How do I know if my Porsche needs an IMS bearing replacement?

The question that almost everyone with a Porsche will ask..

How do I know if my Porsche needs an IMS bearing replacement?

You needn’t worry if your car is a Generation 2 987 or 997 or later and the chances of it happening to those of you with a late 2005-2008 987, 997 or Cayman are very, very slim – so unless you are having an engine rebuild for other reasons, it’s not going to be financially viable for you guys anyway. If you have a 986 or a 996, it’s something you may consider, especially if you are due or require a clutch replacement.

Our advice, however, is not to let it ruin your ownership. These cars are meant to be driven like sports cars, drive it often and replace the oil regularly (ideally more than the 2-year service interval)… that is important.

One theory for the reason for failure on the early bearings is that the seal on the IMS bearing itself can dry out/shrink/start to leak, this can lead to penetration from engine oil (more so with the thinner oils such as 0w40 that is often thought to be the best (but not by us) for these engines). If the engine oil does start to seep through, it can flush the grease from the bearing and this can lead to the premature wear of the ball bearings themselves. Once this has happened, the bearing relies on splash lubrication from the engine oil – the theory then is that those which are rarely driven are more likely to fail than the ones that are driven often and with more spirit. However, this is not ideal and is no guarantee that the bearing will survive.

There are thousands of discussions on the internet about this subject, lots of great theories including the removal of the seal on the bearing to allow constant splash lubrication. Whether or not that is the right thing to do, we shall not get involved with, but safe to say that several engineering companies have done years of research and development and put their own products into the market. Several years on and thousands of installations later we find that the the retrofit bearing kits are the most popular and successful solution and when fitted correctly, by experienced technicians with the correct tools – should keep your Porsche happy for much longer than it would be with the original bearing fitted.