1999 996 IMS Bearing Question: to DIY or not to DIY?
05-05-2015 | 04:07 AM
#31
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 946
Likes: 4
From: Columbia, MO / San Luis Obispo, CA
Cross posting from your other thread to here:
I guess it all will depend on your level of comfort of doing DIY's on the vehicle. We have a great IMS Bearing Replacement DIY that should be of some assistance to you. Take a look at it and see what all it entails and then go from there.
We also have a select few of IMS bearing update kits here. Check them out and read up on their differences. If you need any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask.
I guess it all will depend on your level of comfort of doing DIY's on the vehicle. We have a great IMS Bearing Replacement DIY that should be of some assistance to you. Take a look at it and see what all it entails and then go from there.
We also have a select few of IMS bearing update kits here. Check them out and read up on their differences. If you need any further assistance, please don't hesitate to ask.
What would be helpful on Pelican is if you could list:
a) WYAIT items for IMS bearing replacement. My friend docmirror listed the AOS, RMS, clutch plate, and a couple of items I am not familiar with. Are there others? Is it a good time to change the water pump as well (or is the water pump on the other side of the engine?)
b) Special tools for IMS bearing replacement. So far what I've seen listed are:
- LN IMS bearing puller
- special tool to properly seat the RMS (couldn't find this on your website)
- 16mm flex socket
- giant torx socket
- tool to lock the engine to TDC (I see this as part of your kit.)
05-05-2015 | 12:16 PM
#32
Three Wheelin'
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 1,345
Likes: 1
From: Minneapolis
The IMS bearing is at one end of the shaft...but things can also go wrong at the other end. I'd want to best wrench I could find to be doing this work on my car. You have years to play under the shade tree and have fun...but this is something that can really bite you if you do it wrong.
With this there is really nothing a shop can do that would be all that much different than someone at home who is comfortable with tools and around cars. The biggest difference is that (and although you pay a shop) it takes them less time.
I had the pleasure of paying a little over $2k to have my IMS replaced, and that's really all they did. Clutch was fine and was put back in, they replaced the RMS, everything else checked out.
Granted I would have missed replacing my cabin air filter, didn't even know I had one, but for the most part if I had a shop it wouldn't have been hard to do what they did. But, on the other hand, if I was doing it myself it would have been a whole weekend job rather than just around 8 hours for the shop.
I'm not in anyway saying my shop is expensive, bad, or anything. Just that it's something I would have wanted to do myself if I could have.
05-05-2015 | 01:20 PM
#33
Rennlist Member
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 1,354
Likes: 63
From: London, UK
05-05-2015 | 02:13 PM
#34
Rennlist Member
Joined: Jun 2014
Posts: 1,746
Likes: 6
From: Burbank, California
Look at it from the mindset that you're not paying extra for labor; you're paying for expertise. After all, there are laborers lurking around in front of Home Depot for $150 a day but how much expertise can they offer?
On the flip side, you would probably follow the instructions religiously, whereas an expert might rely too much on his expertise and end up missing something. Which is more comforting to you is your call.
On the flip side, you would probably follow the instructions religiously, whereas an expert might rely too much on his expertise and end up missing something. Which is more comforting to you is your call.
05-05-2015 | 05:30 PM
#39
Racer
Joined: Nov 2012
Posts: 284
Likes: 1
From: Alberta, Canada
The hardest part of the whole process is removing and putting back the transmission on jack-stands. Just don't do the AOS 
"while you are in there" unless you have an early model. I was ready to weep a couple of times during my replacement on 2004. Between Bentley Manual, Pelican, and the info on this board there should be no surpirses.
"while you are in there" unless you have an early model. I was ready to weep a couple of times during my replacement on 2004. Between Bentley Manual, Pelican, and the info on this board there should be no surpirses.
05-06-2015 | 02:48 AM
#40
Pro
Joined: Jun 2011
Posts: 737
Likes: 3
From: Silicon Valley
Hi Joe,
It is actually my brother's hysteria- he took ownership of my dad's 986 which just suffered IMS failure. I warned my dad about IMS and he replied that '98 cars have a low failure rate... I think our family would feel so horrible if both of my dad's cars suffered IMS.
Noted.
It looks like I would be wise to change (WYAIT)
- clutch plate
- AOS
- RMS
- am I missing anything?
It sounds like, in addition to the replacement bearings, replacement seals, etc, I will need:
- IMS bearing removal tool (I think I can borrow this from a friend)
- RMS tool
- cam timing tools
- am I missing anything? (I had a standard assortment of tools, and will pick up a transmission jack at Harborfreight.)
It is actually my brother's hysteria- he took ownership of my dad's 986 which just suffered IMS failure. I warned my dad about IMS and he replied that '98 cars have a low failure rate... I think our family would feel so horrible if both of my dad's cars suffered IMS.
Noted.
It looks like I would be wise to change (WYAIT)
- clutch plate
- AOS
- RMS
- am I missing anything?
It sounds like, in addition to the replacement bearings, replacement seals, etc, I will need:
- IMS bearing removal tool (I think I can borrow this from a friend)
- RMS tool
- cam timing tools
- am I missing anything? (I had a standard assortment of tools, and will pick up a transmission jack at Harborfreight.)
