I would appreciate some supporting opinions on this. This situation is regarding a well maintained 1999 996 6 speed with 65K miles.

My mechanic found 4 small (1/16” x 1/8” or less) pieces of plastic in the oil sump plate. (I have saved 3 pieces.) Their guess is that most likely the cause is the seal on the IMS bearing. They did not find any magnetic debris. They did use a stethoscope to listen for noise, normal amount. I have reached out to 3 other mechanics (that I trust implicitly) all with varying reactions to this problem, from "probably nothing but keep a close eye on it", to "tow it in immediately for an IMS retrofit." My concern is that I do the retrofit, and my engine fails anyway because the plastic debris is coming from another source (wear pads, etc). My mechanic said that to inspect the 7 possible causes of the debris would involve removing and disassembling the engine. Any advice/opinion is appreciated. To be clear, I can afford the IMS retro procedure, but I can not afford a rebuild and I have pics of the plastic debris. I don't want to over-react and sell I car that I am crazy about, but..... Thanks in advance.

 

What color is the plastic?

 

Some pictures would be helpful. The various wear pads and different colors and this will sometimes help in identifying the source.

 

Could the plastic pieces be from the small ring around a plastic bottle of oil that is supposed to remain on the bottle? I once had one nearly fall right into the oil filler neck when I was pouring in some oil.

 

Thank you for the responses. I attached a pic. The pro techs that I have reached out to on this are saying one or all of the following could be the source: rubber/plastic from the IMS bearing, the vario cam wear pads, and or chain stays.

There are a total of 7 different plastic parts that could be the source. To check all of them would require disassembly of the engine.

Jake Raby mentioned to me that there are 19 identified issues that lead to engine failure with the m96 engine. Financially, I can handle the IMS retrofit and the RMS update, but I can't afford to address the other 17 issues, and I can't afford a new engine/rebuild.

I am pretty sure I need to walk away.

Bummed.

 

I think the community will need a higher resolution photograph.

 

The photos are hard to see, but to give some guidance, the pads for the IMS to Crank and IMS to Cam chains are dark brown. The pads for the 3.4 VarioCam advance mechanism are light to dark brown, and these commonly show significant wear at 50,000 miles. The seal for the IMS bearing is black and fairly pliable while the wear pads are hard.

If the pan had never been off since the engine was new these pieces could have been in the pan since the initial break-in.

 

Yes, I agree, the picture is to small, can't make anything out.

 

Don't walk away! The pieces you found look identical to the ones that I found in my sump plate. When I bought the car I was excited to service it and do the first oil change. I read the forums on how to complete the oil change process. When I pulled the plug I did not realize that the crush ring fell into my oil collection pan. I thought it was stuck to the bottom of the sump and tried prying off what I thought was a stuck crush ring, (with a screw driver). Turns out I snapped and damaged some of the bottom threads on my sump plate. Nice! That is the reason I upgraded to the X51 oil sump plate. While I was poking around I also found pieces that appear to be the same as those in your photo. I also forwarded them to Jake Raby. He shared the same info with me that he shared with you. He also added that there is gasket material from the assembly process that can wind up in the sump. I bet if most of us took off the sump plate we would find similar. My car was very dry. I still did the IMS RMS update. Cheap insurance. I did all of this within 100 miles of ownership. I have not had a problem in the last 10,000 miles. Long story... short answer, I wouldn't worry.

 

01vdpsc and others. Thank you for the responses. I hadn't thought about the idea that these pieces of plastic could have been in there for years.

I could swing the LN IMSR, but I have read there are so many other ways for these engines to fail, despite rigid maintenance and care.

I have had the sh*t scared out of me with all the stuff I have read online over the last 2 weeks about the m96 engine. Which has left me with the thought of, even after the LN IMSR, I am still quite vulnerable to engine failure. Do you see my point? Please, please prove me wrong. I want this to work out.

Eric

 

Thanks again for your help with this. Of the three pieces I have (mechanic gave me three of four), there is one black piece, and two brown pieces, almost like a translucent brown.

Thank you in advance for your input on this.

 

The black piece looks like some of the factory sealant. Was there anything in the filter? These came out when you dropped the oil pan?

 

Looks identical to what was in mine. My inital reaction was the same. I took the filter and cut it apart so I could look in all of the pleats. I took it to the Porsche dealer to have a tech look at it. He said what was in mine didn't look out of line from any other car he has serviced. He said dont worry. I also showed him the bits that I found in the sump, same reaction. I think the IMS is a legit thing. I've read enough examples to make me say get it done. I posted what it cost me to have this done including labor. I think I posted here and RennTech. It really was not that much. If you look at how different the Raby design is from Porsche you will laugh. His design just makes more sense. The IMS from Spain looks like a howitzer. Good Bad I don't know. I have not seen it in person. Looks good though. On the other hand people usually post problems. As far as modes of failure for the engines, there is probably nearly one for every moving part in the engine. Someone actually posted a thread crowing about reaching 100k mileage with no major service. They posted just to post Good News!

 

did you save any of that oil? I would recommend sending it out to blackstone labs for an analysis for what your eyes cannot see... also +1 rip apart the oil filter and inspect for debris...

 

Shop didn't save any oil for me, but they did open up the filter and found nothing. No plastic or metal. And yes, all three were in the pan, which mechanic thinks had never been opened before. (11 year old car).

Brought the car home today from my local shop. They don't do IMSr procedures, so I think I am going to sit on this for a week or two, dig up $2K and have Callas (my old shop 120 miles away) do the procedure.

I never resisted the IMSr procedure, I just am stuck on the the idea of doing the procedure and having something else fail, leading to catastrophic failure. (coolant in cylinders, sleeves cracking, etc.)

Thanks to some of these responses and connecting with Charles Navarro and Jake Raby, I am going to see if I can keep this car. I love it, but the rebuild talk on the boards was freaking me out.

Thanks again. Happy to post an update if anyone is curious.