So, really stoked. I probably did not get the best deal in the world but Im HAPPY HAPPY. This is a 2005 C4S with about 85K miles and is very clean inside and out. I bought it from a guy that had it for about a year, the previous owner had bought it new and had it for 9 years. The previous owner took it in for all scheduled maintenance and this is listed in the Carfax. The water pump was changed at 40K and the clutch was done at 60K... I called the dealer to ask if the IMS bearing was changed as a part of normal maintenance.. and he could not find it in his notes.

If the previous owner was religiously maintaining this I would think that he would have had it done...... especially when the clutch was done.

I was going to take it in and pay for a local Porsche dealer/ independent look to see if it had been changed. Do I need to? OR should I assume (hate that word) that this was looked at based on how well the guy took care of the car?

 

Welcome to the fold, no one can answer your question other than you or perhaps the first owner (If you can contact them) its got to 85k without loss it seems, & there are some on here well over 100 - 150k So you have to do what you feel is best. Perhaps it may be suggested you have a good look at the oils on a service, pay to have IMS bearings and clutch changed now rather than wait - it might depend on what you are going to do with the car and how much cash you have. If the engine breaks for what ever reason can you afford to fix it?
Drive it enjoy it - do what you think is best - O_Sr

 

I would suggest that the PO was simply a NORMAL 996 owner who never even heard of the rennlist board and therefore never have heard of the hype surrounding the failure of the IMSB. The PO bought the car 'new' so why would he even know that the failure existed. The bearing has lasted so far so don't even worry about it. He bought one car of the 95% of all 996 cars that never failed in this department. Have fun.

 

Thanks! I have decided to go ahead and take it in. An ounce of prevention..... I have completely enjoyed the car to this point and really want to keep it for many years to come. I have read so much on these forums and appreciate the knowledge everybody has.

 

Share your pics when you take possession of your new Porsche.

 

"Normal" people are increasingly aware of the IMSB replacement practice, as evidenced by the sellers including info about IMSB replacement in print ads.

OP, if one of the owners had replaced the bearing with an LN bearing, the barcode should be on the door jamb and/or in the owner's manual. I don't know whether any of the other bearing replacement kits include them. Even if the sticker was present, it wouldn't tell you when the bearing was replaced.

Hurdi, I know we're buddies now - but why do you persist on including bullsh*t statistics in your posts? You don't have any idea what that number is, so why do you think it's helpful to include "Hurdi's Random Statistic of The Day?"

OP, regardless of your bearing situation...

PostYourPics.gif

 

I did the same thing, as Amex gave me a early gift of a higher limit.

In hindsight since the bearing and clutch was fine, although prevention, it was more or less a waste of $2200 that I could have saved or spent in other places.

IMO with a unknown clutch I'd suggest checking the oil filter every thousand miles or so and inspecting for shinies and either changing the IMS with the clutch or changing it at the first sign of problems.

Unless you're in a position where $2k means less than it does to me, in which case then you should go nuts and do what you want.

 

For what its worth even if the PO did replace the bearing with an upgraded one they all have a finite lifespan in years/miles. So if you can swap it out when its new clutch time, its a good insurance policy

 

Here are a couple of pics I took... the one from the distance in my garage is "A winter to remember". I took it out today for a nice 30 minute drive to nowhere... The speed is intoxicating... I am really enjoying this car!!!

 

^^^ Don't forget to post your pix in the "Show Us Your Grey Car" thread. That way, you can see a whole bunch more cars that look exactly like yours, and they can do likewise.

There weren't no sticker put on my car when I had the LN bearing installed. Someone named owes me a refund.

As much as I hate to side with Hurdi, I tend to agree that the vast majority of 996 owners have never heard of an IMSB.

Ah, to be able to sleep with such naive bliss!!!

 

Schnell you say "Hurdi, I know we're buddies now - but why do you persist on including bullsh*t statistics in your posts? You don't have any idea what that number is, so why do you think it's helpful to include "Hurdi's Random Statistic of The Day?"

My question is... Do you know?

 

OK- so made a couple of decisions... The first one was to put clear LED side markers on and they look great. The second one is that I am going to ignore the whole IMS issue.... I changed to oil myself last week and cut the filter up. There was a few small/tiny speckles of non-ferrous metal but overall very clean. The water pump was changed 10K miles ago and the clutch about 20K ago. I will take it in this spring and get the 100K maintenance done and when the clutch is done next time I will get the IMS upgraded then.

Going to figure out what to do with the stereo- for now got a FM transmitter for my iPhone and will see how that works. Really would like to get navigation/ custom radio in it at some point. Suggestions (has been gone over several times here, I know) Kinda looking at things like an old home- upgrade as I go.

 

100% of all 996 owners are unsure where to put cell phone.

98% of all 996 owners have heard a Kenny g song.

90% of all 996 owners agree ice cream is cold.

86.5% of all 996 owners have sharted.

64.5% of all 996 owners have have an allergic reaction to orange side markers.

 

Oops, overlooked this opportunity to argue with your terribly mangled quote.

No, nobody knows. I don't claim to know; what I don't like is that you throw the 5% number around like it's fact. People come here for information, and when you just serve up the same bogus number over and over because it makes you feel better, you do those folks a disservice.

I also don't understand your need to insist that this is a static number when we repeatedly see evidence to the contrary.

OP, do whatever feels right. I ignored the IMSB for a while in my 996, but finally addressed it when my clutch slip was no longer tolerable. I never retrofitted the bearing in my Boxster...I might have eventually, but I when I saw my 996 on the internet, the 986 got kicked to the curb.

 

FWIW:

The PO of my car was told that by the dealer that they changed his IMSB, but none of the receipts noted that it was done. With that piece of information, my mechanic strongly recommended replacing it. The only way to absolutely know if it needs to be replaced is to just take it out and look at it. Once it's out, you may as well put a new one in anyway.

When mine came out, not only was it the original, but it was missing one of the seals. It was pretty close to toast.

I'm glad the original took the car to 150k, but I'm also glad that I can feel slightly more comfortable with my upgraded and (sort of) warrantied bearing.

I would say to save up and plan on having it done, whether sooner or later. You could also debate whether or not you want to do the clutch, flywheel and AOS at the same time, since you can probably save a little on labor doing it all at once.