gstreev

I was told the 99s used a better bearing and they should last longer. I was hoping I could wait until it needed a clutch maybe 85K ish? I think I can pick it up for $17K in pretty nice shape, can someone weigh in, I've looked through the IMS posts, I need to make a decision on the car by tomorrow?

Quadcammer

You've looked through the IMS posts and haven't determined that whether you should buy or not is based solely on your appetite for risk?

Marc Gelefsky

If you buy the car, do the IMSB upgrade and be done. Why gamble?

Byprodriver

No, you should'nt worry just follow the directions above!

gstreev

I didn't see many 99 failures, wouldn't have Porsche recalled these years as well?

gstreev

Took this quote from the IMS thread:

1999 C2 Cab with duel row .. 64000 miles. All Original.. I have read 10 pages and find 2 legit failures. The rest had them changed proactively and found bugger all wrong with the ones they changed. That makes me feel real good. I have no intention of changing the one that came with my engine. Not even if I have to have a clutch changed (which I very much doubt, as I know how to drive a manual car correctly). Theres no guarantee the LN replacement WONT fail. Lets see how

KrazyK

Porsche is not going to do a "recall" on a 14 year old car unless it is a safety concern. A blown engine is a money concern. Though the 99 (3.4L) has a DR and possibly better IMSB than the later SR IMSB, the 3.4 has many other issues which put it at great risk of self destruction as well. So I would continue to research the model your interested in.

LordVicious

I personally would be loath to pull a 70k mile engine for a bearing "upgrade." Especially when we are hearing so many stories of faulty bearing installations. It's pretty clear from the number of motors showing up on Ebay that 996s are getting wrapped around telephone poles at a much higher rate than the engines are dying. Cheap engines are now so readily available that not even the 996 racing community can chew up engines fast enough.

Quadcammer

If the was written by hurdigurdiman, take it with a a huge huge, massive grain of salt.

since when does the motor need to be pulled.

tranny comes out, clutch out, bam, done.

fpb111

How often have you changed your #2 main/rod bearings? They fail more often then 996 IMS bearings do.

LordVicious

Sooooo 15 minutes then? 1 shop hour max? I think your definition of "bam, done" is different than mine.

KrazyK

Since the NSA is scanning all our threads anyway, I wonder if they would be so kind as to move them all into the "IMSB" database section and provide the link for us?

Down South

To the OP:

Mine is a '99 cab with 101K and I've owned it for almost seven years. Since then, I have pretty much read everything posted about the dreaded %$& bearing. Here are my thoughts: the failure rate for these bearings seem to be much, much smaller than the single row, so I'm not going to even worry about it until clutch time. Then, and only then, am I going to make a decision.

These are fantastic cars and I still smile every time I see it and especially when I drive it. Mine is now set up exactly like I want it.

If it really bothers you, go ahead and spend the $2500 for a new bearing and clutch, get it out of your mind, and go have fun!

Cheers!

wyovino

If you were buying the car, would I be worried? No.

Kalashnikov

I wonder if every Toyota forum has similar threads.

It is very simple OP. If you are "concerned" then spend another $2.5k and get it replaced. Take the figure of 10% of all 996 getting IMS problem just for the argument's sake. 9 other cars will be fine, one will fail. If your risk tolerance is low, then walk away from the car or replace the bearing. If 17k is a big investment for you and you cannot afford the major breakdown, do NOT buy the car. You will not enjoy the car if you are constantly worrying about it.

Thinking about buyiing 99 Corolla 69K, should I worry about unintended acceleration?

I was told the 99s used a better throttle linkage and they should last longer without accelerating on their own. I was hoping I could wait until it needed a clutch maybe 85K ish befored adjusting the throttle? I think I can pick it up for $1K in pretty nice shape, can someone weigh in, I've looked through the uninteded acceleration posts, I need to make a decision on the car by tomorrow?