Van

And, don't forget about manufacturing tolerances (and mistakes) at the bearing manufacturer... There could have been a batch of races that were just at the low end of the harness threshold and weren't able to stand up to the harness of the *****... There could have been a batch of faulty bearings that made it through quality control because of technician error.

Flat6 Innovations

Meanwhile I have had four vehicles arrive at our facility from across the country with catastrophic failures that were NOT related to the IMS bearing. Thats just during the time period that this post has been alive. While we have been closed this week I have received 3 more voicemails from those who have had failures; we still have to follow up with them in 2012.

That said, people wonder why I don't write articles and submit tech information. The criticism that Mr. Reiser has received in this thread is a perfect illustration of why. People always have to think that those in the know with these engines are money driven and that surrounds everything we do. This couldn't be further from the truth because most of us live, eat, breathe, dream and excrete these vehicles/ engines and success isn't measured as a bottom line figure on a tax return. The only way we learn what we do, so it can be shared is by doing this work with unparalleled enthusiasm every minute that our eyes are open. That said guys like me live a very modest life and as long as I can still afford to drive a 30 year old Porsche, play with my firearms hobby and go to my shop and consider all my "work" as "play" I am just fine.

Evil doesn't drive the straight forward truths about these engines, its all fact. The "Vendor Haters" don't realize that without guys like us their car would fall apart after the age where it is no longer feasible to have all the work carried out by the dealer. It astonishes me how many have to coat the truth with sugar just to digest it. I promise that you will never get that kind of "spin mechanics" from me. If it pisses people off, well I guess that means I got the point across.

Marc Gelefsky

Well said Jake, ALL cars have their weaknesses and it's guys like you who help people like us keep them going.

dennis hiip

Right on Jake. I appreciate your contribution here and all your work.

Steve2112

+1 thanks for your work on my car Jake - I sleep better at night and enjoy my car more.

Palmbeacher

Regardless that you might choose to not spend your income in a conspicuous fashion, we all know you're more than a shade-tree mechanic piecing together 20 yr old Buicks with bailing wire and spit, and most of us are savvy enough to understand you must be making a good buck. If anyone begrudges you for it, that's their problem. Obviously your innovations fill a need, and you're entitled to more than simply recoup your R&D. What has engendered skepticism regarding your altruism is your own fear-mongering "Tick Tick Boom" campaign, and ranting against world for being "vendor haters" comes across as petty defensiveness.

rpm's S2

What a convoluted and nasty comment. If this is the way you choose to participate, perhaps you should just go elsewhere.

Palmbeacher

Sorry to have offended you, miss. If you can't see the constructive criticism in my remarks, the problem is with you, not me.

rpm's S2

And you think that opinion/criticism had value? Interesting.

Marc Gelefsky

Fear mongering? no. It's called marketing, the man runs a business.
And regardless of what you think he brings some good knowledge here to Rennlist.

washington dc porsche

Hilarious!

Ahmet

I can see his perspective. I do feel it odd to say that the design is flawed and that they will all fail when there's ample evidence of them making it to 150-200k and sometimes far greater mileage. I've rebuilt and repaired many engines as a mechanic (and some of my own) over the years including a few m96 and other Porsche engines, I've yet to lay my hands on a failed IMS bearing.

I've spoken to several shops that have written off 996 engines as "broken IMS" for something as benign as an accessory making noise or a bad air oil separator. It is my opinion that the critical mass point and histeria on Rennlist has been passed, and a differing opinion doesn't have chance of getting its fair shake.

PelicanParts.com

It's important to observe the problem in the context of the history of Porsche engines. There have been issues with almost *all* Porsche six-cylinder engines from their design in 1965. Some highlights:

- Intermediate shaft wear in the 1969+ cases
- Magnesium case head stud pulling
- Chain tensioner failing (similar to the IMS failure in the amount of damage inflicted)
- Dilavar head studs snapping
- 3.6 valve guides wearing

To use the chain tensioner problem as an example - not all engines will have chain tensioners fail. But some did, and experienced some very severe failures. In the same manner, the IMS bearing failure is somewhat intermittent - some engines will fail and some will not, as evidenced by the facts. I myself have one car with 30K in my possession that had a complete IMS failure. On the other hand, I have another engine I tore down with about 110K on the clock with no detectable IMS wear. So, the bottomline is that it *may* happen to your engine, and if you wish to help minimize this particular failure mode, then there is a solution on the market. LN Engineering's kit contains the ceramic bearing and a new, redesigned end-plate for the bearing (probably the most robust option). Our kit (on the desk in front of me), simply contains a replacement bearing (same as the original), updated stud, and some specially designed spacers (expected price to be under $200). At this price point, I think it's quite reasonable to recommend that the bearing be replaced at each clutch replacement interval (or about 30-60K miles). That seems to be a safe bet for people looking to protect their engines from this failure. Also, keep your oil change intervals to under 5,000 miles.

-Wayne

washington dc porsche

Wow, first of all I I didn't think this post was all that serious especially with the levity of Sam L Jackson and others. But the new option from Pelican parts is quite interesting.

jw97C2S

Wayne
Was the 30k mile car that suffered a failure purchased in a failed state or near failed state? It's important to distinguish between a 50% failure rate (personal to you) or a zero failure rate.


Did you purchase the car