement, is that also something that is cost beneficial while the trans is out?

Getting closer to investing serious dollars guys - but I realize that the price you pay is not necessarily the cost you incur.

I am making a swag that I will be somewhere between $3,500 - $4,000 in the end.

Thanks for all of the continued input - it really does help.

Jake Ok

Well, Finally got my car back couple days ago....WOW...car drives like it should be from day one.
Needless the say the shift is smooth and no more squeaky stiff clutch. I had everything that was needed to be done while the tranny was removed.
- Clutch
- Flywheel Stock
- RMS
- IMS
- AOS
Cleaned up all the small leaks oil residue from the RMS and AOS. If anyone wants a recommendation for a class A mechanic in Toronto, feel free to PM me. These guys are maticulous and knows what they are doing...especially with RMS and IMS upgrade. The work may take time but not many know about the technique to replace the IMS and wait time for RMS to seal completely.

Thanks for everyones feedback and if I can help with my experience, please do not hesitate to reply to post.

silotwo

Many thanks for the update. Out of curiousity, what was the condition of you factory IMS bearing? Mine will be getting much the same treatment that you just did, including the IMSR.