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Just changed my IMS at 52000 miles, it was fine with no issue but now I have peace of mind.
At the garage there was an exact same 2004 C4S and my mechanic told me that the IMS just blew on it at only 23000 miles...
The shop owner dropped the gearbox today and confirmed a failed IMS bearing (see pics).
Installed bearing is a FVD dual row as noted on the invoice.
Question is : How can a new IMS bearing fail after 16000 km (10000 miles)?
The car had 3 oil changes, the oil filter was cut open after each change and found free of metal shavings.
Welcome to the club, my FVD Dual Row failed too, 13k km: link. I luckily caught it in time, I'm sorry you didn't...
The bearing failed because the bearing is inherently not suited for the application. FVD sells what I identified as a ~40$ off-the-shelf SMT 5204 ZZ bearing that by design acts like a Porsche sealed bearing that has a failed seal on both sides. They just sourced the part, shipped it for a good (giant) profit and did little to no R&D on their actual bearing. A ZZ metal shielded bearing should never ever have been considered.
Edit// I've only just seen your vid, and if I'm correct you removed the bearing before it skipped timing? So no bent valves / engine damage? If so, there is hope. I had the same issue, started making horrible noise, metal everywhere, but no skipped timing. By sheer luck their kit keeps the IMS in place even if a portion of the ***** was ejected, as the inner ring is held firmly onto the cover plate.
Since you have metal laden oil, you'll have metal in there for a while. If your filter wasn't clogged and none of it went through your pressure channels through the oil filter bypass, the engine can be saved but you need a sealed bearing since there might still be metal particles in the oil for the first few oil changes after replacing the bearing, which could reach an open bearing and destroy it. For a dual row, there are basically no off-the-shelf options. I sourced my own sealed bearing (70$) that could be used with the remnants of the FVD kit, and it's been doing well for 3000 km so far, no new metal in my oil. You can contact me if you want to know more about the exact things I did.
My 'solution' is the cheap fix, but with a lack of sealed aftermarket kits, it's either the cheap solution or a complete engine teardown / cleanup / rebuild ($$$, expect 10K or more) so you can qualify for a proper LN Engineering bearing.
Last edited by User 63031; 07-25-2018 at 06:07 PM.
Sad to read the bad news.Such an expensive faiure can be a financial disaster for some enthusiasts.
I wonder what proportion of failures -with any IMSB or the FVD ever reach this Forum? It does make me very skeptical about the engineering validity of claims by some vendors. The sad part is the 'consequential damage'. When this happens to Boxsters, the repair cost may exceed the value of the car. A bitter introduction to Porsche and perhaps FVD for some who upgraded from Miatas . It would be useful if FVD would comment on these failures. They were quick enough to use Rennlist to promote their IMSB for Porsche M96 engines. They also roundly dismissed those of us who questioned their engineering. .Is this standard of engineering typical of their other products also?
To be fair, FVD and others never promoted Pre-Qualification procedures so some replacements may have been doomed regardless of the IMSB specification.
Last edited by Schnell Gelb; 07-25-2018 at 06:57 PM.
I gave FVD a call about my issue.
the answers the guy gave me:
(1) Product warranty is void if not installed by FVD
(2) Porsche 996 engines were made in East Germany and are therefore worth nothing.
End of conversation...
I also chose L&N and am happy with my choice but if I had the $ I would choose Flat 6 Innovations. Maybe next time in 4 years.
i am thinking of using them to upgrade to a 3.8L but with the cost I have to decide if I love my 996 enough to keep it forever vs one day buying a more modern 911
00MY C2 manual. Owned for 9 years, bought on 57k miles, now on 169k miles... all engine internals original. No bore scoring when scoped 18 months ago. Still pulls very nicely.
Seems like with regular oil changes and driving them, they last longer. It's a continuing theme here that many engines that fail are those that are not driven regularly. Of course there are always anomalies.
2003 Carrera 2, TipTronic, 102,000 miles with original IMSB. No issues. I'm new to Porsche ownership, recently bought the car and had PPI done at dealer. I asked about IMSB replacement. They didn't recommend replacing it. Dealer said after 102k miles just keep driving it and doing regular lube service.
2003 Carrera 2, TipTronic, 102,000 miles with original IMSB. No issues. I'm new to Porsche ownership, recently bought the car and had PPI done at dealer. I asked about IMSB replacement. They didn't recommend replacing it. Dealer said after 102k miles just keep driving it and doing regular lube service.
I'd recommend replacing it (it's cheap insurance) and keep an ear on your timing chains!
I always get the revs up a little when pulling away. I figure if my clutch wears out faster I can justify doing an IMSB. I am at 84k and have clocked the last 37k miles in just over two years. The other reason I don't proactively do the IMSB is because my car has had a little knock for last 24k miles. I figure I'll save the $3k for the engine rebuild that might be coming soon. Car runs well and uses about a quart of oil per 1300-1500 miles.
07-21-2018, 05:44 PM
