I was surprised as well. They pulled the transmission and replace the IMS bearing and seal. It was a $1500 job. I always thought the RMS was more of a routine job, so I was surprised it was the IMS. Of course, it was not a catastrophic failure, so no damage whatsoever.

 

same reliability, IMS issue should be only with MY2005 997's IIRC.

get the S, you will not regret it. bigger brakes, bigger engine, bigger smile.

 

I am surprised on a 2007. But I guess you are lucky they caught it!

 

Does the IMS/RMS failure have something to do with how well you let the engine warm up before you drive it hard ? Manual says 5 mins before you go over 4200 rpm, and I typically wait until oil is up to 175 F to play it safe.

And if you don't drive the car enough, won't the seals leak faster ? Porsche mechanic told me this...DRIVE IT.

 

I wait until 200F before reving above 3000rpm or heavy throttle. i have heard abot the need to "drive it" but I have not heard anything scientific or substantial on why other than "keeping the seals wet".

 

was it just an oil leak they noticed? how was it identified to be an IMS issue?

 

Are you referring to coolant or oil temp? Revs above 3kRPM should wait until oil is up to op temp (175-200F).

 

Same thing happened to me recently. I was getting an oil change and chatted with the tech about IMS issue and saying how glad I am that my 997S is not an 05'. That's when he pointed to the next bay over. There it was, an 07' getting a new engine due to an IMS failure. The car had just under 15k miles on it.

I don't want to cause any panic here, as these issues in forums often do. I just want people to be aware that the "redesigned" IMS for 06' onward is not by any means bullet proof.

 

Sure thing, just proves once again that CPO status is a must for these cars.

Would be interesting to see some stats on when this IMS issue happens - on which cars with how big annual milage.

BTW I guess if it would be a case with Toyota we all would already get new DFI engine - for free. At least based on those recent gas pedal issues they had.

 

I drove mine like I stole it! There is no computer tracking how warm the car is when I revved it up!

 

Hey there! The bell housing was slightly wet from oil. Not enough to drip in the garage. I thought it would be an RMS issue, since those seem fairly common. They checked it out and told me it was the IMS and my repair sheet shows they changed the seal and bearing. I didn't think you could just change the bearing without tearing apart the engine. I guess not and it was no big deal. They had to order the part though and it was done the next day.

Wait until the oil is 200 deg? These days that takes like 15 minutes? I can't even drive my car under 3k RPM! I shift at 4k every time. I think the car likes it .

 

Could someone enlighten me? What does IMS and RMS stand for? And, what does they do and how do they fail? Thanks.

 

intermediate shaft and rear main seal.

essentially if you see oil spots on rear end of engine block next to transmission - activate panic mode and run to your dealer right away.

 

That's right. I was also under the impression, from LN Engineering, that it is not possible to change out the IMS without a rebuild. This is specific to the M97.

If one just needs to spend $2,000 to gain a better engineered bearing and peace of mind, I'm sure that those who are out of warranty would consider for preventive measures.

Is it possible that the tech provided incorrect information in the service ticket? - just wondering…

 

That is possible, of course. However, they noted the replacement of a bearing ( could check and post the part number for real Porschephiles). I don't believe there is any bearing associated with the RMS. That's a lot to spend for peace of mind. However, if you're doing the clutch, another $100-200 on a new bearing and seal probably makes sense.