Review of the Pelican Parts IMS Bearing Kit for Porsche 996 & 986

[@emmanuelgeorges2040]

Do you recommend removing the seal?

[@waltheisenberg5620]

100% agreed for us dual row cars. Pelican, please offer a dual row bearing kit.

[@frankarmstrong689]

You nailed it on the head... Double row bearing had a much lower failure rate when compared to the single row bearing. But... If you are retrofitting with an upgraded single row ceramic ball bearing than it would in fact be a better replacement.

[@brandonbentley8532]

Just ordered this kit for my 99 boxster. My original concern being I'm going from a dual row bearing to single but pelican claims that replacement at 40k intervals will guarantee any chance of failure. They say this bearing is slightly better then the original single row and as reliable as the dual row and since it has a stronger bolt with no lock ring slot it helps support the bearing and mitigate the bolt breaking when the bearing starts to fail. They claim the bearing should be good for 60k to 75k but that a change at 40k will be plenty early (about the life of a clutch anyway hence no dual row option). We'll see. I only put 3k on the car a year so 40k will be literally many years of use for me. No one online who has used this kit has had any issues with it failing.

[@stefanshapiro1245]

As a counterpoint, I took of my transmission at 160k miles and my (original 1999) clutch still had about 30% left and the original stock IMS bearing had a little bit of play so I replaced it. I drive the car hard. While my experience isn't necessarily typical it does say something about the longevity assertions of both the IMS and the clutch. Cheers.

[@jhammond4344]

Are you guys pulling the seal off prior to installation?

[@SunSandAndSea]

good vid.. Makes sense to use this if you have a singel row bearing-- -esp since the LN and other roller bearings are also WEAR items.. unless you buy the SOLUTION. ---- If you have a dual row, best to stick with LN or EPS or maybe even MB

[@haroldhansen5204]

Thank you for the information

[@captlarry-3525]

what makes sense is to upgrade the newer cars so they ALL have the double row bearing ! eh ?

[@allenhsu869]

Burner's Cars, thank you for the video! I have a 2004 Boxster with Tiptronic transmission. It has almost 50k miles on it now. Some people said the fail rate on auto-transmission Boxsters are a lot lower. What do you think? Is it easier, or more difficult to replace the IMS bearing on a Boxster with Tiptronic, compared to manual?

[@BurnersCars]

Sure! The process is mostly the same on the auto. The only difference is that you have just the torque converter instead of the pressure plate, clutch and flywheel. I imagine that should make that part of the process a little easier. Everything else will be the same.

[@billgreen8966]

Hi Burners Cars. I realise this post was some time ago but I have only just seen it. I have just replaced the single row bearing on my 2004 Tiptronic with the IMS Solution. Why because its a tiptronic so no regular clutch replacements and because on the tiptronic cars the the removal of the transmission is more time consuming so I wanted a permament fix. To remove the tiptronic tranny you have to remove the starter motor and work through the starter aperture to disconnect the flexplate from the torque converter. Very awkward and time consuming without the Porsche special tools. Also the tranny is very heavy.

[@1Gaumer]

Picking up an 04 with a tiptronic that has never had the IMS done curious as to your experience 3 years in. Still seem to be working?

[@charha01]

Are you located in Washington state? If so where? I have a 2003 C4S and I'm contemplating doing the IMS/RMS service so I'd love to meet up and pick your brain on this. I'm located in the Maple Valley area.

[@michaelt2906]

Really love your videos. Very informative and makes a lot of sense. Just wondering which ceramic generic bearing did you end up using as I'm looking to do the same on my 03 996? So many options out there.

[@Perceni]

I have a 99 boxster and it originally came with the dual row andI installed the single row ims from pelican parts and it has been in for about 20k miles and no issues at all. Great for the price but I don't think it is a permanent solution since they state to change it every time you change the clutch (as mentioned in this video) and that made me a bit nervous but it was all I could afford at the time. Hope this helps.

[@dwightpilkilton7870]

what is this planer bearing you are talking about

[@joannesmedley2402]

I couldn't agree more! If it has a double row bearing then replace it with a double row bearing.

[@MichaelPSmith-mp1fk]

kind of new to this new IMS thing. Just bought a Boxster. Was wondering why anyone would want to replace the IMs bearing with an identical one. Wouldn't it be better to put an upgraded one. I thought the whole point was that the original ones or prone to failure. what is the best option? I have heard several different things.

[@BurnersCars]

*Most* of the original ones lasted at least 40-50k miles, so the idea here is that if you replace it when you do the clutch it probably won't ever wear to the point of failure. The main advantage of the Pelican kit is price. Most of the other kits out there also recommend you swap them out every 50k miles, but they cost 3-4 times more. If price isn't a consideration, I believe the LN IMS Solution is probably best. It is an oil-fed plain bearing, so it eliminates the ball bearing altogether. It's billed as the only permanent solution... that said, it's expensive, and it is new. Time will tell if it is truly permanent, but it looks promising.

[@BurnersCars]

...and congrats on the new Boxster!

[@MichaelPSmith-mp1fk]

Burner's Cars thank you for the comprehensive response. I am in a somewhat different situation. I have a 2003 Boxster that I just purchased. It only has 20,000 miles. Due to the low miles it most likely does not need a clutch anytime soon. However, the more I read about the way to treat these cars it seems that the ones that are not driven and spend a lot of time in the garage, like a 2002 with only 20,000 miles, tend to have a high failure rate. IMS solution seems like a very expensive option on top of the price I paid for this car. Will most likely go with ceramic bearings. just trying to see what other people think

[@MichaelPSmith-mp1fk]

Burner's Cars thank you for the comprehensive response. I am in a somewhat different situation. I have a 2003 Boxster that I just purchased. It only has 20,000 miles. Due to the low miles it most likely does not need a clutch anytime soon. However, the more I read about the way to treat these cars it seems that the ones that are not driven and spend a lot of time in the garage, like a 2002 with only 20,000 miles, tend to have a high failure rate. IMS solution seems like a very expensive option on top of the price I paid for this car. Will most likely go with ceramic bearings. just trying to see what other people think

[@BurnersCars]

You're very welcome. I completely agree. I have heard many times that the low mileage examples are more likely to fail. It's also a single row, so it's worth getting in there to change it. I also think ceramic offers a good balance between price and quality. Cheers!

[@cheepGeek]

In the 101projects article, they mentioned that the bearing has an improved brown seal. The one you were holding looks black. I'm wondering if that seal is another improvement or they reverted to the previous seal? Also the improved center bolt no longer has an O-ring in the middle. How does the new bolt prevent oil from entering the intermediate shaft without that O-ring?

[@BurnersCars]

Yeah, I also remember reading that there was an improved brown seal, but this one was definitely black. It looks as though they reverted to the original, but I don't know. As for the O-Ring, they developed a tapered sleeve that slides on the outside of the flange (right underneath the nut). This sleeve presses an o-ring to the bolt on the outside of the flange.

[@muzafara78]

hi burner..what you've said is true. where did you get the dual row bearing? from which company? that would be my next project.

[@BurnersCars]

I found a company online that specializes in performance bearings. There's a little more info here: burnerscars.blogspot.com/2016/08/sourcing-your-own-porsche-ims-bearing.html

[@jimtoye3656]

Great info ..... How do I know if my 2001 Boxster S has a single or double row bearing ??

[@BurnersCars]

Thank you, sir! Pelican parts has a chart of engine numbers for single / double row bearings (see it here www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/Boxster_Tech/14-ENGINE-Intermediate_Shaft_Bearing/14-ENGINE-Intermediate_Shaft_Bearing.htm). A word of warning, however, these numbers aren't totally accurate. The changeover was rolled out mid-production as I understand, so the only way to be completely sure is to dig into it... well, that may not be entirely true. I think you can also tell by checking the camshaft end plugs... if you take them off (relatively easy on the front passenger side of the engine) you can tell if you have a 3 chain or 5 chain engine. If there is only a slot on one of the camshaft ends, it's a 5 chain engine and *probably* has a dual row. If, however, there are slots on both the intake and exhaust cams it's a 3 chain engine and *probably* has a single row.

[@rodjohnston7989]

Can you tell me if the IMS bolt from the Pelican kit will work with a dual row bearing? I have an SKF 5204 that I want to use in my MY98 Boxster and will use that if it will work instead of the OEM bolt. Thanks!

[@BurnersCars]

Yes! the bolt works on the dual row... they provide a spacer for use on single row bearings so that they only have to provide one bolt.

[@rodjohnston7989]

Excellent! Thank you!

[@edsim6021]

Good day. Can you tell me which skf5204.? what is the full part number with numbers and letters. Also how is it working for you.? I'm rebuilding my engine and i'm up to the IMS now. and dont want to spend 450+plus .

[@robertwhigham18]

Great video...great point!