Double row bearing, no snap ring?
 

Today i removed the ims glange of my 99 after locking the cam and removing the two tensioners.. I noticed that there was no snap ring in it, is this odd?

I know it shouldn't be possible, but did it stay in the IMS?

Maybe it was an assembly issue and yours never got the ring?

The snap ring is in the outter race of the bearing. You can't see it until the stock bearing is pulled.

My bad, I missed that he only removed the flange.

I guess I was right though, it is still in the IMS ;)

When you pull the bearing, it will "snap" when the ring breaks as it comes out. Best to load up the puller and give it rest then load it up some more until it snaps then the bearing will come out. Be sure to watch for pieces of the ring as it comes out so none fall into the sump. Not a huge risk, just watch.

All that work on a 99 double race bearing seems futile to me. Oh 'ye of little faith'.

I am currently going through a clutch change on my car so I decided to inspect the IMS which turned out to be in great shape, no play and rotates perfectly! I removed the outer seal and the internals where full of oil, no grease left.. I left the seal out so that it lubricates better.

I wasn't convinced to swap the bearing since I dont think overload is a problem on the double row bearings but a is a problem on the single row bearings... I think that the lack of lubrication seems to be why these double row fail every now and then. I read somewhere that LN ships their bearings without the outer seal so it lubricates better, and 997 folks remove the seal and have not experienced any problems so it has been a proven concept.

Uhmm, no. The snap ring comes out with the bearing.

Right, but as the bearing is still in the IMS that means the ring is still there too :p

It was sarcasm ;)