Porsche shopping with dad

[bmoores]

What he said. And if you find a 996 for a "really good deal" be SURE to have it inspected by a Porsche specialty shop.

This is probably one of the most important points made thus far. There are some "really good deals" floating around but most of those cars were bought from distressed owners by new owners that may not quite have had sufficient means to keep up with the cars maintenance. As always if it seems to good to be true it is. A proper PPI will be a saving grace for any headaches that may pop up down the road.

[ReallyDirtyThirty]

The big issue with the first generation water cooled Porsche's is IMS (intermediate shaft) bearing failure, which causes the engine to fail. Like, the whole f*cking thing. Also they are prone to leaking RMS (rear main seals) as well. The IMS fails when the inernal metal ball bearings don't receive a proper amount of lubrication. After the bearing fails it will grenade the timing gear and both the 996 911 and 986 Boxster have interference engines. We all know how that ends...

The best ones to look for are cars that have had an upgraded IMS bearing installed. Its made by a company called LN engineerings and uses ceramic ball bearings as opposed to steel. It is superior compared to the Porsche factory bearing. Also, cars with replaced IMS bearings tend to have a new clutch and RMS due to the "while you are back there" justification while doing major mainteance.

Finally, IMS bearing failure is not mileage specifc. Cars with 200k miles have never had failures and cars with as little as 10k miles have. Its is really the only MAJOR weak point on the first generation water cooled Porsche cars.

My $.02

[Raxe]

The big issue with the first generation water cooled Porsche's is IMS (intermediate shaft) bearing failure, which causes the engine to fail. Like, the whole f*cking thing. Also they are prone to leaking RMS (rear main seals) as well. The IMS fails when the inernal metal ball bearings don't receive a proper amount of lubrication. After the bearing fails it will grenade the timing gear and both the 996 911 and 986 Boxster have interference engines. We all know how that ends...

The best ones to look for are cars that have had an upgraded IMS bearing installed. Its made by a company called LN engineerings and uses ceramic ball bearings as opposed to steel. It is superior compared to the Porsche factory bearing. Also, cars with replaced IMS bearings tend to have a new clutch and RMS due to the "while you are back there" justification while doing major mainteance.

Finally, IMS bearing failure is not mileage specifc. Cars with 200k miles have never had failures and cars with as little as 10k miles have. Its is really the only MAJOR weak point on the first generation water cooled Porsche cars.

My $.02

Something like 2% of all 996 and 986 models are prone to failure, but if it goes you're SOL. We don't usually recommend switching until there's evidence of increased wear (metal shavings in the oil filter or the tell-tale knock) as it can be a somewhat risky procedure since the bearings weren't mean to be changed. In short, don't worry about it but be aware of it.

[george graves]

This thread needs more pictures

[bmoores]

A few of mine and a video of it in action at the Texas Mile:








Direct link to Youtube if embed doesn't work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8ctVOgjBSs

[slammin.e28]

For some reason I thought the thread title was "Pictures shopping with dad."

Thoughts immediately went to bakeries, black widows, and single lug race prep e30 M3s.

[02stu]

Something like 2% of all 996 and 986 models are prone to failure, but if it goes you're SOL. We don't usually recommend switching until there's evidence of increased wear (metal shavings in the oil filter or the tell-tale knock) as it can be a somewhat risky procedure since the bearings weren't mean to be changed. In short, don't worry about it but be aware of it.

Most estimates I've heard are around 25%, and I've done a lot of research since I have one of the time bomb motors. The bearings are not meant to be replaced but are designed to be replaced. There held in by three bolts behind the flywheel. You don't need to take the engine out or anything.

[Raxe]

Most estimates I've heard are around 25%, and I've done a lot of research since I have one of the time bomb motors. The bearings are not meant to be replaced but are designed to be replaced. There held in by three bolts behind the flywheel. You don't need to take the engine out or anything.

Some people are inflating that figure heavily, truth is we've only see 3 fail out of hundreds in the last 5 years. You don't need to remove the engine, but there's more to it than just 3 bolts. The bearing pressed in one way; you need to basically pull on the threaded bearing shaft with enough force so the 'lip' on the rim of the bearing deforms and flattens. If the shaft breaks under so much force you're in big trouble.

[bmoores]

I was thinking it was inflated too. I've been pretty deep into the p-car world for the last seven years and multiple 996's and don't know of one instance of this happening. Knocking on wood......

[02stu]

Sounds like you know a lot more about it then me. I would love to know the true number. Have you noticed anything about the cars that have failed? Are the high milage, driven hard, oil changed frequently, etc? I really don't want to spend $1200 to replace mine if I don't have to. I have a Boxster not a 911 because I love men, I mean because I'm poor. whew.

I just don't want this to happen to me

[LJ851]

I have a Boxster not a 911 because I love men, I mean because I'm poor. whew.

Haha! Awesome.

[ReallyDirtyThirty]

I have a Boxster not a 911 because I love men, I mean because I'm poor. whew.

I know this guy and he both loves men AND is poor. Don't let him lie to you...

[BMWerke]

my '87 year old grandfather just picked up an '06 911 with 10k on it, He's the man! But I think the 993 is the best.

[Raxe]

Sounds like you know a lot more about it then me. I would love to know the true number. Have you noticed anything about the cars that have failed? Are the high milage, driven hard, oil changed frequently, etc? I really don't want to spend $1200 to replace mine if I don't have to. I have a Boxster not a 911 because I love men, I mean because I'm poor. whew.

Not really, there aren't any solid patterns we've seen amongst the cars that fail other than that they are usually lower mileage. Porsche figures it's 2%. You can hear a rattling noise as an indicator as well as metal shavings in the oil, but other than that it seems to be pretty random from our experience. One of our Boxster clients was actually able to shut the vehicle off before catastrophic failure occurred and managed to save his engine, another drove until it died and the '02 911 was caught during a routine oil change before failure. I've obviously never been in one when the bearing fails, but from what I've heard there's a 10-20 second window after failure to shut the car off without serious damage. It's described as feeling like a bad misfire.

[02stu]

Not really, there aren't any solid patterns we've seen amongst the cars that fail other than that they are usually lower mileage. Porsche figures it's 2%. You can hear a rattling noise as an indicator as well as metal shavings in the oil, but other than that it seems to be pretty random from our experience. One of our Boxster clients was actually able to shut the vehicle off before catastrophic failure occurred and managed to save his engine, another drove until it died and the '02 911 was caught during a routine oil change before failure. I've obviously never been in one when the bearing fails, but from what I've heard there's a 10-20 second window after failure to shut the car off without serious damage. It's described as feeling like a bad misfire.

You da man, thanks for the info. If you search the Porsche forums all you get is PANIC!!