My understanding is that the IMS bearing was continuously beefed up through 'March of '06 and cars made after that weren't prone to that issue.

Is this correct and hence a 997 manufactured after March of 2006 would not need the $800 bearing upgrade along with the $150x18hours=$2700 worth of labor to put it in ... ?

 

That car still has an IMS bearing. That being said, it is a beefier design and the chance of failure is very low. It's not impossible, but it's low. The IMSB was not eliminated until 2009.

I don't recall the manufacturing dates, but I believe that in 997s the bearing upgrade isn't as easily done as it was in the 996 - it requires disassembly of the engine to remove the bearing as opposed to an "external" swap.

 

Early 2005 vehicles had the weaker single row bearing. In about spring of 2005 this was upgraded to a stronger single row bearing, which although can fail, seems to rarely do so. The early 2005 vehicles can have the bearing upgraded relatively easily and the cost is around the $2000 mark. Later vehicles need the engine disassembled and is much more expensive, however they fail so infrequently it's not worth doing.

Also bear in mind there are many other reasons that these engines can fail, they are not a bullet proof motor by any stretch.

 

Hmm ... I may be getting confused with the Cayman, I believe the Gen1 Cayman got a new engine and went from a Non-DFI M96 with IMS bearing to a DFI M97 sans IMS bearing, and that was in early 2006, sound about right?

 

Well stated.

 

No. All Porsche M96 and M97 engines, whether Boxster, Cayman, or 911, had an IMS bearing. In terms of model years, that means all water-cooled cars before the 2009 models. In the spring of 2005, the IMS bearing was changed to a more robust design that has a much lower failure rate than some of the preceding versions. That means that some late 2005 models, and almost all 2006 cars had the redesigned bearing. The IMS was eliminated when the 9A1 engine family was introduced with the 2009 models, and that again applies to all Boxsters, Caymans, and 911's. It's not a simple subject.

 

Interesting. So if I were looking at a 2006 Model Year, how would one determine if it had the redesigned bearing or not?

 

Jeez, can ppl confuse the OP more?!?!

@Mister Quickie... basically you're good with any 2006+ model, those received the upgrade, easy!

 

Kool, thanks, now it's a matter of deciding between the Cayman S or the 997 base but that's a whole 'nother thread, reliability will be the deciding factor

 

OK - the only positive way to tell is to look at the cover of the bearing, which unfortunately requires that the transmission be removed. If the central nut on the cover is "small" (I think 21mm), then the bearing is the small version. If the nut is "large" (I believe 24mm), then the bearing is the new, beefier version. Obviously, separating the engine and transmission is not often realistic, so there are two easier ways to narrow down the possibilities: one, do it by checking the engine serial number against the list that Porsche published in the settlement of the class-action lawsuit that was brought against them a year or so ago. A second way is to look at the build date (month) of the car, which is shown on a sticker on one of the doorjambs. Unless you have a very, very early 2006 car, then you can be reasonably sure you have the later bearing. I have heard of 2006 model cars that were built in April/May 2005, and those are the cars that are "in the bubble" and difficult to know for sure. Any 2006 car that was built after June 2005 should have the later bearing.

Keep in mind that having the small bearing is not all bad. These smaller bearings can be replaced without disassembling the engine, and servicing them by replacing them with an OEM of after market bearing in a proactive way to prevent failure is not prohibitive.

 

Test drive both and decide which works best... good luck!

 

Since it seems to be the same engine (just bored out to 3.4 instead of 3.6/3.8) and I'm guessing the same 6-speed tranny just a different configuration (mid vs rear), that the reliability would be roughly the same (pl correct me if I'm wrong) so then it all boils down to the drive ...

 

I think transmission is actually different, 911 is a self-adjusting clutch and Boxster/Cayman is not, also larger brakes, higher HP, and more room for 911.

 

If you know the 911 engine number, this thread will help.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...tion-date.html

 

get the 911, you'll be able to use it as a DD if you wish. More of an "all purpose" vehicle, if I do say so myself