Hello,

I am going to get IMS Retrofit done on MY02 in a week or so. I was browsing LN Engineering's web site last night and noticed they have classic and new Pro single row bearing. New one has longer life, it appears. Does anyone have an input on this? The shop told me they use the classic single row. I expect it will be ten years before I put on 50k miles, so I feel okay with the classic but slightly longer life is attractive.

Thanks.

 

FWIW, single row IMS retrofit failures has yet to really manifest itself on any large scale other than install errors, debris induced failures, and such. So it's hard to say if the dual row is really any better other than in theory at this point from a practical perspective in terms of retrofit. You're really paying for the theoretical added insurance at this point if you go with it. If you are going to keep your car forever and planning on putting on 100k+ then yeah I'd say do it. Important to note however what their recommended change interval is on a dual row retrofit vs. single row and weigh that with the price difference and your usage and ownership.

 

I believe the new Pro version double row takes a proprietary $750 install tool the shop must buy ( check the website on this). Unless your shop orders a tool they'll want to do the classic.

 

That is what I just found out from LN Engineering. I will check with the shop.

Thanks!

 

It is my understanding the $750 tool isn't "needed" to install the bearing. However not sure if it voids the IMS warranty by not using it but how will anyone know? Also the fact that only a few failures has occured(some not directly attributed to the IMS itself), not even sure if the warranty will factor in since you must prove there was a defect in the IMS itself.

If you insist they install it with the 750 fool proof tool, I'd personally would want to see it with my own eyes rather than taking their word.

 

Probably the manufacturer keeps track of who bought their $750 tool and take it from there whether to honor the warranty or not.

 

I just had "The IMS Solution" from Raby Innovations installed in my MY'02 and like the idea of not having to worry about it again. No moving parts and no bearings to wear out.

 

Incorrect.

The Single Row Pro MUST utilize my Faultless tool to install the dual row bearing into a single row shaft. The tool is what was required to allow this installation to be possible.

I invented that tool, and you can trust that it is required to install and compress the internal wire lock and allow for installation of the Single Row Pro bearing into the IMS. Period.

We didn't do this just to sell tools, in fact the last thing we wanted to do was have a special tool, but since we had to have one to install the Single Row Pro I decided to make that same tool extract and install ALL the IMSB technologies for the M96 diameter IMSB. It can even install the IMS Solution bushing.

The good thing about the tool is there's no more pounding bearings in with a hammer, which has been a medieval part of the process since day one. The tool is very heavy duty, heat treated and capable of doing many processes all in one. I challenge anyone to properly install a Single Row Pro IMSB without using this tool. Until a person has carried out one of these Single Row Pro fitments, their opinion is totally off base and shouldn't be considered. Thats because they have no clue what they are offering their opinion about. I can guarantee that no one here has direct experience with this tool, or the Single Row Pro IMSB installation. I know where every tool and every bearing is.
Each unit is serialized.

Many shops are buying the Faultless Tool even though they only plan on using it to install the IMS Solution, and extracting the other bearings.

The only units that are covered by any warranty are those that are installed by Certified Installers, which requires invitation, two periods of instruction, as well as written and practical application evaluations. Each and every Certified Installation is reviewed by Charles and I at the time of registration.

 

Did I read it from somewhere that IMS technology has been used by Porsche for years, but starting with 996 engine, they started to use the sealed ball bearings and it has been haunting Porsche 996 model 'til the current days.

I also like the ideas of the non-ball bearing while it gets lubricated via the dedicated feed line.

 

Many years? How about since the beginning! Well, close to the beginning as the 547/1 4 Cam Carrera engine was the first to utilize an Intermediate Shaft to actuate the valve train. Every single Mezger based aircooled flat 6 also had an IMS, and that extends right through 2013 in the GT3 and Turbo engines. There's nothing wrong with an IMS, in fact we feel the engine needs one to slow the surface speed of timing chains, and that clearly evident in the 9a1 engines that we've been developing some 2010 that are seeing issues because they do NOT incorporate an IMS.

Yep. Thats because it operates exactly like the GT3 and Turbo engines and the technology dates all the way back to 1955. Thats why I invented it; because its always worked and until the factory fitted a deep groove ball bearing, the world had no idea what in the hell an "IMS Bearing Failure" was.

 

I'm confused on the logic here. So basically you can go one way but not the other(use 750 tool to install any retrofit but you can't use previous IMS tool to install the double row)?

Also the IMS opening is the same so whether you fab your own tool or use the "medieval" pounding method, one could still technically install this. Doesn't mean it's the right thing to do but since you now have distributors, I'm not sure if you can control who buys these and the methods they may use to the unsuspecting customer. That's why I said if I were having the pro version done, I'd at least want to see this tool in person.

Either way if your looking to spend that kind of coin on the pro version, it's probably best to go with the certified installer.

 

Thats right, because ALL OTHER IMS retrofits utilize an EXTERNAL snap ring to secure the bearing into the housing, while the Single Row Pro utilizes an INTERNAL wire lock for bearing retention. This is required to allow enough physical space to fit two rows of deep groove ball bearings into the same physical confine conventionally occupied by a single row of bearings.

Ok, so how are you going to install the internal wire lock, compress it, and deliver it into the shaft while ensuring the bearing is installed straight and at the proper depth? No, if it was easy it would have been done years ago and by more than one person.

We can't control who buys them, but we can know where they end up and we can control how Certified Installers carry out the processes. Anyone who attempts to do this as a DIY assumes a role that they shouldn't, and we make this very clear. No support is offered.

Why? You obviously already have all the answers, so why isn't your name on the Patent application rather than mine? Not meaning to be a smart *** here, but this has taken years to develop from a component and tooling standpoint, and it hasn't been simple, easy or cheap to do.

Yes, we go above and beyond to ensure these jobs are done with the exact same procedures that we have developed and that we employ under our roof. The biggest issue is pre-qualification of engines for the retrofit procedure. Thats what shops are not doing and even one Certified Installer didn't do this, and because of that the Certification was revoked immediately.

Our reputation and the reputation of every product we have developed is in the hands of those that we Certify, the margin of error is zero and one mistake leads to immediate revocation, with no possibility of explanation (aka excuse). Certified Installers have a lot to lose if they screw up, and thats who you want to carry out a retrofit, someone who has a lot to lose.

Too many shops are treating IMSB Retrofits like brake jobs by watching the clock and trying to do the jobs faster. When a shop calls me and says "How quick can I do this?" they immediately guarantee themselves to never receive an invitation to become a Certified Installer. You'll not find a single clock in any area of my 30,000 square foot facility.

 

I understand your passion but sometimes, I think you need to step back and take a breath. We are all just trying to learn and I'm not accusing you of anything here. I don't think anyone here is criticizing the product or the tool neither.

Would you explain to us curious minds on how this tool installs the internal wire lock? I'm just genuinely curious as I'm trying to form a mental picture, that's all and nothing more. I just don't want you to think we're all trying to beat you down as that's sometimes how you respond.

 

This is not accurate. It has a moving part, the intermediate shaft and this bearing, just like a connecting rod or a main bearing will wear out over time. If designed and manufactured correctly, and the oil feed doesn't fail, it should last.

 

I am very intense. This work is all I do, all day, everyday and most nights, too. This isn't a job, its a lifestyle and its hard won. The passion is intensity and getting the job done before anyone else, better than anyone else and continually making everything better.

I think so. People are stating that we have created a component that requires an expensive tool to install, and inferring that tool is not needed. Thats because they are vendor haters that don't want anyone to make a dollar off their precious Porsche, and because they don't know, what they don't know. They haven't ever touched something, yet they know everything about it, and more than the guy that developed it. Yeah, that gets old quick and thats one reason why we stopped making these things easily accessible to the DIY public.

What, I thought you already knew? After all, you were going to install it without a tool.

Learn? Hell, I thought you'd be taking over my Instructor duties in the M96 classes this year. Since a tool isn't needed, how were you going to install that internally locked bearing into the IMSB housing?

Yep, I get beat down daily and challenged, and told how to do things by people who don't even change their own damn oil. Thats why I stopped answering the phone. I respond in the manner I do because I only believe in direct dialogue, no BS, no sugar coating and no telling people what they want to hear. I love being developer, I hate the rest of it.

Who knows what this means when found on boxes filled with German automotive parts? It speaks volumes.