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Purchased my first Porsche about a month ago. She is is 2005 997.1 Carrera S. Beautiful car with about 30K miles and loaded with all the options. My M97 engine was built in Oct 2004, so I'm in the single row serviceable IMS bearing category. My research put me into a mental category of highest IMS failure risk. So I searched the LN database, looked for IMS stickers in all the defined places and found nothing. So I figured insurance was better than catastrophic death of my engine. I dropped the car off at my trusted mechanic shop for an IMS bearing inspection clutch inspection, transmission gear oil, plugs et al evaluation. He called me today with unbelievable news. When the IMS flange was exposed, it was completely covered with black Permatex type material. He asked me if I knew anything about why this was the case, of course I had no idea. So, they cleaned off the sealant, removed the IMS flange and discovered that the rear IMS seal had been removed. As we all know, this is a procedure for the non-serviceable IMS bearing not the serviceable bearing. Upon closer inspection, they determined that the bearing was loose, sloppy in all directions and the bearings themselves were very raspy.
I feel very lucky that this was discovered when it was and before catastrophic failure. Bottom line is that I don't blame the seller, or the former owner because I am convinced that when that so-called mechanic removed the rear seal on the serviceable bearing, the IMS flange couldn't seal correctly so he just gooped it up with permatex. The owner likely never knew the difference. No leaks, no issues...…
From the photos it's the small bearing and the seal is still in the bearing. Probably during a clutch job the mechanic noticed the flange was leaking. He didn't have a replacement O-ring from the flange so he just slathered it with Permatex and stuck it back in. A good old boy mechanic at work.
Nice job on catching it in time, sometimes fate smiles on us.
Noticed the OP said the back bearing seal was removed but not the front (the side we can see in the photo). There was a "fix" where a hole was punched in something (oil pump drive shaft maybe?? can't remember exactly) that allowed oil to run into the opposite end of the IMS shaft. Since it's hollow the oil would run through the shaft and lubricate the back side of the bearing, in theory at least. This is the only reason I can think of for removing the back seal. It was a dubious fix IMO.
Mine is the small single row which is supposed to be serviceable. Wish they would've just swapped it out. I'm going with the LN Engineering Ceramic bearing due to the over $4K cost for the other work. I can always swap it for the permanent solution during later clutch work. I haven't heard of any failures for the ceramic bearing to this point.
Mine is the small single row which is supposed to be serviceable. Wish they would've just swapped it out. I'm going with the LN Engineering Ceramic bearing due to the over $4K cost for the other work. I can always swap it for the permanent solution during later clutch work. I haven't heard of any failures for the ceramic bearing to this point.
I personally know of a ceramic bearing that failed at 70k miles. It has a replacement requirement at 50,000 miles so went well beyond the specified requirement, but they can fail.
Ouch. I will definitely do this all again before then and upgrade to the permanent solution from LN. Right now the extra $1K on top of everything else was a bit much with the new clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, transmission lube oil change, plugs etc. Thanks for this info.
If those pictures are your car, the top one shows the IMS cover seal in place. Hard to tell if the bottom one is the bearing seal or plastic cage.
Keep in mind that the IMS itself has no seals. The bearing has seals and the cover has a seal.
Originally Posted by oldcsm
It’s my understanding that the rear deal of the IMs was removed.
Thanks. I’m obviously repeating what my mechanic told me. After reading comments here it appears it may have been the rubber seal between the flange and the bearing? All I know is that for some reason the black sealant became necessary to prevent oil leaks. This level of knowledge from members here is simply amazing. I’m a rookie owner for sure but a huge fan.
07-20-2021, 08:55 PM
My IMS Story
. Who the heck would do a “repair” like that? 
