cameronl

I’m considering doing this IMS myself and just want to talk to other who have done this themselves.. I’m wanting to know if taking the trans out is the easiest verse dropping the motor.. Any helpful hints or suggestions would be greatly appreciated..

Thanks..

cameronl

Also is there a way to tell the difference between the two? How can you tell if its the RMS or the IMS?

cameronl

Also I just bought the car(early 2005 Carrera S with 23500 miles one owner) and didn’t get a CPO because of the cost. The day I bought the car I made them put the car on the lift as I do this with all cars that I buy. I had the tech and the salesman under the car with me and noticed the belly (just before the oil filter cap and the oil filter cap) of the car was a little dirty (old oil). So I asked the tech about this and he said o this is common on these cars. So I believed him and didn’t think any more about this until I started reading all the post about the IMS failure. I’m really scared about this as my wife would kill me if I had to spend 25k on a new engine plus it would kill me too..

Do you guys think I have a case with the dealership? I’m planning on taking the car to them and telling them about the whole thing and tell them that I feel they should replace the IMS for free since they were not completely honest with me. Any thoughts??

USMC_DS1

You'll need to get the number off the engine itself... there are several postings on here re ranges to determine which engine you have and whether it has the old smaller IMS bearing or the newer redesigned larger IMS bearing. LN Engineering will also have some information re this topic. The dried oil may be a number of things... my initial guess would be RMS, rear main seal, as those are know to leak especially if the car has not been driven much... for example, after sitting on the dealer lot for months. You really should get a PPI, pre purchase inspection or post purchase inspection in this case, from a reputable Indy in your area. Money well spent for the peace of mind. If you have the older smaller bearings then I would recommend the LNE retrofit and find a reputable shop that has done dozens of these. Even if you're a good mech there are certain DIY jobs I would leave to the pros and this is one of them... like eye "laser" surgery... nobody wants to be the initial patient/victim. If the IMS install is done poorly the result is what you feared in the 1st place... a replacement engine potentially. GL and let us know the outcome.

Zeus993

1+. Good call. Nothing like getting 1/2 way through the job and going, crap! Beam me outa' here!

cameronl

Thanks guys... I totally understand having a Mech Shop do it or the Dealership.. I'm going to go up and talk to the service manager and see what Porsche can do for me. Keep your fingers crossed. I will post after my talk..

thanks again..

holden997

I would check if the "dirty old oil" is still wet. If yes, the leak could be coming from the RMS or IMS or both. The only way to know is to drop the transmisson. If the spot is dry, perhap the RMS/IMS seal was replaced by the dealer and the old oil spot was never clean up. You would need all the service reports to know what was done to the car.

BED997

Search out this posting on Rennlist:

Different! - 2005 S owners - what's your engine number and production date?

This may give you an idea of when the bearing change occured. You can reference the engine numbers they mention and compare with the engine number of your car. Your owner's manual will tell you where the engine number is located.

What is the build date on the black sticker that you can read when you open the driver's door?


If you bought it a couple / few days ago (I didn't read all the posts to see when you purchased the car), you might have a case for them to replace the rear main seal and check the IMS if it is wet under the car. Not that I am advocating this, but you could tell them there is oil on your floor and, well, you get the idea...

holden997

you can also search "production date and ims". I summarized the engine numbers for old and new IMS bearing.

alexb76

What do u even mean by doing the IMS? You mean replacing it with LN Engineering? or Porsche?

In either case, unless you're a Porsche mechanic, do NOT do it! It's not as easy at it seems. I've heard it costs $1500 labour in addition to cost of clutch replacement, which means it's not that bad.

cameronl

The car is a 2005 (late 2004 production car) Carrera S w/23k one owner car that I just bought what two months ago. I just did a oil change two weeks ago after buying the car. The next one was due at 24k so I decided to go ahead and do it myself. The dealership didn’t do it as I asked and they said they didn’t do it.. I still have the oil and I’m thinking about looking at the oil to see if I can see and shavings or etc, because at that point I was still unclear where it was coming from and the poetical catastrophic damage it could do to the motor.. I’m really afraid to drive the car now. It’s like all the excitement that I had for the car has totally been blown away.. I know I need to stop freaking out about it but I can’t see myself having to put another poetical $25k into a new motor..

So I went up to the dealership and spoke to the Service Manager. He was telling me this is common and that it’s most likely a RMS and not the IMS. He also said that he has only replaced this the IMS or two motors in 911’s. I’m sure he is blowing some smoke as he can’t really be forth coming about every little problem. I know how this works trust me. He also was commenting on the fact about the internet that it’s basically all horror stories and not to worry. I didn’t want to **** the guy off yet and tell him that he was full of it because I basically asked what could he do for me. The internet is a great place to find out all the info you need for anything and this forum is also a great tool. So getting back to me asking him and his response was they needed to see the car and determine where the leak was coming from. Well I know this it’s either the RMS or the IMS seeing where the oil is coming from and the only true way to figure this out is pull the trans. I’ve tried cleaning the area to see if it was truly a leak or a sloppy oil change in the past and this Saturday after pulling the car on ramps I noticed a fresh drop of oil on the transmission. So he basically told me that as of Service there was nothing he could do (as far as pitching on any money) but the Sales Department might since I bought the car from them. I’m taking the car in next Tuesday so they can see what needs to happen next.

Sorry for being all over this place I’m just a little stressed at this point. I hope that I’m not too late if it is truly the IMS. I really hope that I’m over reacting..

cameronl

Also I'll try and look tonight at the numbers to see if I can get a production date to see where we stand on the IMS.. And also the motor number...

Also as far as which IMS I would use (Porsce or LNE) I guess it all comes down to what I can do if the dealership steps up to the plate for me...

997_rich

The RMS is just a seal, it won'y cause chips in anything. Look up pictures of a rear main seal for any engine. If the RMS fails the oil will pour out of the car and the engine will wear on itself and cause chips. But of course you'll know this. Your oil will be low and you'll see oil pour out of the trans/engine intersection.

If you just see chips in the filter and you're not leaking oil then it's more likely IMS (intermediate shaft BEARING).

997_rich

So, i'd definitely check the old oil for chips. I'd also take a knife and cut open your old filter to see if there are any chips in it.

cameronl

Good point about the oil filter, but I have already disposed of it..