topradio Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 FWIW, I'm hoping to get around to replacing the original clutch on my 22 year old 986 soon and I will be fascinated at the condition of the RMS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 If there's an oil leak from the bell housing, absent any other evidence, even then you don't know if it's IMS or RMS issue and it's still a judgement call as to whether you have a real problem or just an IMS weep. Do you spend £1k looking or just carry on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted July 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 I don't think I've said oil leak means IMS failure anywhere... I said oil leak means walk away. It's incredibly touchy this subject. It's not an attack on the boxster or anyone but seems folk don't like to read things. If you're a newbie considering a boxster, take it from me read my first post on this thread and use your own brain to make up your mind Best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topradio Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 So, just for clarification, what exactly is the symptom of your impending IMS bearing failure? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.I.T.T. Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 On 7/4/2020 at 4:38 PM, Cheddar Bob said: 3. Check the service history. If everything is from a Porsche specialist or OPC and the clutch change isn't, assume the IMS hasn't been changed and walk away. This comes across as if the IMS(B) hasn't been changed, to walk away. Even if the clutch has been changed by a specialist or OPC, I doesn't imply they replaced the IMSB. AFAIK, it's very rare for OPC to replace the IMSB anyway. 6 minutes ago, Cheddar Bob said: I don't think I've said oil leak means IMS failure anywhere... I said oil leak means walk away Even if it may just be a weepy RMS? 🍿 🍿 🍿 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted July 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 13 minutes ago, topradio said: So, just for clarification, what exactly is the symptom of your impending IMS bearing failure? Having a professional tell me it's failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted July 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 6 minutes ago, K.I.T.T. said: This comes across as if the IMS(B) hasn't been changed, to walk away. Even if the clutch has been changed by a specialist or OPC, I doesn't imply they replaced the IMSB. AFAIK, it's very rare for OPC to replace the IMSB anyway. Even if it may just be a weepy RMS? 🍿 🍿 🍿 Yes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topradio Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 Just now, Cheddar Bob said: Having a professional tell me it's failed. But, sorry to be so pedantic, what was it that told the specialist that the bearing is about to fail? cam deviation? metal in oil? leak from underneath? precautionary? guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobbie Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 11 minutes ago, topradio said: So, just for clarification, what exactly is the symptom of your impending IMS bearing failure? The symptom of Bob’s impending failure was a dripping of oil from the bell housing. RMS failure is usually a slow weep, so a dripping leak would seem to be a good warning to investigate further. A cheap next step would be to take off the filter (not sure if you can do this without dropping the oil, suspect so) and check for signs of metal as the IMS is likely to shed some metal before it finally implodes leading to catastrophic engine failure. Mind you, if you had a dripping leak rather than a slow weep, you would likely just get the gearbox off to sort it out anyway and find out that way. We love a good IMS thread on here🤣 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted July 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 1 minute ago, topradio said: But, sorry to be so pedantic, what was it that told the specialist that the bearing is about to fail? cam deviation? metal in oil? leak from underneath? precautionary? guess? I think someone put a link to my other thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edc Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 There's varying levels of risk Vs value. You could see no oil and still have a pending problem. How far do you go on your checks? Removing gearboxes, checking cam deviations, cutting open oil filters on sellers driveways? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topradio Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 1 minute ago, Cheddar Bob said: I think someone put a link to my other thread. I haven't read that yet, I'll go and do it now, as an owner I would like a heads-up on what to look for. As a spoiler is the symptom one of the things I mentioned above? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted July 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 1 minute ago, topradio said: I haven't read that yet, I'll go and do it now, as an owner I would like a heads-up on what to look for. As a spoiler is the symptom one of the things I mentioned above? A patch of oil being left behind after parking. Followed by a cardboard drip test. See photo then off to CPS who took off the filter and found metal. Like I said. IMS failure. I stand by my comments in the original post to help out others. And to respond to the comments about stripping the car. Not helpful. You have a boxster. Someone who does not might want to make an educated purchase Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
topradio Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 Ok, I've read it now and as you say, metal in the filter. There was no mention of this earlier in your post so I was confused. However you say that you made a mistake in buying a car with an oil leak (which could be a number of things) and advising that anybody in the same position to walk away. However, you also state that you had the car looked at by a reputable specialist after you bought it and they reported no problems so I don't see how you can beat yourself up about not spotting something that wasn't showing any symptoms at the time of purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el 3.2S Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 Sorry to hear of your IMS grief OP. I guess there are all ways to buy a Boxster. Someone could do all the research, look at stacks of them and all the service histories etc, pontificate wildly and finally select the “best” one, only to find the IMS fails the very next week. At the other end of the spectrum, you have chancers like me. I bought mine unseen 6 years ago, it was the only one I considered, had no idea if anything or everything was leaking, and have had no issues at all. The previous owner actually had the car 11 years and had never heard of an IMS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fox10 Posted July 5, 2020 Report Share Posted July 5, 2020 15 minutes ago, el 3.2S said: Sorry to hear of your IMS grief OP. I guess there are all ways to buy a Boxster. Someone could do all the research, look at stacks of them and all the service histories etc, pontificate wildly and finally select the “best” one, only to find the IMS fails the very next week. At the other end of the spectrum, you have chancers like me. I bought mine unseen 6 years ago, it was the only one I considered, had no idea if anything or everything was leaking, and have had no issues at all. The previous owner actually had the car 11 years and had never heard of an IMS! Yeah, I thought the IMS issue was well known when I was looking for a boxster but so many sellers/dealers had never heard of it and I got the impression they thought I was nuts 😜 asking about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted July 7, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 7, 2020 So to hopefully close off this thread. I should be picking the car back up tonight. Make sure you get all leaks checked out if they are of the oil type. Proceed with caution and as mentioned several times walk away if you can. The unknown right now is what damage has been done to other parts of the engine, if any. The IMS bearing can fail and preventative maintenance is probably the best way to view this, like other cars that have a cam belt as an example. If you are looking for a box to purchase, perhaps in this instance, low miles for the age may not be as good a thing as it could be for other cars. I'll leave you to decide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted July 31, 2020 Author Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 Ok so final update. Three weeks later and the car is fine. Added 1000miles or so to the box since. Lets see if the engine holds out. Thanks all for the contribution Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berni29 Posted July 31, 2020 Report Share Posted July 31, 2020 Hi Im pleased to hear all is well. I have only done 600 miles since changing mine. I need to drive more. Next time my car is up in the air wheels free I will try to have a listen (through a stick) to the area directly under the IMS and see if I can get an idea of what a new bearing sounds like. Then at a later date maybe I can hear deterioration of the bearing? All the best Berni Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted August 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 On 7/31/2020 at 11:08 AM, Berni29 said: Hi Im pleased to hear all is well. I have only done 600 miles since changing mine. I need to drive more. Next time my car is up in the air wheels free I will try to have a listen (through a stick) to the area directly under the IMS and see if I can get an idea of what a new bearing sounds like. Then at a later date maybe I can hear deterioration of the bearing? All the best Berni I find when I start listening for things I notice more and more wierd noises Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
½cwt Posted August 1, 2020 Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 57 minutes ago, Cheddar Bob said: I find when I start listening for things I notice more and more wierd noises In the car or generally in life? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted August 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 46 minutes ago, ½cwt said: In the car or generally in life? Mechanically Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berni29 Posted August 1, 2020 Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 3 hours ago, ½cwt said: In the car or generally in life? I like this! Listening in life is a real skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevM79 Posted August 1, 2020 Report Share Posted August 1, 2020 So did the car need an engine? Did the bearing fail, or did the seal fail? I’m confused.... I bought recently, did my research and to be honest, I concluded before starting to look, that an oil weep would almost be inevitable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheddar Bob Posted August 2, 2020 Author Report Share Posted August 2, 2020 13 hours ago, KevM79 said: So did the car need an engine? Did the bearing fail, or did the seal fail? I’m confused.... I bought recently, did my research and to be honest, I concluded before starting to look, that an oil weep would almost be inevitable According to CPS yes the bearing did fail. Did it damage the engine.... Not enough to warrant a rebuild but comes with a warning for the future. I have no oil leaks now.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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