5CHN3LL

That's precisely why I drove to AZ to purchase my 996.

5CHN3LL

I keed. I keed.

The aftermarket ceramic hybrid bearings are supposed to be more reliable than the OEM bearing. Even if you could get a dealership to install an OEM bearing, why would you if more durable options are available?

If you have a single-row car and you want to install a permanent "Solution," there's a guy who can help you out with that. I have a dual-row car, so my options include (a) doing nothing, or (b) upgrading to the hybrid bearing. I chose the latter - even though my dual-row car is less likely to fail, my indy and I decided to retrofit anyway.

DBJoe996

Everything dies and everything mechanical will break eventually. There are no permanent fixes...for anything! Your nice car will end up in the junk yard someday and that's a reality. Life is short...and nothing lasts forever. Moving on....(insert screaming exit!!)

5CHN3LL

Couldn't agree more. I tried that logic once too, and someone interpreted that as "you think that 996's are awful and that's why they'll eventually break. Heretic!"

All machines have a lifespan / MBTF, a fact with which some folks seem incapable of coping.

JD ARTHUR

John, the replacement dual row ceramic hybrid bearing that installs into an original dual row bearing car like yours is recommended to be replaced at 75000 miles not 50000 miles. That it what I was told when Jakes shop did mine. As SCHN3LL said if your engine is an original dual row bearing it can not get the IMS solution which is good forever and possibly longer! Your choices no matter how many times we go over this are to either do nothing or do the upgrade. Whichever way you go the odds are greater that an uninsured motorist driving drunk will crash into your car and escape before you get an upgrade or the stock bearing goes out.

gnat

And just what has changed in the state of affairs other than the class action being closed and the number of respondent being known (which has no basis on anything really as it excludes 3/4s of the 996s due to age)?

80s BMW 3 series have a similar problem with their timing belt. BMW originally had a 100k mile lifespan on it, but some people's were failing which borked the engine up good being an interference motor. So the common wisdom (even before BMW lowered their recommendation) is to replace it every 50k. Additionally the water pump likes to do bad things well before it's recommended life so the wisdom there is to replace it with every other belt change. Furthermore the common wisdom is that if you can't 100% prove that they were done recently, then the first thing you do is change both when you pick one up.

Yet even as well known as those issues are, there are still those that ignore these things and then cry when one or the other craps out and the motor is toast.

It's a much cheaper car and a much cheaper motor, but the problem is the same. Parts rarely last as long as intended in the real world and people ignore the conventional wisdom that would save headaches.

It's called preventative maintenance. Every car needs it. Some more than others and some is more involved and expensive than others.

Until recently that was exactly what I planned to do. Jake is a smart guy and I believe he is the most knowledgable person out there on these motors, but given that his bearings need to be replaced at roughly the same time as a typical clutch I don't see any real benefit if you are driving your car.

What I have come to accept lately, however, is that our car no longer gets driven enough to "feel safe" (I'm going on year three of "I'll change it with the clutch", but I've still got another 10-20k on this clutch). For those cars I do believe Jake's solution has an advantage over the OEM bearing and is a better choice.

I'm still not planning to change it out until the clutch needs to be done and we'll see how much it is getting driven at that time.

GDI

I just had an LNE bearing installed in my newly acquired 2001 C4. I was pleasantly surprised when the indy told me it had the dual row in it and the original bearing was in good shape - he said I should be good for 75,000 miles, as you say, JD.

JD ARTHUR

GDI, In my opinion you were lucky to have a 2001 that still had a dual row bearing in it. Like Jake said you can't be sure what bearing they have until the engine is apart. Good luck with your newly acquired car. Mine is also newly acquired and I couldn't be happier.

Gonzo911

All the best Porsches come from AZ!

kmagnuss

I clicked on this thread to see more *****. What the heck?

LordVicious

Given the number of engines being blown up with newly installed after market bearings, is it time yet for a class action against the bearing suppliers?

zachsdad1

I'm only here for the pics. Carry on gents.

FRUNKenstein

Yes, sorry, I've been ignoring this thread for the past couple of days. Here's my Friday contribution:

Cuda911

So far, my 996's have experience a 100% catastrophic failure rate.
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Oh, and my additional thread contribution:
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FRUNKenstein

^Wow, well I uh, err, what was the question again?