fpb111

2003 C2 Cab
Drooling, single row, SKS, Polish, IMS bearing changed.
2nd time in for same reason - leaking. 1st time @31k 6yrs ago flange "resealed". (no replacements available yet) This time 53,330mi LN bearing kit, clutch kit, flywheel

Old bearing feels/looks perfect no play. smooth turning, no grease, just Motul 8100 5-40. Old oil in tube smelled fresh??
Oil changed every 3-5k and at the end of the season before storage.

cibergypsy

I voted no because I had a 2004 C4S that I bought with 425 miles and sold it with about 19k miles 2 years later - no issues at all with that car. I then bought a 2006 Carrera S (build date of 2/06 with larger IMS) and have had no issues whatsoever with it and it has 51,500 miles now.

Fierofly

Listed on E-Bay http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porsche-Engi...sories&vxp=mtr

frisbee91

• No IMSB failure
• 1999 996 C2 Cabriolet, original bearing, 65,000 miles as of Feb. 2013

Update August 2021:

• Still has the original IMSB (2-row bearing MK1)
• 85,000 miles.
• No Failure

Cefalu

That's lucky, no valve/piston contact when the IMSB failed. Looks like it will be a nice core for someone. I read somewhere that Porsche is charging $15,000 for a core on the factory rebuilds they sell. Hopefully you get a decent amount for it to offset the LS3 cost.

But it is odd to me that a 2003 had what looks like a dual row IMSB. It looks like two bearing races in the pics, but there does not look like enough bearings rolling around for two rows of bearings.. If you could post a pic of the flange side of the IMSB we could tell if it's a deep or shallow nut recess, then know for sure.

jaboykin

Replaced IMS bearing at 70K in my 1999 C2. It was severely worn and was going to fail in the near future. I was lucky and replaced it with LN double row bearing when I replaced my clutch, AOS, RMS & cam seals.

alpine003

^^^^ hmmm... New Member, blanket statement, lack of details...please explain further on "severe" and how you came to the conclusion that it was going to fail in the near future. Did you keep on driving around with the IMS Guardian light on or something?

jonhums

No problems with my 2002 C4S after 46K miles. I did install the IMS guardian kit and saw no sign of metallic particles when installing new drain plug.

dinodog

'02 with 97k miles. No issues with IMSB to date

Peter 642

45K miles on an '03. Replacing clutch tomorrow and will be doing IMS at same time. Peace of mind for the 3-10% failure rate is worth it for me.

Yes, I need to learn how to drive a manual transmission car, is why my clutch is being replaced at 45K miles....

Mr Ping

98 C2 Cab - Engine replaced at 18k ish by Porsche for free even though out of warranty.

Unsure if it was IMS or cracked cylinder / other issue as it belonged to my father at the time and his memory is terrible.

Car is now on 106k miles and has had no similar issues since or anything else particularly expensive to repair (apart from water pump being knackered in by the drive belt? and the clutch / master cylinder needing replacing) IMSB was proactively replaced at 101k but apparently showed no signs of wear etc

For as long as people think they are unreliable though I will continue to be happy knowing I can pickup another bargain sports car as a result!

kpl

2003 C4S. Stock motor with stock filtration, Redline 5W-40. Single row original IMS bearing replaced with LN bearing at clutch change (original) at 75Kmi. just because. The removed stock bearing has a bit of play in it, but visually looks fine, and was full of oil. Presently at 93K mi. The car is a daily driver and sees about 20 days of autocrossing per year (~12 runs/day). All the maintenance performed can be viewed here.

philooo

KPL, very nice website with plenty of interesting information !

http://www.kevinlaird.com/4S.html

darbo

I just did the LN Engineering IMS upgrade at 26k miles, replaced the RMS, and throw out bearing as well. Better safe than sorry.

roperin

2001 C2 manual Cab 52K, no problems at all, bought it with 31 K on it and nothing had been done. but i'll probably go with the L&N bearing when I replace the clutch which is a way off, I have an oil analysis by Blackstone at every 5000 mile oil change. I believe that's a way better method of checking for bearing wear than the Raby Guardian. To me that's a silly thing.