jhbrennan

I thought about driving to Georgia to have Jake's team install the Solution but they had a 3 month waiting list at that time. So I drove from Austin to DFW (185 miles) to have a certified installer (Mayo Performance) do the job. Couldn't be more pleased with Mayo's work and the Solution!!

Flat6 Innovations

Chris and the Mayo team represent the IMS Solution well!

We maintain that 3 month wait, sometimes longer. No rushing around here, and it's not about how many we can do... When we crossed the 500th installation it was clear that it would take a decade for anyone else to catch us :-)

jaetee

I agree with pesuazo's comments, starting to come to the same thoughts. I have done lathe work on crooked pool cue shafts and seen the dramatic effects caused by poor roll out... Obviously, wood shows roll out much more dramatically than metal, but ultimately the same concepts apply.

SPECULATION ALERT! A batch of bad shafts beating up on IMSB's sounds more plausible to me than bad batches of both double and single row bearings. Variances in spec with the shaft itself would explain failures from both types of bearing, which would also explain why more cars with single row have the issue. Could also simply be that the (possibly) offending bad shafts happened to arrive at Porsche in 2000-2001. Stands to reason that double row bearings would likely be more capable of handling a wider spec range shaft and possibly prolong the inevitable failure of the IMSB. It would be interesting to note if the average mileage of failures on cars w/double row bearings is later than the average mileage for single row bearing cars? (sorry if that's been discussed, but this is a long thread among a plethora of other long IMSB related threads)

Furthermore, if this theory is correct and a microscopically "bent" shaft could indeed be the true villain in this saga, does the roll out in the shaft end up putting more load on the bearing's thrust load or the vertical load capacity?

My inclination is to believe that a cylindrical bearing with wide contact patch would perform better in a car with an IMS shaft that has enough roll out to instigate a bearing failure. And (another guess here) I think thrust load differences on the bearing would be minimal when comparing a bent IMS shaft vs. a straight shaft, but the vertical load would be significantly different. (unless the roll out gets progressively worse over time, then all bets are off)

TonyTwoBags

Meh, occam's razor and leaving it at a flawed initial design that manifests in myriad ways does it for me. I see little utility in theorizing on the issue when hard data is being kept private by Stuttgart. Just cover your own risk to your satisfaction and move on with life imho.

Schnell Gelb

An interesting proof of the IMS runout theory has been provided bu JFP.The short version is: M96 shafts are variable in runout. M97 shafts are not.
" Originally Posted by JFP in PA View Post
You are missing the point. Brand new, unused M96 shafts, right out of the box can demonstrate this run out. Shafts removed from running engines with perfectly good IMS bearings show run out to varying degrees, while many well used M96 shafts show no or very little run out at all. On top of this, the shafts from used M97 engine's do not show this tendency.

So basically, if you got an M96 with a shaft with run out, and it happened to be a single row engine, the odds were stacked against you being a happy camper."
Reply:
"Here is a hint of how to qualify a would-be M96 engine rebuilder: "Would you let me see the IMS runout test on my shaft?
And what about the other 6 items on the list of 7 supplied by Smallblock
My guess is that only well equipped and trained machinists would be able to do this test.The average engine rebuilder would not have the correct equipment ,nor even know what to look for.
The pragmatic suggestion is to use a new M97 shaft when rebuilding an old M96 ?How else do you buy a garuanteed straight shaft? Then you do not need such a fault-tolerant/expensive bearing ?Dang - I did not know this when I rebuilt mine - next time.....:-) "
From:
http://986forum.com/forums/general-d....html#poststop

Vltor

dporto

O...mg...

wildbilly32

^^^ +1

808Bill

TOOOOOOOO the Bat Cave Batman!

Boat1dean

Hey Everyone, Im new to the Porsche world and a bit confused about the IMS bearing solution. Can anyone comment about what are the better and best solutions.
I just bought a 2002 911 C4S with 96,000 on it. Owner claims to have had the IMS bearing replaced at around 30 K and I have the bearing ser #. Checked it with LN and they say it was replaced in July 2015 with a ceramic bearing. I just did a pre-purchase inspection. No metal in the filter or the pan, Borescope showed no borescore. Records show oil changed every 2500 miles.

Talked with LN and they say “5 years of 50K for replacement of the ceramic bearing I currently have.”

Choice 1. Replace with Ceramic LN bearing. 800.00 plus labor.
Choice 2. Replace with LN $1900.00 oil fed bushing replacement solution 5 years unlimited mileage solution.
Choice 3. Use TUNERS oil fed - steel ball bearing single row replacement solution for $800 plus 2500 in labor.

1.) Is there a Porsche master mechanic that can asnwer this question?

2.) Who does anyone recomend in S Florida will properly install the 1800.00 LN oil-fed pressurised bushing solition?

Thank you!

Nick_L

The topic of IMS bearings is very polarised on the forum with strong opinions in pretty much every direction. Every time the subject comes up it will create a storm.

I suggest you read what have already been written in the IMS threads, the subject is rather exhausted.

Flat6 Innovations

Search "PCA IMS" on Youtube and watch the 4 part series there.
See also www.rennvision.tv
The IMS Solution Certified Installer that I trained in S. Florida is Dave Till, at Till's Automotive in Ft. Myers. Dave has a flawless record of making the right decisions, recording his registrations, and pre- qualification procedures.

Porsche Master Mechanics were never trained by the factory on the IMS Retrofit procedure.

Optionman1

@Boat1dean Listen to @Flat6 Innovations . Best advice I can give to a new Porsche owner.

Porschetech3

No we were not, but some of us know a good design when we see it, choose the IMS Solution and you will never regret it..

TexSquirrel

I agree, install the IMS Solution and never worry about the IMS bearing ever again.

Install the UAOS and never worry about the AOS again.

Listen to Flat6 Innovations and learn LOTS more about your 996.