Who did you go with for the warrantee? I didn't get one as all the research I did indicated they were all rip-off artists.

So far no one has reported a grenaded engine due to an IMS failure, right?????????

My clutch is the reason for the original posted question. I am preparing myself for the clutch, RMS (damp not wet) and IMS (no bad signs yet) while the engine is out. LN has been recommended to me.

My car is a 2003 996 build date is August 02' bought September 2003 so no warranty joy there. The RMS was replaced while under the original warranty very early in its' life. The car has 32k total on the clock.


Yeah I hear ya clutch at 32k, maybe my heal toe technique isn't as good as yours....:)

The IMS bearing replacement is a $600 part. The intermediate shaft replacement (which is not the norm) requires an engine teardown.

That's a "we don't really want that job" quote.

MR Claims

My point exactly...

Didn't John Toth's grenade?

Also, I was talking to someone at the Tech Session last weekend, and they had 2 996 engines grenade -- the second was a porsche remanufactured engine with jusy over one year on the clock. Crap, I don't rememeber who it was right now :(

There is a trashed double row IMS bearing sitting on the counter for all to see at SportsCar Shop in Sterling. Not only did it have play it had cut a groove out of the IMS bearing cover plate requiring a replacement of that as well.

We also have a Boxster S with lots of metal in the oil and a filter housing full of gold :) The IMS bearing is suspect. Not going to pull the engine to investigate further until the rebuilt engine arrives.

My '99 Box has 46K miles, and no IMS issues that I'm aware of. Changed oil at about 45K and the filter showed no evidence of metal bits.

Not a proper study by any means, but it seems to me I hear more stories of an IMS being retrofitted and the original IMS shows no signs of deterioration, than stories where the original IMS was pulled and looked bad.

If I need a new clutch, I may go ahead with a retrofit if my bearing shows any signs of abnormal wear. However, I tend to get 150K miles or more out of a clutch, so I might be 25 or more years away from a new clutch! Yes, need to drive the Boxster more.

By the way, I have a few track days and lots of autocrosses on my Box. I've bounced off the rev limiter many times.

I've been the Shop Manager for IMA since October. In that time, we have done probably 20 IMS bearings. Off the top of my head, 7 or 8 of them had noticeable issues upon inspection.

On top of that, we have had two 996's in the shop for complete failures!! One got a reman engine. The other one, the customer had an aftermarket warranty. When they were given the estimate, they said they would cover $3500, and not a penny more.

When buying an extended warranty, I would be sure to bring this up, and make sure that engine replacement is explicitly covered!!!!