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long story short.this is number 13 for me!.
6 911s
4 boxsters
3 caymans. I won't count the Macan or Panamera because they weren't sports cars!
Anyhow after a pretty bad divorce in which I had to sell my 987 Boxster Spyder,I got done and bought a 996.There were several issues with it and I just got frustrated and dumped it after a few months.
I then decided to try one car.So i sold that and my BMW wagon and got a 2018 BMW M3.Never loved that car.I actually liked my wagon more than it.I dumped that last week and decided I had to get another Porsche.
So i was lucky enough to find a really nice 2005 997.Same color and interior as my 95 993.The car only had 32k miles.very clean.
I traded in the M3 for a 530e.Plug in hybrid.Not a great driver but very nice and comfy and at times gets like 70mpg.
do you think i should wait?
I prefer to wait.But don't want to take the risk.
I was told to just keep an eye on the oil filter and that should give us
a good indication of the bearing.
Not all 2005s have the smaller, replaceable bearing - neither of mine do. Jake Raby is going to produce a video in the near future that will show the trick to being able to see the bearing flange nut without pulling the transmission. Once you can see the nut you'll know which bearing is in the car. If it's the larger one, wait until you need a clutch, then pull the grease seal from it and that's all you can do. If it's the smaller one, then you have to make a decision - my choice would be to replace it ASAP with The IMS Solution. There is sometimes no evidence of the bearing failure in the oil filter before complete failure - it can happen within a single oil change cycle of 5,000 miles or less, so that's not really a preventative strategy. With the double row smaller bearing in the 996s, it was robust enough where it could start shedding metal but continue to function without catastrophic failure and you could find ferrous debris in the filter without it completely failing, but in the 997, that's a crap shoot.
Congrats, looks great! I have a PHEV as my other car as well (A3 e-tron) and the contrast between energy cost per mile is striking. Worth it for the fun of the 997 though.
should you wait??? well, I do agree with Petza914's comment in many ways. IF you have the smaller single row and can verify it then if it were my car and for my own peace of mind I would replace it and put in a new clutch as soon as i could afford it. I said wait till 60k and a clutch job because I don't think you should panic, but for sure be proactive about it. Change the oil, check the filter, send in for oil analysis and start putting a parts list together. Even with the 2005 smaller bearing cars there is a 90% chance you are ok. those odds are not bad, but at the same time...if it was my car It would be my first "insurance policy" I would invest in for sure. The price paid for peace of mind is worth it. The IMS solution is the top dog and pricey. There are other good alternatives for less so do your homework. If you plan on keeping this car long term then spend the money on the best solution. If you flip cars every 2 years and will only put a 5000 miles on the car then maybe go with a good alternative. Either way it is a no brainer to have it replaced as soon as you can so you can sleep better at night
thanks and I totally agree..Selling my Spyder hurt.It was one of my favorite cars.But with a 5 year old boy,the 911 is the best option.A two seater aint a good look with a car seat!.Especially with my ex!
05-08-2019, 10:03 PM
new to me997.1
oh, and the divorce too 
that sucks...
