withers Posted 17January, 2014 Report Share Posted 17January, 2014 Baz Hartech has done a lot of work on this - well worth the read....http://www.hartech.org/docs/buyers%20guide%20web%20format%20Jan%202012%20part%205.pdf More stuff to freak me out about my car that may or may not ever happen! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabloau Posted 17January, 2014 Report Share Posted 17January, 2014 Amanda - no freak out intended, just info. IF yours was to go, it will go, nothing to be done about it except keep the maintenance up, slowly till water temp gets green then drive it like you stole it. Work colleague Dave B has a 2007 Boxster S, UK import & he turned me onto Baz whilst I was in the UK, I found him very knowledgeble, honest as the day is long & remember they did this at their own cost, to solve the issues.... Out of 4 people I know with Gen 1 3.4's / Gen 2 3.6's NONE have had the issues. Makes sense though on the additional thermostat though & IF your delight is a long term keeper then it makes sense to me...... Another aquaintance known for being hard on his vehicles still has a 2001 996 and is approaching 300k and no issues. My choice is upto 993 as to me that is the essence of the car, Air cooled over water for me. Ive driven the newer ones including a 4 mth stint with a GT3 & no, not for me but bloody nice though. So it is part of the free issue of the P.P.S (Porsche Paranoia System) that comes with each & every car so my take is we are a long time dead, so enjoy what we have here in the now...... here endeth the sermon taken from the "2nd bottle of the last case of Single Malt"....... :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withers Posted 17January, 2014 Report Share Posted 17January, 2014 Very wise words Pablo :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabloau Posted 17January, 2014 Report Share Posted 17January, 2014 From an old fart with an Outlaw in getting (wait for it........) New clutch New intermediate bearing on the 915 box Refurb of shifter system complete Sunroof to close properly Removal of "extraneous" wiring installed by P.O's 4 new tyres Repair of dropped door lock by your humble servant so non functioning currently Anything else T&D can do to prep the vehicle before I drive it from Brissie to Perth! (With no creature comforts)....... But she is mine, we have a thing going & yes, she is a "bastard" but she rocks my world...... Life is good & I have a flat 6 from Stuttgart....... We can't stress about things we cannot control, look at your Boxster with the same smile as your first drive. Never thought cars had souls till I bought my first 911..... Never looked back & never doubted that "she" could / would deliver when asked......... Back to work....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withers Posted 18January, 2014 Report Share Posted 18January, 2014 From an old fart with an Outlaw in getting (wait for it........) New clutch New intermediate bearing on the 915 box Refurb of shifter system complete Sunroof to close properly Removal of "extraneous" wiring installed by P.O's 4 new tyres Repair of dropped door lock by your humble servant so non functioning currently Anything else T&D can do to prep the vehicle before I drive it from Brissie to Perth! (With no creature comforts)....... But she is mine, we have a thing going & yes, she is a "bastard" but she rocks my world...... Life is good & I have a flat 6 from Stuttgart....... We can't stress about things we cannot control, look at your Boxster with the same smile as your first drive. Never thought cars had souls till I bought my first 911..... Never looked back & never doubted that "she" could / would deliver when asked......... Back to work....... You are driving from Bris to Perth? Whoa.. no way! You should fit a Go Pro to your windshield. Leave it in the same place every day of driving and do some time lapse photography, then join it all together at the end. Would look awesome!! You are totally correct Pablo... my stress ended with your very wise words. And I remembered my GTI was another car with lots of internet hysteria of things breaking. Mine was bullet proof so all good in the hood. You enjoy that epic drive and I hope you manage to get some great footage of your drive or capture it in some way Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted 18January, 2014 Report Share Posted 18January, 2014 Looking forward to hearing a few road trip reports, that is definitely an awesome adventure coming up Pab. Hopefully a great trouble free trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabloau Posted 22January, 2014 Report Share Posted 22January, 2014 Go pro purchased today, words with Steve at T&D over the car (update) & I can't let his pass without giving huge props to Steve for sorting the old girl out for me before, anyway, target date is now 1st week of Feb (work timeline applies!) and frankly so looking forward to doing it. Been on the to do list for so long & well, photos will be a plenty! Additional found by them.... master Cylinder stuffed / tyres (rear) not good & over use by date, various electrical & sender unit issues, wrong wiring etc long story short they have saved my saggy asymmetrical butt with the attention to detail & prepping the car for this trip. If I had a water cooled (3.4 /3.6) I'd take it to them & they listen...... Enough said....... More to follow...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withers Posted 22January, 2014 Report Share Posted 22January, 2014 Well I think this sounds like something for us all to look forward to! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pabloau Posted 24January, 2014 Report Share Posted 24January, 2014 Flight booked 04 Feb & now nervous as hell...., lOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prav Posted 10March, 2014 Report Share Posted 10March, 2014 Hey team. I know the IMS issue is so over-discussed it is probably giving people a facial twitch every time they hear the acronym. BUT..... In a March 2005 build 987 3.2L engine, I should still have the smaller IMS that can be removed and serviced quite easily, yes? It was delivered to Oz in May 2005. It is THE question that will make me go for an 05 Box S over the 04 986 Box S at my local P dealer. As always, thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withers Posted 10March, 2014 Report Share Posted 10March, 2014 Hey team. I know the IMS issue is so over-discussed it is probably giving people a facial twitch every time they hear the acronym. BUT..... In a March 2005 build 987 3.2L engine, I should still have the smaller IMS that can be removed and serviced quite easily, yes? It was delivered to Oz in May 2005. It is THE question that will make me go for an 05 Box S over the 04 986 Box S at my local P dealer. As always, thanks!! I think I've said this before - there's no way of knowing until they look at it! You can give Porsche the cars VIN and engine number and they still can't tell you. Why don't you phone Weltmeister in Richmond and ask them? They did my car and can tell you all you need to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prav Posted 10March, 2014 Report Share Posted 10March, 2014 Will do Amanda. Have been intermittently seeking purchase advice from Matt @ W'meister as he will be the guy I go to for servicing / IMS fix. Might give him another buzz. And I did read your previous posts.... but am growing increasingly confused as my research continues. The guys at the P dealership say that there was a transition period from mid to late 05 to 06 where some cars were small bearing, some were large bearing. And, if the VIN number is pre-transition, I should ("should") be OK and have the serviceable IMS. Problem is I don't want to commit to the newer 987 until I can know.... what happens in three years when the car goes BOOOM! and I'm 2 years out of warranty. Your 987 2.7L was the old IMS and that gives me some hope. And I think it might be too much $$ to have someone look at the IMS as part of the PPI. Sigh. It is not easy having automobile OCD. Any news on being able to keep your P? PK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withers Posted 10March, 2014 Report Share Posted 10March, 2014 Mine is a Nov '04 build, so a very early one. Look you will have to take a leap of faith at the end of the day. If you want one of these cars, then this is part of the ownership as much as that sucks! Also you have 12 months Porsche warranty right? Buy the car, drive it for a year and then book it in for IMS once out of warranty. Worse case scenario, you sell it if you feel to anxious about it in the event you can't service the bearing. It really is a small small risk. The worst thing you can do is too much research, you'll just confuse yourself and cause unnecessary worry. I've been there and done that. I want to keep mine, we shall see what happens. I'm not advertising it for now. If a genuine buyer wants it off PFA, then I'll consider selling. But for now I'm taking it a month at a time. Edit - I fixed up the bit about warranty as to not mislead anyone. Cheers to James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustJames Posted 10March, 2014 Report Share Posted 10March, 2014 Mine is a Nov '04 build, so a very early one. Look you will have to take a leap of faith at the end of the day. If you want one of these cars, then this is part of the ownership as much as that sucks! Also you have 12 months Porsche warranty right? Buy the car, drive it for 3 11 months and 29 days then book it in for IMS. Worse case scenario, you sell it if you feel to anxious about it in the event you can't service the bearing. It really is a small small risk. The worst thing you can do is too much research, you'll just confuse yourself and cause unnecessary worry. I've been there and done that. I want to keep mine, we shall see what happens. I'm not advertising it for now. If a genuine buyer wants it off PFA, then I'll consider selling. But for now I'm taking it a month at a time. Fixed that for you. With a Porsche warranty I'd sleep easily knowing that the risk was somebody else's. After the Porsche warranty ran out I'd install a ceramic IMS bearing and sleep just as easily. Bear in mind that installing an aftermarket IMS bearing will invalidate any Porsche warranty. You don't need to have your car (any car) maintained by the dealer to protect your warranty, but you do need to service it in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions/standards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
withers Posted 10March, 2014 Report Share Posted 10March, 2014 Fixed that for you. With a Porsche warranty I'd sleep easily knowing that the risk was somebody else's. After the Porsche warranty ran out I'd install a ceramic IMS bearing and sleep just as easily. Bear in mind that installing an aftermarket IMS bearing will invalidate any Porsche warranty. You don't need to have your car (any car) maintained by the dealer to protect your warranty, but you do need to service it in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions/standards. Good point. Thanks for fixing that for me at least someone around here is thinking lol - I updated my post as I feel it needed to be done. Can't be misinforming anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prav Posted 11March, 2014 Report Share Posted 11March, 2014 Again guys, just wanted to say thanks. Especially those who kept patient through my IMS paranoia. After lengthy discussions with Matt at Weltmeister (what a legend!), have decided on a 987 S and, when the last year of warranty is out, will take out the engine, do the internals and IMS, and the clutch. Any P cannot be seen as a car, rather an investement in indulging a passion. Enough talk. Time to put some money where my exhaust is. Boo yah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted 11March, 2014 Report Share Posted 11March, 2014 Well done Prav, nice choice, and good planning for the future. Better post a piccy or two when you can. Enjoy the ride. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikefocke Posted 14March, 2014 Report Share Posted 14March, 2014 DO NOT 100% trust any list of vehicle identification numbers even lists from Porsche. Or model year postings re IMS (even mine). There are exceptions. Porsche assemblers were well known from the early days for reaching blindly into the parts bin that had never been purged and getting a prior or next generation version part. And engines have been swapped. I know of people who got an expensive surprise. The only way to be 100% sure on an IMS car is remove the transmission and look at the IMS mounting hardware (a triangle and center bolt) as they are different between generations. Only a model year 2009 or later IMS-less Boxster can be known to have a IMS less motor (unless some daft fellow swappped in an older motor). Most 987S cars have the third generation IMS which is one of the better ones but the most expensive to replace and the part is only available from one source. There are early 987S cars with the second generation and the worst. Replacement in a 3rd gen IMS engine involves removal of the engine, splitting the block and removing the IMS shaft and shipping it to the supplier who redoes it. This is not to discourage a Boxster purchase, just to caution against absolutes. Your safest/cheapest is to buy from a reputable person who has paperwork showing the serial number of the LN kit that was used to replace the original. The engine number should also be on that paperwork. Or buy at such a discount that you can get the IMS replaced with a LN kit under your watchful eye done by someone who has done many. From an IMS standpoint, I'd rather have a '99 with a LN kit done right and before failure than any car before '09. Loved my '99 and '01S both with original IMSs. Model years per US specs and not guaranteed in your timezone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted 14March, 2014 Report Share Posted 14March, 2014 Thanks again Mike for your words of welcomed wisdom. The IMS story is an amazing story with lots of different twists and turns it. (all scary ones) It is such a shame that a great car like these are, unfortunately has to have a shadow over its character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baso Posted 14March, 2014 Report Share Posted 14March, 2014 Prav, Congrats on the purchase, and welcome to the Boxster ranks. After 12 months of Boxster ownership, I agree with your statement of an investment in indulging a passion. Will see how successful that is with my wife next time I want to spend some money on the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caver Posted 14March, 2014 Report Share Posted 14March, 2014 Just had the IMS changed out on my car this week, along with the clutch and rear main seal. I planned to have this work done at the 100k mark and it worked out well! The clutch was well and truly on the rivets, whilst the IMS is showing very tiny amounts of play. Autohaus Hamilton did a great job and the work came in under budget. There are plenty of components on the car that will wear out with normal driving. I count the IMS as just such a component. No need to panic about it, but don't ignore it either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prav Posted 15March, 2014 Report Share Posted 15March, 2014 Again team, all great advice. I really feel I got a great deal on my 987 S. Full Porsche history, reliable owner and 12 months Porsche warranty. Great price. In the end, an engine rebuild is something to be done for many reasons in performance cars and the IMS, if viewed as a perishable component a la tires / lights, is just one of those things. So, Matt from Weltmeister will be pulling it all apart this time next year. And maybe enhancing a few bits here and there. And then I have a more bulletproof 987. Bring on that apex. PK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike D'Silva Posted 19March, 2014 Report Share Posted 19March, 2014 http://www.planet-9.com/classifieds.php?p[mshow]=listing&p[id]=2002-boxster-2-7-engine-has-bad-ims-bearing-35194 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MavP Posted 17April, 2014 Report Share Posted 17April, 2014 This recent article, "Answers to Your Intermediate Shaft Bearing Questions" discusses the issue and some of the options Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niko Posted 17April, 2014 Report Share Posted 17April, 2014 Thanks for posting Mav, you beat me to the punch. It is truly an interesting (and sad) saga. That is a great article on it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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