Hi from WA: Proud 987.1 owner

[ugame]

Hi Guys,

Just stumbled upon the Aussie forum after once again doing some "post purchase IMS bearing reading" as we do lol, which brought me to here:

https://porscheforum.com.au/topic/9638-cayman-s-ims-failure-first-real-evidence-i-have-seen/

No I don't have an issue with mine, but every now and again I contemplate seal removal.

Glad I've found an Aussie centric forum Hopefully see some of you guys on a meet or something soon.

Re my car, excuse the copy/paste of my story from other forums when I first took ownership earlier this year. My excitement hasn't changed, and being an occasional use car, the one thing that makes me lose sleep at night, is not IMS nightmares, but the excitement of knowing that "tomorrow, I'll drive the Porsche". Not even joking.

My story:

After years of chasing the Italian prancing horse, and never quite having a long enough rope to lasso myself one, I......

 

Well...... I went on a Road Trip with a mate in his Porsche 997 is what I did.

 

And from that moment on, I began a renewing of my mind.

 

Why spend a lifetime chasing a car I may never be able to comfortably maintain, when, for a 1/3 of the price, I could have 99% of the car.

 

So I began researching Porsches, and Cayman's in particular.

 

I needed to drive one, so I popped to a dealer just to "see what one felt like".

 

After 5 minutes I silently thought to myself "This was a mistake".

 

I'd gone there to try "A" Cayman.

 

What I'd accidentally done was found "THE" Cayman.

 

Silver Cayman S 987.1 6 speed manual.

 

1 collector owner.

 

2007 so 10 years old

 

And in all that time, it had done 44,000k's.

 

The car presents as if new.

 

And was being sold on consignment by the ONLY Porsche Dealer in Perth.

 

Fast forward 3 weeks and the car is now mine. I collected it on the weekend, and I have ZERO regrets.

 

Now some of you will say "987.1...oooh better budget for a replacement engine" but.....BUT.......

 

again, I've done my research and I wont lose sleep over it any more than I'd lose sleep going "I've researched the human body, and we'll all die of heart attacks because I read some human hearts fail".

 

It's been well looked after and I'll continue to look after it equally well for....well probably for the rest of my life.

 

This is the big one for me.  The search is over. This is my last big toy.

 

So without further a do........

 

CaymanS987

 

CaymanSBack

 

CaymanCollection

 

CaymanHome

 

 

[Troubleshooter]

Good on ya mate and welcome, always happy to see an excited new porker owner, even a Cayman owner   Great car! Don't give the imsb a second thought, storm in a teacup, and just get it done when the clutch gets done, no brainer. Ive got various 3.2 3.4 WCooleds and I never lose a nights sleep... enjoy one of the best cars Porsche ever produced

[ugame]

1 hour ago, Troubleshooter said:

Good on ya mate and welcome, always happy to see an excited new porker owner, even a Cayman owner   Great car! Don't give the imsb a second thought, storm in a teacup, and just get it done when the clutch gets done, no brainer. Ive got various 3.2 3.4 WCooleds and I never lose a nights sleep... enjoy one of the best cars Porsche ever produced

When you say "get it done" do you mean seal removal? Is the consensus that this actually does help?

Given the M97 bearing cant be replaced that is....without tearing down the block.

[Diamond911]

Great story and welcome the forum. Lovely Cayman as well. It's always good to see another Perth forum member. Hopefully will see you around or at Cars and Coffee one day.

I can't make Cars & Coffee this Sunday (daughters birthday) but here are the details in case you are interested:

8:30-10:30am Sunday Sep 9th, No.3 Carpark University of WA, Hackett Drive, Crawley. $10 entry to charity.

and this weeks special......."Fifty Aston Martins will be the special feature among the hundreds of classic cars at Classic Cars & Coffee as a part of the AMOC national rally. Twenty of the cars are on their way already, driving across the Nullarbor! They will range from a 1954 DB2/4 to new DB11 with some of the most glamorous cars ever made."

 

 

[TwoHeadsTas]

What do you mean 99%?????  I'm sure you will come to realise it is 100% ?  And welcome!!

We have an 05 987.1 Boxster S manual, have had this for almost 5 years, and have done nearly 50000kms in that period (car is wife's daily drive).  As far as we can tell, the car is still on it's original clutch, and hasn't had the IMS done.  Whilst I had some concerns about this initially, I've come to the realisation that such a small % of engines had a problem, so I've followed the "be alerted but not alarmed" principle.  Each time we have a service our mechanic has cut open the oil filter and checked for any metal fragments (none so far), and when the clutch needs to be changed, we'll change the IMS at that time as a precaution.  We are tossing up whether we keep the car at the end of the novated lease (at Christmas time) or upgrade to a 981, but the IMS is not necessarily a major part of that decision.

Just get out and enjoy the car, and keep the maintenance up - work on yearly oil changes rather than dictated by KMs travelled.

cheers  Peter

[Niko]

Welcome to the forum and Cayman ownership, and a six speed even better.   Looks sensational.

Great cars mate, as Troubleshooter said, don't give the IMS  too much of a thought, if that's what your worried about re having to get a replacement engine.

Sure it happens, but it is supposedly less in the Cayman's and really very rare anyway.

Also as T.S. said when you have to replace the clutch, maybe  look into getting it done then.   

Just drive and enjoy it.    Fantastic cars.

Be interesting to know how many sandgropers we now have on the forum.....

[ugame]

3 minutes ago, TwoHeadsTas said:

What do you mean 99%?????  I'm sure you will come to realise it is 100% ?  And welcome!!

We have an 05 987.1 Boxster S manual, have had this for almost 5 years, and have done nearly 50000kms in that period (car is wife's daily drive).  As far as we can tell, the car is still on it's original clutch, and hasn't had the IMS done.  Whilst I had some concerns about this initially, I've come to the realisation that such a small % of engines had a problem, so I've followed the "be alerted but not alarmed" principle.  Each time we have a service our mechanic has cut open the oil filter and checked for any metal fragments (none so far), and when the clutch needs to be changed, we'll change the IMS at that time as a precaution.  We are tossing up whether we keep the car at the end of the novated lease (at Christmas time) or upgrade to a 981, but the IMS is not necessarily a major part of that decision.

Just get out and enjoy the car, and keep the maintenance up - work on yearly oil changes rather than dictated by KMs travelled.

cheers  Peter

Cheers Peter,

Yep I plan on doing yearly oil changes.

While i dont daily the car, I am also conscientious enough to ensure the engine is at least run once a week, and preferably actually driven weekly if not fortnightly, and not just for 10 minutes either.

As I'm sure you know, sadly the IMS in the 987 can't simply be "replaced" so from my research, the only preventative is to remove the seal and allow oil to lubricate it. That's what I'm not sure about as it seems some people recommend this, others don't, and no one "really" knows.  I'll quiz K-Tech (Perth specialist) when I chat to them as they did some of the servicing in this car's history. Only they, and Chillingworth (Porsche dealer) have touched this car in it's entire history.

And dont worry, I do already get out and "enjoy" the car, which brings us back to the 99%.....

Last weekend I joined a Ferrari club run in the Cayman. Was a looking at the Ferrari's with lust? Or was I enjoying the irony of gate crashing their event in my silver arrow and feeling every bit as happy with my car as they were with theirs?

It was the latter. I have chosen the right car for me, and I in no way see it as a Ferrari compromise. No way at all.

 

[Niko]

9 minutes ago, ugame said:

As I'm sure you know, sadly the IMS in the 987 can't simply be "replaced" so from my research, the only preventative is to remove the seal and allow oil to lubricate it. That's what I'm not sure about as it seems some people recommend this, others don't, and no one "really" knows.  I'll quiz K-Tech (Perth specialist) when I chat to them as they did some of the servicing in this car's history. Only they, and Chillingworth (Porsche dealer) have touched this car in it's entire history.

 

 

Lots of theories out there....A lot of them guesses, some professional, some not, and even more just internet rumours.

Just make a decision to either worry about it or not.

If you are going to worry.   Get it done.  If it makes you sleep better,  terrific...money well spent.

If your not going to worry.   Put the money towards other things and just enjoy the car and switch off the dark thoughts....

 

[ugame]

19 minutes ago, Niko said:

Lots of theories out there....A lot of them guesses, some professional, some not, and even more just internet rumours.

Just make a decision to either worry about it or not.

If you are going to worry.   Get it done.  If it makes you sleep better,  terrific...money well spent.

If your not going to worry.   Put the money towards other things and just enjoy the car and switch off the dark thoughts....

 

Cheers mate. My current thinking is to just ensure the car is not abused (and not under used either) and to ensure correct maintenance is carried out.

I'll only remove the seal if a reputable professional tells me that's the way to go. 

I consider myself "informed but not alarmed".

Otherwise I'd have waited a year and got a 987.2 or longer for a 981, but I really wanted the last of the, what i see as, more spartan interiors, and hydraulic steering. (And I also REALLY didn't want to wait longer. Life is too short  )

[ANF]

Welcome and great story and logic!!

"I've done my research and I wont lose sleep over it any more than I'd lose sleep going "I've researched the human body, and we'll all die of heart attacks because I read some human hearts fail" "

I love this attitude, well done you for not getting sucked into all the hype - a great "replacement" industry has been born and built on fear.... 

 

[Andy73]

I needed to drive one, so I popped to a dealer just to "see what one felt like".

After 5 minutes I silently thought to myself "This was a mistake".

 

I just love these two sentences. Welcome to the forum mate. Your car looks bloody fantastic!

 

[Airhead]

6 hours ago, ugame said:

 This is my last big toy.

 

 

 

You sure about that. With that number plate it might be 'ers'. And you'll have to get one for yourself. ?

 

[ugame]

Just now, Airhead said:

You sure about that. With that number plate it might be 'ers'. And you'll have to get one for yourself. ?

 

lol. Good job I swapped to my personal plates then  No question over ownership now

[Troubleshooter]

1 hour ago, ugame said:

lol. Good job I swapped to my personal plates then  No question over ownership now

Yes when I say get it done, I'm no expert at all about the engines that made it into the 07/ 08 models, get it "done" from my mouth, means the 98 - 05 or 06 models that people like to get it "changed"....  without googling it, is that the M96 engines and not the M97 engines? hmmmmm.....

[ugame]

15 hours ago, Troubleshooter said:

Yes when I say get it done, I'm no expert at all about the engines that made it into the 07/ 08 models, get it "done" from my mouth, means the 98 - 05 or 06 models that people like to get it "changed"....  without googling it, is that the M96 engines and not the M97 engines? hmmmmm.....

Ah yeah. I could be wrong as my research is only many many forum posts from random people, but I think I"m correct in saying.....

986 / 996 = M96 engine in which the IMS bearing can be removed and replaced when doing a clutch job.

987.1 / 997.1 = M97 engine (06 and later) in which they improved the IMS bearing, resulting in far less failures, but in which they ALSO changed the engine design meaning the bearing is NOT removable without tearing open the whole block. Hence the only preventative action that can be taken is to remove the "sealed for life" seal, with the intention of letting oil in to lubricate the bearing. The theory being that the seal WILL have perished and let in "some" oil, which is enough to "wash out" the original grease, but NOT enough to lubricate the bearing.

As said before, there are points of view on both sides and neither are really "proven" but more a logical possibility.

987.2 / 997.2 = 9A1 engines which do not have an IMS bearing.

As said, no sleep lost. IF.....IF the unthinkable happens, the car gets garaged, the K's stay super low, and I save up more cash and contemplate rebuild vs 997 3.8 Turbo engine swap  The later making it.....120% a Ferrari

[Troubleshooter]

12 minutes ago, ugame said:

 

 I save up more cash and contemplate rebuild vs 997 3.8 Turbo engine swap  The later making it.....120% a Ferrari

I like your thinking!! Well if the consensus is that there's a benefit to changing a seal and that's athe best that can be done welll if the clutch needs to be done at some time I'd be changing the seal.... I've spoken at length to an indy Porsche shop that's been around forever and they've never had a failed IMSB come into the shop for a job

[ugame]

2 minutes ago, Troubleshooter said:

I like your thinking!! Well if the consensus is that there's a benefit to changing a seal and that's athe best that can be done welll if the clutch needs to be done at some time I'd be changing the seal.... I've spoken at length to an indy Porsche shop that's been around forever and they've never had a failed IMSB come into the shop for a job

Cheers mate. It's more "removing the seal" than replacing it.

Im inclined to trust the german engineers and leave it as is, unless there are tell tail signs (not that you get any) or unless a reputable workshop convinces me otherwise.

ok....no more IMS talk

[Troubleshooter]

4 minutes ago, ugame said:

Cheers mate. It's more "removing the seal" than replacing it.

Im inclined to trust the german engineers and leave it as is, unless there are tell tail signs (not that you get any) or unless a reputable workshop convinces me otherwise.

ok....no more IMS talk

Ok I'm not discussing anymore... except maybe pull the oil filter every 5000 and cut it to see if filings in there. I don't know if that's a worthy precaution but I'm sure I've read it many many times in the IMSB bubble on social media hahhahha.

Now go spank the Cayman around the hills!!!!

[ugame]

ok to bring this thread back on track and stop all this IMS talk (although I thank you all for your opinions on the topic and actually find it reassuring) I'll share some more fun things.

Soon after buying the car, I of course ALSO purchased a 1:18 model, and my supplier sent me a FREE slightly damaged 997 from the same range, so that I could swap the wheels over, resulting in a nice replica of my real toy.

Also did some messing around in photoshop to turn one of my photos into a stylised poster, which I may get printed up for my garage wall, along with versions of my previous toys, as part of my garage/mancave project.

I'm waiting on photos from the recent Ferrari run I gate crashed. Will post as soon as I have them.

[Troubleshooter]

No no no you need a poster on your wall of the GT4 for when you sell and move to your next big Pcar toy - resistance is futile and many on here will attest to it

[ugame]

2 minutes ago, Troubleshooter said:

No no no you need a poster on your wall of the GT4 for when you sell and move to your next big Pcar toy - resistance is futile and many on here will attest to it

hahaha you over estimate my budget sir.

I'm more "oooh old Boxsters are cheap right now. Clip on roof = Tarmac Rally car?

[ugame]

In case you're board, this is the video of the Road Trip I did in the UK in my mates Porsche 997.

This is the trip/experience that made me really look into Porsche for the first time, after a life long prancing horse obsession.

 

You can tell it had an effect in the video below, as a few months later, after much Porsche, and Subsequent Cayman research, I was talking like this during an Italian event in my Alfa 916 GTV.

At 5 mins 59:

Me "Should I save up for a Cayman or keep buying Alfas?"

Mate "Cayman"

Me "Yeah, everything I've read...."

Mate: "Sorry should I have thought about that for a second?"

And later in the same video at 16 mins 50:

Me "...And a [Ferrari] 456. Seriously I'd go one of these. I might have to look these up again. "

Mate "What do you want a 456 for? Just go and buy your Porsche would ya?"

Me "What go and buy my Cayman?"

Mate "Yes, be done with it!"

He was right of course

And later in the same video at 

[odetastuikyrose-us]

Beautiful car..