BigJule

OK that's reassuring. That said even if the IMS on mine is not of concern for premature/unexpected failure there should be a concern of life expectancy regardless shouldn't it? My car has 97k+ miles and I'd love to hear that with proper maintenance and no racing I can expect twice as many miles.

semicycler

Yes. No worries for the larger IMS bearing. Forget about it an worry about other things on our cars. It's a non-issue. Just drive your car and enjoy it.

BigJule

Indeed, I went through a phase weeks before and after purchase reading/worrying about the IMS and that was mentally exhausting. This thread and your words just put an end to this ordeal Cheers, J.

Conan Dombroski

I'm just now getting back to this. I'll definitely get the real number from the engine later and post it here.

Conan Dombroski

They seem to have got the right number: M96/0569504482. What makes you say it's not complete? Thanks for all of your input, Btw.

semicycler

Conan - good, your engine serial number looks valid. There are others posted in this thread that are incomplete or muddying the waters.

Breaking down your full engine serial number M96/0569504482
M96/05 = M96.05 engine, aka the 3.6L base model engine used in the 997.1 series
missing AT = original engine installed at the factory, not a factory replacement (usually under warranty)
69 = matches correctly for the M96.05 engine
5 = matches correctly for a 2005 model year
04482 = the actual sequential engine build serial number for 2005

From another site, apparently pulled from the workshop manual: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=1261556
Engine (3.6) number up to M96/05 69507475 has the smaller IMS bearing and Engine number from M96/05 69507476 has the larger revised IMS.

According to this data you have the smaller, failure prone, but replaceable bearing. Another thing to check is based on your VIN. If your VIN was part of the class action lawsuit then you have the smaller bearing. See here for the VIN ranges: https://rennlist.com/forums/boxster-...-mar-12-a.html

The Porsche service rep and tech you spoke about in the very first post of this thread are mistaken. Find another dealership or indy to both confirm your research and do the install. As far as parts go, start here: http://lnengineering.com/single-row-...-106-0822.html

Conan Dombroski

Awesome, thanks!!

So now I need to put together everything I want done at once. I'm going with new lightweight flywheel and clutch, as well as the IMS. I'm looking for a total parts break down. The flywheel is a kit, but the clutch disc seems bare. What else do I need to complete the clutch install?

Batman33

In the words of Darth Vader, "Most impressive".