996 Engine Time

This happy camper was dropped off this afternoon for a little internal work. Many are likely aware of the Intermediate Shaft Bearing issues in the 986 and 996. This car has about 60k miles and is a 1999, so that little mileage spells disaster for the bearing typically.

It has a lot of oil weeping here and there that I will take care of once I crack it open. The plan is to replace the standard maintenance items while it is out (IMS update, RMS, Timing chain pads, cam followers, seals, oil separator, water pump, yada yada)

And the big nasty. Notice all the oil sludge around the IMS flange. This means the seal is leaking, and the bearing is likely starting to come apart.

And a clear shot of the oil separator for those that try and do that in the car…….

BTW if you watch Pawn Stars, they recently had an engine out of a 911 like this one a guy was trying to pawn. They called in their expert engine guy, who made the right call in not recommending it, but for mostly all the wrong reasons. Because he was uneducated about the M96 engines, he mentioned nothing about the major failure areas of the engine like the water pump, IMS bearing, RMS, OAS, etc. Cool guy, but should stick to hot rods, lol. The guy selling it said they should bring in an expert who actually knows the engines……I agreed….but it still wouldn’t have been to his advantage, lol.

996IMSIMS BearingLN EngineeringPorsche