07Apr2012
2003 Boxster IMS Replacement Continued
As you can tell today, I have been blogging like crazy trying to catch up. We have been so slammed at the shop, my duties here have been severely neglected. We finished up the yellow boxster IMS upgrade the other day. Being a tiptronic 2003 we had a couple of things working against us in terms of ease of replacement. #1: Tiptronic transmission: This requires removal of the center intake plenum and throttle body so we can remove the starter …
29Mar2012
2003 Boxster IMS Upgrade
Have this 2003 boxster in the shop right now for an IMS bearing upgrade. Another 19k mile car with a pretty bad oil leak underneath the car. The later cars can be a real bear to pull the transmission on. This car has the glass rear window, which severely limits access to the top of the engine bay (even for me), and it is a tiptronic, which means disconnecting the torque converter to the flex plate has to be done …
25Mar2012
Boxster IMS update completed
Finished the white boxster up this week with a new upgraded intermediate shaft bearing kit. The updated kit. Once the exhaust, subframe, and transaxle were out of the way, we could see the IMS bearing flange. The RMS was completely dry and only the IMS was leaking. Old bearing removed from the engine. New updated bearing and flange installed. Back together she goes!
Got the new parts in for the little white Boxster today so I went about installing the new cables and transmissions. The updated kit. The early Boxsters used weak transmissions for the top mechanism, which Porsche later updated to beefier units. The old units are no longer available, so updating is the way to go rather than buying a used unit that will fail eventually. Old transmission to come out. New transmission installed. Then there is a lot of measuring …
07Jan2012
Porsche 996 IMS Bearing Update Part I:
Brought this 996 in this week to start an intermediate shaft bearing upgrade as preventative maintenance. I wrote an article for the KCRPCA newsletter this past month, so here is the actual procedure in a little more depth. Up in the air ready to rock. Awolnation provided the beats, and I started tearing out the parts. A lot of stuff needs to be removed including the lower suspension carriers, transaxle, and clutch assembly. The side skirts have taken a little …
20Sep2011
996 C2 Suspension Upgrade
Knocking out a little suspension upgrade on a 996C2 this week. We are installing Bilstein HD shocks/struts with Eibach lowering springs, which will give the car a little lower stance, and a firmer ride which will help in the corners. We got tied up slightly due to not having new bump stops/bellows for the fronts, so that has set us back slightly. Old front struts and springs Old rear struts and springs. After a little work, we have one rear …
19Aug2011
996 IMS Upgrade Part II:
Parts came in this morning for the 996 project, so I was able to knock out quite a bit of work today. Started out by installing the secondary air valve, oil/air separator, oil cooler seals, waterpump, and also was able to button up the intake manifold. Water pump on, and the front engine carrier back in place. New LN Engineering ceramic IMS upgraded bearing and center shaft installed. And the bearing flange installed along with a new RMS. Then it …
18Aug2011
996 IMS Upgrade
Starting tearing into the 996 project today to see what we were looking at. The first thing was to go after the intermediate shaft bearing which is the weak part of these motors. Then was the waterpump and a few other misc. items while the engine is out. I had to get the exhaust out of the way, so I pulled the headers/mufflers/cats (pulling cam covers later). Someone had upgraded the headers at some point (and mufflers) and replaced the …
16Aug2011
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 …