Porsche Preventative Maintenance 997/997/ 986/987

Porsche 911 IMS-Bearing Service

At the turn of the century, Porsche made the decision to change all of their flat-six powered sports cars from air-cooled to water-cooled systems. The change resulted in completely re-engineering the Porsche with a cooling system that relies on the use of coolant.

While the newer engines provide the same driving experience you'd expect from a Porsche, they weren't without their known issues. The most notable being the Intermediate shaft bearing, more commonly called IMS Bearing.

There are two main causes of failure for the Porsche IMS-bearing. The first is from normal fatigue where the bearing itself has met the end of its lifespan and compromises, typically at 80,000 to 100,000 miles. The second and more common form of failure is from improper oil lubrication which accelerates wear considerably to the point of premature failure.

The IMS-bearing failure issue is most common in the 996 generation Porsche 911's (1999-2005), 986 Porsche Boxster's (1997-2004), early 987 Porsche Cayman/Boxsters and early year 997.1 Porsche Carrera's

Thankfully this is a problem that can be remedied with preventative maintenance performed by one our Porsche-certified technicians at our 13 local locations.

The most effective method of preventative maintenance our factory trained technicians perform is a Porsche IMS bearing service. During this service the Intermediate shaft bearing is replaced with a much more durable unit, such as the IMS Retrofit kit, to insure the reliability of the engine

The Porsche IMS bearing service through Eurofed is a form of preventative maintenance. Contact your local Eurofed to learn more about preventative and affordable services