Death of an IMS bearing caught on video

[lordlee]

Ever wondered what the sound of an IMS bearing releasing its ball bearings into your engine sounds like? Wonder no more as I luckily (or unluckily if you're me) caught this on video (hat tip to Kelly).

We were busy enjoying the fantastic roads and scenery that North Wales has to offer...



After enjoying the Llanberis Pass and Evo Triangle on the Saturday we headed down towards the Elan Valley - 9 miles or so into our journey this happened...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/70933201@N07/84653053...

The comment at the end seems funny now but was less so on a very windy and remote mountain pass with no phone signal!!

The car is back together and awaiting collection so the story ends well. Anyway I just thought I'd share.

[lordlee]

matfinch said:

Gutted for you mate. On a 997 as well! I thought only the 996 engines had this issue.

Hope it wasn't too pricey to fix

I sold the 997 and this is its lesser replacement. I bought this to save money! Its a 2003 Boxster S with FSH and 70k on the clock.

[lordlee]

Don said:

Ouch. Mine's a MY03 October 2002 Boxster S. FSH. 34K on the clock.


Fingers crossed I don't get the same trouble...

Glad to hear yours is sorted. Did you have a warranty or did you just have to eat the costs?

No warranty so its on me but there are positives to be taken from every bad experience. I now have a low temp thermostat and a rebuilt engine, new clutch which was 80% worn so the car should now provide many enjoyable miles. The constant back of my mind worry when reading posts like this should hopefully be a thing of the past!

[lordlee]

sulli said:

st! I take it no warning, no tell tale signs?

Nope, it was running like a Swiss watch before the bang.

[lordlee]

Porkupine said:

Is that my engine!?

Thanks for posting up. Shocking that it went like that. Enjoy the car - at least you know its sorted and shouldn't happen again!

I don't know if it was your car once - its had 2 owners before me and 1 was a lady and the other was called Jack whom I bought the car off last year.

[lordlee]

supermono said:

I think the only thing that video told me about the frequency of this issue is that it's related to engine speed.

SM

If you understand the mechanics behind what happens to the IMS for it to fail then you'll know that the bearing would have been failing for some time before this happened. My engine speed on the day probably meant it went a few miles earlier at best. Once the bearing seal has failed the wear rate will no doubt already be terminal (in my case this was obvious due to the sludge around the IMS area).
Its a shame that the engines were manufactured this way but I fully understood the risks before purchase and still didn't get a warranty on the basis of the failure rate still being relatively low.

[lordlee]

The car has full history but has followed Porsche's servicing schedule which seems not to be perfect for every engine. The majority of people I spoke with in 'independent specialist land' said the oil needs changing every 6 months or 6k whichever comes first - so you are quite right to be following that schedule Gibbo. I will be following this schedule from now on myself for greater peace of mind.

[lordlee]

Raitzi said:

Sorry to bother again but is your car gen 1 997? (non-DFI car)

No I sold my 997 last year. This is its 'cheaper' replacement. Perhaps I should update my PH garage.

[lordlee]

I must say the AA response was the worst part of my day - it took 75mins which isnt bad considering the remoteness (after a very kind couple invited us into their home and let us use their phone). What did grate was asking for a £100 upgrade fee then mentioning that that would get me recovered 50 miles of the 240 mile journey home and I would then be subject to £2.50 a mile from there on in. The driver was a friendly guy on the plus side but I told them they could keep their flatbed at base for that money. I recovered the car with a friend in the end which was a mission but better than paying AA prices.

[lordlee]

Jobbo said:

What sort of AA cover doesn't get you recovered all the way home? Or did you have no cover at all?

I apparently did have nationwide relay - which is the one that gets you recovered 50 miles and then you pay the rest at £2.50 p/mile.

[lordlee]

monthefish said:

Who fixed it for you?

Jeff Colwill at Colwills garage in Devon did the job for me. He has been concentrating solely on watercooled Porsche lumps for a while now and also sells rebuilt engines through ebay. He talked me through the rebuild process, what parts and what upgrades we could do etc Throughout the process he has kept me informed of progress and stuck to agreed dates which is really all I can ask for from a service provider. am very much looking forward to getting the car back and enjoying driving it again - although now with the added bonus of not worrying about any engine noises.

[lordlee]

paulmoonraker said:

I was speaking more generally... IMS and cylinder related issues are often downplayed...

I tend to agree - the problem seems quite prevelant from the conversations I've had with a few local indy's. I definitely think there was/is enough substance for Porsche AG to have issued a recall over it. Still as unexcusable as it is I did buy with my eyes open and a warchest available for these eventualities so I guess I have to look at this as using up my two year warchest (the amount of time I intend to keep the car). If I have any other big bills I think I will regret the purchase but as is I still very much enjoy the car and cant see an obvious replacement for it.
I very nearly bought an R230 500SL instead but they're also prone to high cost failures so either way I would no doubt have been in this position with either car (man maths).

[lordlee]

Thread update - 4k miles since the rebuild and I'm very happy with the car. The other half has even taken to the odd drive. I've had a short shift fitted which I find a vast improvement and two track control arms have sorted a slight knocking that had started to develop at the front. Rear discs and pads are next up so I'll be buying the design 911 set - hopefully this will see me through the summer. She's going on the rolling road on Saturday so I'll be interested to see how near to 260 the car gets.