They have matching "haircuts" :)

Love the Bug Ninja. He makes a great side-man with the Wizard.

Listening those two talk is so relaxing it’s almost hypnotic.

People need to remember that a cheap sports / luxury car does not equal cheap maintenance. They were built expensive and will remain that way regardless of market value

This is my car, awesome to see how things went. Thanks Wizard, knew you’d do a great job.

The Bug Ninja is a cool cat..

The early Boxsters had a double-row IMS bearing that rarely if ever failed. But a couple years into production (around 1999 or so) Porsche changed to a single-row bearing, and that caused the issues.

Damn. The Bug Ninja is an *impressive* man. I could listen to him all day long.

Despite owning an ‘87 Carrera (and I realize that I’m in the minority), I’ve always loved the 996. After all those fried egg headlights were developed from Porsche’s time at LeMans. Their only mistake was putting them on the Boxster. If only on the 911, I think most people might have eventually ‘liked’ them. Thanks for the video.... both of you.

It's great seeing "The Voice" on your videos. Great guest! 👍

And having the IMS problem literally "behind you" both chronologically and physically!

I'm Porsche person, owning at least one since 1975. I purchased a new Boxster in 2005 (987 but same IMS bearing as 986). In 2017, with 22K miles, the IMS failed...totally failed. I do my own oil changes, and with knowing the IMS problem, I'd cut the filter open and check for metal. After my failure, Porsche did NOTHING for me...too long ago they said...disgusting. Anyway, I sent my poor Boxster to Flat Six and Jake Raby. He took my engine apart, cleaned it and installed the IMS that is directly oil fed...problem fixed for good. The reason Porsche went with the IMS was because they did not want to cast a right head and a left head so the cam chains had to run at both ends of the engine...not like the older 911's. Anyway, I highly recommend Jake Raby, and still love my Boxster, but I'm done with Porsche, the company. Also, why not go to the oil fed IMS like I did, and not worry about it anymore? How much more does that cost?

I truly believe this is one of the best channels on KZfaq. This information is so valuable and professionally presented.

Yup!, I was kinda happy 2c your buddy's dropped by. He'd make a good part-time KZfaqr. Nice to see you Bug Ninja!

The whole IMS thing comes about because this engine has one cylinder head part number. I'm not kidding, the heads are swappable from side to side of the engine, they are NOT symmetrical. In order to do this on this DOHC engine, they powered one cylinder head with a chain at the front of the engine and the other head had its timing chain on the BACK of the engine. The chain at the back is not driven from the crankshaft the way the other one is, it is driven by a shaft that runs underneath the crankshaft. This "intermediate" shaft is supported by two bearings, one at the front that is a "plain" bearing that has oil fed to it, while the aft one, next to the transmission....Was a sealed ball bearing. Over time, engine oil would leak into this ball bearing and wash out the grease. The bearing then failed and the shaft gets loose in the bottom of the crankcase, turning the inside of the engine to a pile of metal bits. There are better ball bearings on the market that solve this, or you can buy a kit that installs a plain bearing at the far end of the intermediate shaft. Neither is a cheap event, though it is better than a new engine @ approximately $20,000! This fiasco occurs in approximately 9% of M96 engines. The 911 turbo did not have this since it was a different engine, and anything with a 9A1 engine [2009 and later] is also free of this problem.

Love that video, great to have a guest, and awesome to see the picture of damaged/new parts as you go on the explanation! I put a new clutch in my car recently and now I understand a bit more :) Thanks Car Wizard and Miss Wizard of course ;)

Bug ninja is a great addition to the videos. I appreciate his input. He knows his stuff too and adds interesting info to the narrative.

Very informative video. I’ve heard a ton of info about the ims issue but this is the first time I have seen it described so well.

Love how car engineers have learned how to make timing-chains an even bigger headache than timing-belts!

I love the videos you two do together, he's very knows his stuff like you. Hope you do it again with him.

This is the type of mechanic so many of us need. He's truthful and honest.

Thankyou for the great videos, y’all have something hard to find nowadays, good people.

Wheeler Dealers fitted an IMS bearing upgrade kit that takes an oil supply to feed the bearing which seems a great idea.

It is worth saying the Metzger motors used in the Turbo and GT models do not seem to suffer from the IMS problems. Both my 996 TTS and 997 TTS had no problems in this area.

Great video as usual! Thanks. As you mentioned, they fixed it on the 997 but only from 2009. The 997 gen1 2005-2008 was still equipped with an intermediate shaft design engine. They upgraded the ims bearing along the way but never fully solved the issue. They got rid of the flawed design with the “9A1” engine introduced in the 997.2 and 987.2 in 2009. So I think everything you explained also applies to 997/987 gen1 owners.

After owning the 986 and 996 for about a decade I’ve realized that there is another factor that can cause the IMS bearing failure. Other than loss of lubrication in the "sealed-for-life" packed bearing (which why the ones that sit can be more prone to it) are the timing chain tensioners. When they start to go, they can raddle and vibrate the timing chain itself which will end up tearing up the bearing. There is also a modification one can and honestly should do with the LN engineering bearing upgrade which is to add a direct oil feed (DOF) line to the bearing from the crankcase. It circulates the engines oil and pressure through it to keep it lubricated. LN even offers the kit to go with their ceramic one but you need someone very skilled to execute it as it involves tapping into the engine. In all my extensive research on the topic, I’ve concluded that pretty much all non-turbo 911 and Boxster from 96-08 are susceptible until the mid-generation update of the 987/997 with the introduction of the PDK. It’s more of question of when than if for those who failed. Good news is most decent ones for sale have had theirs replaced by now.

This makes me feel great about my decision to buy a 986 Boxster S. Was looking at moving "up" to a 996 coupe but didn't realize to how comparable the cars are. I couldn't justify the 996 at double the cost of my 986. Planning to do my IMS this winter so this video is well times. Both well spoken automotive professionals, great content.

A friend and myself did this on the ground with a scissor lift. Lining up the transmission/input shaft was a bitch. The IMS bearing was replaced with the LN product recently. We installed new Sachs clutch disc, throwout bearing and pressure plate. The 996 runs and shifts perfectly. Great video thanks!

Matching haircuts, Bug-Wizard are and excellent pair. Voices are clear, cool, and smooth. You two rock!

I have huge respect for Wizard and the variety of repairs his shop is willing to perform. I'm very inexperienced with heavy-line repairs, and I just pulled two transmissions on FWD cars this week. Honestly it's pretty scary when you're used to diag and light-line work. One wrong move and you risk serious injury and/or thousands of dollars in broken parts.

Welcome Bug Ninja! Thank you both for sharing your expertise.

Still have a 1999 986 that I bought new in November 1998. Over 100k now as it was my daily driver for many years. Porsche changed the IMS design in 2000 and that is where the real problem started. I eventually had to do the clutch at 98,000 and did replace IMS, etc. Makes sense to do it all if you have to do any of them.

I love you guys! Great combo. Both laid-back. Would love to have them work on my vehicles.

Great video, just one point, pre 2009 gen 1 997's did have this engine and are susceptible to IMS and Main seal failures, together with bore scoring issues, these were more common in cars up to 2005, but we're completely resolved with the introduction of the DFI engine in 2009 for 997 gen 2 and Boxster

I always enjoy listening to the Bug Ninja. The guy knows his cars.

That guy has a soothing calm voice. Nice to listen to...

I guess times have changed. i did the same whole job like you did. Bought my parts from EPS and spent a total of less than $1000. EPS makes the most robust IMS bearing you can get, and they sell a clutch with more meat on it. I did not change my near perfect flywheel. Mine is a 2002 Boxster S. I did it in my home garage with the car up on jack stands. Took me a week of afternoons and was pretty easy and straightforward for a handy guy. You need a transmission jack and you can make the IMS removal tool. I've done 3000 miles since and runs like a new one. Good Luck!

Great content.Nice clear pics.Thank you

I did my IMS, RMS on my 02 986, did the tensioner orings, AOS, pain in the Ass, but with a ims tool and some patience and curse words I got er done. Love Porsches, hate all the bs jobs. I miss the air-cooled days

In regards to the "design flaw" I fixed, had a '71 Pontiac Gran Ville I bought from a church. They were getting a more fuel-efficent car and the trans mission was weak. Got it home and fixed the trans problem. Went over the whole car mech-wise; it was REALLY nice! Found a broke motor mount, replaced with an AC/Delco part, as I wanted the strongest mount I could get with out going high-performance [$$$$]. Took it out for a shake-down run, trans working well, comfy seat........hit the pedal down and wham!! The mount breaks and engine hits hood!! This was a 455/4bbl, about 335 hp and 470 lb/ft torque, too much torque for the FACTORY mount!! Parts store gave me another one, went home and put it on. Test ride? BAM!!! Breaks again!! Now I'm getting pissed, I grabbed 2 stainless hose clamps and put them on the mount, holding it all together. I snugged them up but allowed for a pinch of movement. I swear, worked like a dream, never had a problem after that. I was younger and dumb, I tended to rod the heck out of my cars and this sled could get up and roll once you got the tire to stop smoking and dig in. [One Wheel Peel!] Thanks for reading!!

Brilliant explanation, best I've heard and I've been watching 996 stuff a while as I'm rebuilding an engine myself even though I have no experience 🤣😱🤪

Matching haircut and they come it with the towel. Love it. Great videos Wizard. Keep it up

Excellent video, Wizard TEAM!!

Great vid! I'm looking to buy an older boxster and this explains the IMS issue best

Loved the video and the information that you imparted us thank you 👍❤️🚘🔧

Great video for all those who own or are looking for old Porsche's 996's

One of the most likeable mechanic/shop owner I have ever seen.

My wife owns a 1999 986 with the original IMS bearing. The guy she bought it from had never even heard of the IMS bearing problem. Fortunately, the 1999 model year had the dual row bearing, which has had a much lower failure rate than the single row. Also, the car had low mileage and we knew it had been well maintained because the owner had all service records. Therefore, we opted to have an IMS Guardian installed for now and wait until it needs a new clutch before replacing the bearing. I also check the oil filter for any flecks of metal at every oil change and monitor the camshaft deviation values. So far, so good.

I should have watched this later in the evening because listening to the smooth tones of Bug Ninja would have relaxed me before bedtime.

Just my two penneth - I think some (not all) of these aftermarket IMS solutions are nothing but snake oil which is reflected in the price of some of them. I sit in the camp that says if your engine is running fine then don't mess with it by spending 4k sticking in an aftermarket solution which can and do fail (do a search you will find LN engineering customers with failed bearings, the ceramic bearings in particular appear to have a shorter life than a standard bearing). Best option is to save money and put some away as often as possible until you have an engine rebuild fund. As the 996 engines age there are other issues and problems that will need rectifying so best to tackle it all when required by having a full engine rebuild. Here in the UK we have a specialist (Hartech Automotive) that have been rebuilding engines with failed IMS bearings right back to the early failures when the cars were still new. They have a huge amount of experience as they have seen so many cars and developed their own solutions which as I understand are a combination of uprated parts based upon the various revisions that Porsche made during the 996 lifetime. There are many 996 owners still driving cars with original IMS bearings and no issues, and all this scaremongering is driving people to needlessly spend money on half-way house solutions which may also fail. Better to do it properly rather than just replace the IMS bearing and hope for the best, I'm prepared for the time where my 996 engine may catastrophically stop working and that will be the time when the engine gets dropped and rebuilt.

Great addition to the channel!

People in Wichita are lucky to have this guy.

Great video wizard. Bug Ninja has the coolest voice ever, he is ready for his own late night smooth grooves radio show.

Thanks for a look at the engine/timing chain setup, very interesting.

I read somewhere that the early Boxsters actually had a double-row bearing and were much less prone to IMS bearing failures. Around 2000, Porsche decided the double-row bearing was too noisy and switched to a single-row bearing. These are the cars that have the trouble.

Just bought a 996 a week ago and they are such an amazing vehicle. Fortunately Porsche SLC had already performed the RMS, IMS & clutch so she's good to go. As close as I'll ever get to flying a jet :)

I have a Oct '98 built 996 as a '99 Gen 1 year model. 55k miles on it now .It came w/ the dual row IMS. However, at 50k, installed a LN Engineering Ceramic IMS, Also, replaced the AOS, water pump, clutch. This Porsche is good for 150K on the odometer and more.. It is my daily driver now. Love it !!

Hey Wizard it's time for a video on that gorgeous blue XJS? in the background.

Thanks for the video there are so many threads about the ims bearings. I have a 986 S and had this done at 45,000 miles. Yes this sucks but It is worth having the peace of mind especially if you keep your cars a long time. Most people that have a 996/986 are aware of this potential failure anyways so it shouldnt be a surprise when you're hit with a $4,000 service bill.

Very informative, thank you gentlemen.

I heard Bug Ninja say that the IMS issue was solved with the 997. Well, with some of the early 2005 997’s Porsche was still using the 996 type IMS bearings. In the following years the bearing was slowly improved but it wasn’t until the 2nd Gen 997 was introduced in 2009 that there was a completely new engine with no IMS bearing…problem solved. The same is true for Caymans and Boxster. Loved the video.

Hey Wizard, this reminds me that a cool video topic might be cars with big factory flaws that you can upgrade away from using better engineered aftermarket parts.

Great video, Wizard. Would have been cool to see the process as you were disassembling and removing the old bearing. Let's hear more from the Bug Ninja!

"It's not the time to be cheap", words of wisdom so take heed. About 5 years ago I went to see about buying a manual Porsche 944, however, it needed a new clutch which was going to cost $1500 so I turned on my heels and walked away from it. The 944 has a conventional drive train so to me it just didn't make sense. Cars that are so expensive to upkeep and distress their owners are NOT GOOD CARS regardless of make.

Excellent - 996 is a great and affordable way into Porsche and the 911 and knowledge of this weak point is so important. Any chance of a video on the blue XJS?

I got to say I prefer spending a bit more for "The Solution" instead of the ceramic bearing. The solution is a little more involved installation wise as it requires and oil feed line from and included filter adapter however it utilizes a plan oil fed bearing like the opposite end.

The IMS is not a major prob with the 98-00 986-996 and 06-08 987-997, but that late 2001-2005 single roller has a failure rate of nearly 8 percent in 100,000 miles, letting it sit up is the worst thing you can do. The 06-08 models aren’t replaceable without removing the engine casings, but you can remove the rear seal and “splash lubricate” the bearing.

hey Whiz.... wearing the clutch out is "wearing the clutch out" burning the clutch up is glazing the the clutch disc to where the "friction" material no longer applies friction to the fly wheel and pressure plate. easily done by riding or slipping the clutch excessively or having a foreign matter contaminate the disc.

Nice comprehensive IMS bearing/RMS video. Perhaps a part 2 with the list of 996s MY and models that are more likely to have an IMS failure? Would also have been nice to have a detailed pictures of the new bearing.

IMS is actually more work on a Boxster/ Cayman not less. Bumper, exhaust also need to come off due to the orientation of the engine. I did my IMS, RMS, clutch on my 97 Boxster.

I wish i was this relaxed after going through all this in the summer. I went with the eps/vortex bearing myself. Just liked the cylindrical bb desigj better.

Probably a good time to do the motor and transmission mounts while you’re in there. Especially since they take a bigger beating on cars with manual transmissions

RMS means muchos dineros for Wizard!

Hey Wizard, try checking the camshaft deviation before and after the IMS repair. This can lead you to check the cam timing actuators and plastic feet. It salting to be a thing on the higher mileage cars.

from the looks of it, he needs a new air oil separator as well.

Love the Porsche videos! Fascinating cars.

Another Great video Wizard

This video illustrates one of the reasons there's a NA Miata in my garage rather than a Boxster.

🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿🙌🏿😎🙏🏿. Grate show man ! Very informative

Early 2005 build 997.1 C2S owner. I ended up doing the full LN engineering IMS solution kit that doesn’t use roller bearings and the oil is constantly circulated on the parts, etc. along with new clutch, etc, price was around $6k but my car is very low Miles and wanted a permanent solution so I decided to go all out.

I did all that in my garage on jack stands. Pain in the ass laying on your back trying to get the top trans bolts in.

Great info and video thx

I bought a 2011 997 series Porsche Certified Used 911. The clutch started slipping & eventually failed within 6 months. Of course the clutch wasn’t covered under the warranty. It was about 4K total to replace clutch & flywheel. I babied the car but you never know how the previous owner drove it. Bad luck!

I have both, 986, 996, replaced clutches and IMS on both, but usually not an issue with early years, oil will keep bearing going with revs, Big nut replaced the standard bearing, but 996 is a great car.

I have the 2.7 Boxster 1 previous owner lovely car never had a problem with it.

Great video!!

I am a old timer, a burned out clutch had blueish and brassish color hard sports fromgetting to hot. The pad material could have it also. What we saw here today was just a worn out clutch pads. Not burned out. We had so many hot rod clutch cars back then it was common place. The person would bang gears and pop the clutches. Fathers would bring their sons cars back in after few weeks of new clutch that they were having the same problem as before. Take it apart clutch burned up again. Our materials were not as good back then as they are today. We even used heavy duty clutches. To much HP for those cars. That's why I liked the automatic better for Chryslers and Ford products. You could keep the GM transmissions.

Really prefer the 996 update without the yellow headlamps. Everyone video I’ve seen people say do the IMS if you are doing the clutch even if it seems okay. Happy to see the wizard agrees!

2:35 - This photo made me wince, imagine how that valve/piston interaction sounded 😱

That is two very talented mechanics in the same workshop.

My 2001 911 was out of warranty and Champion Porsche stepped up and replaced the engine. I had to pay for the install, and while they were there I had them do a clutch. It wasn’t cheap, around 6k for time and fluids but they shipped a whole new engine with all the other ancillary parts. I had to wait over 5 weeks to get it, slow boat but I got a new warranty as well. kinda balanced my bad Porsche experience with my Macan s years later.

Cool video and a cool guest.

the "bug ninja" needs his own youtube channel!

I had a 2003 996 C2 from new and within 12 months the RMS was weeping and changed under warranty yet to this day Porsche say there’s not an issue!

You guys have an "Army buddy" vibe. Hope to see more of the Bug Ninja.

I agree Bug Ninja is a great addition to the proceedings. Except now I don't know if it's Buck. I figured it was the VW German connection. ??

I had a 987.1 with an ims it kept me up at night so I got a 987.2 with no ims and I sleep better

Thanks for that will be good to know if I ever buy a Porsche.

Easy choice to make: $4,000 for IMS bearing, throwout bearing with new clutch, and rear main seal... OR.. low five figures for new engine for the crowd that says "I'm good, no need to do this now..."

Make a metal embossed tag 🏷: IMS/RMS/Clutch replaced. Date and mileage. Bolt it to the engine/transmission, tamper proof. Keeps the dealer stealer from ripping someone off in the future.