Brian996

Winter is coming and I am preparing to have my IMS bearing done. I’m doing it for piece of mind not because I honestly believe it will feel but boy would I be upset.
I have a couple of quotes from local European car mechanics.
One of them quoted me a substantially less amount using the European Parts Solution oil feed kit.
I will admit the price is attractive but I don’t really want to roll the dice.
has anyone used this product?
Are you happy?
Any horror stories or failures?
Any comments welcomed.

808Bill

If you're planning on keeping the car, invest in the best! The IMSS from LN is the only one that is a proven lifetime replacement. If you do sell your car, I believe you'll recoup most of the initial cost.

jim010

I am getting my car in next week for a full engine inspection/borescope and will make a decision about getting the Solution from that.

But ... forgive me Bill, as I am sure I am going to stir up a crapstorm ... but ...

How do we know that the Solution is the best? I have looked and looked, but I can't find anything to back up the claim that theirs is the best. Only their own say so. In fact all I see for any of them is their own personal say so. No data about how many installed, how many failed, how much cars with the new bearings have been driven etc ... . Now I don't expect to find that information for any of them, but making an informed decision is just not possible. Only thing I found was that the original retrofits were supposed to have been permanent - until they weren't.

So how to decide?

dporto

Uh, have you read about The Solution? If you have (and have a modicum of reading comp) you'd realize that ; 1) It's a plain bearing (as utilized in all previous engines with a IMS, and the other end of the IMS in the M96 - which NEVER fails). 2) It's the only one on the market because it's patented 3) It's fed with filtered oil 4) There have not been (and won't be) any failures... Not sure of sales #'s, but the fact that LN Engineering bought the rights from FSI tells me that they're pretty good... What more "information do you need" ?

jim010

Yup ... I knew I would open myself up to heated responses ...

MadIrish

Well, the point is that "The IMS Solution" is essentially the simplest of the oil fed replacements. Unlike EPS' solution, it is just a plain oil fed bearing, no rolling elements (cylindrical or ball)….just a plain metal bearing with an oil film. This is essentially what is on the OTHER end of the intermediate shaft. Simple, effective, used in millions of 911's. The EPS system is also a bit more complicated in terms of oil delivery and modification of the oil pump drive. The IMS SOlution is also fed with filtered oil. Were I to chose a permanent solution, The IMS Solution would be it due to the simplicity and proven record of plain oil fed bearings.

BTW...if you have an actual example of the retrofits ball bearings from LN ever being considered permanent, please share...I've never seen that.

dporto

Jim, there's nothing "heated" about my response... I asked you a simple question, because it seems that you're not comprehending the information that's readily available to you - I'm sorry if I offended you. I followed the question with 4 points to illustrate why The Solution is "the best" IMSB replacement.

808Bill

Thanks for beating me to a comprehensive reply (I hate typing long explanations) and the information and testing is explained or at least it used to be on the FSI site. Jake has run an engine on a dyno with no oil and the motor failed but the bearing still lives on till this day. If I'm not mistaken it's still in one of his test cars.

Before buying my 996, I spent a good two weeks reading everything I could find about the IMSB and don't ever recall the retro-fit advertised as a permanent solution.

steam_mill

I had the Solution installed in my 996. I did to a lot of reading around the European Parts IMS kit with oil feed. In the end, I chose the Solution because:

1. Simplest bearing - just a plain old bearing with little failure possibility.
2. Filtered oil.
3. Known installers

Although the Solution is almost 2X the cost of the EPS IMS kit, the install cost is the same. If I were to guess, it is would be less than $1000 difference between the 2 IMS kits once installed.

Brian996

So the LN is a lifetime replacement?

Brian996

This is from the mechanic bidding on the job for me-

dporto

OMG... There is no "LN"... What does that even mean? LN Engineering sells several types of retrofit bearings, including "The Solution" which is a plain bearing (as opposed to ball or roller type bearing) that replaces the stock ball bearing that Porsche used (They make both "single row" and "dual row" versions to coincide with the different depths of the original bearing). Jeeeezzzzz... this is why the internet is such a confusing place.

Brian996

I hope this doesn’t turn into some flame war. That would be senseless. I am trying to make a serious decision. It’s about a $1500 difference. I’m not rich so I can’t just throw money around and I don’t put this stuff on credit cards. We’re talking about months of savings.
Does anyone here have the EPS or European Parts Solution bearing installed? If so for how long? I know many people say go LN. I’m not looking to be cheap but if the optional bearing replacement is as good or better why wouldn’t I use it?

808Bill

The LN Engineering's IMSSolution is. Not the LN retro fit that has a service life and needs to be replaced over time or mileage...
I'd bet good money that any failures with the LN retrofit where in cars that had a failing bearing replaced and or done without proper prequalification. Talk to the source and not Joe's mechanic!

Brian996

I’ve honestly considered not doing it at all. 20 years later I think all the bombs would have blown by now. I have also read and been told by qualified techs and enthusiasts that 1999 is the year to be the least concerned about.
What do I know I am not an engineer. I am active with some local groups of 996 owns. Out of 14 996 on 3 people have done the retrofit and several have over 100,000 miles.