With model year 2006 through 2008, the intermediate shaft was redesigned, preventing replacement of the bearing without complete dis-assembly of the engine.
The incidence of failure with a 2006-2008 M96 or M97 Engine as found in the Boxster, Cayman, and 911 that have the larger (but non-serviceable) IMS is highly unlikely. We would estimate about a 1% failure rate.
However, this bearing can still be problematic and should be upgraded anytime the engine is apart or if replacing the intermediate shaft with a new replacement shaft. That said, we are advising our customers that proactive disassembly of their engines is not required nor recommended unless carried out at the time of rebuild.
Introduced in 2016, the IMS Retrofit™ MY06-08 makes IMS bearing serviceable without engine disassembly in the future and replaces the original, single row bearing with ceramic hybrid, dual row unit, or with an IMS Solution, which is the only truly permanent fix to the IMS problem.
Installation Requires the IMS Supplemental Toolkit which provides 6 additional tools to aide in installation of the MY06-08 IMS Upgrade as well as the IMS Solution (sold by IMS Solution LLC).
Contains: Puller, hex adapter, driver, spanner, oil plug installer, narrow 12 point socket.
For those not ready to rebuild and upgrade their engine, the next best thing is when you have your clutch replaced, it’s best to have the grease seal removed off the original bearing to allow engine oil to better lubricate it. At that time, you can reseal the IMS flange and have the rear main seal replaced as well.
There is a black plastic seal on the front of the bearing – you would use a dental pick or something similar to pop the seal out of it’s groove. Just be sure not to loose it in the engine when you do remove it. We don’t have a how-to for this, but I found a short video on YouTube that shows seal removal on a ball bearing:
The larger bearing found in MY06-08 engines has the same load capacity as the early dual row, which have proven to be the most reliable of the factory bearings. I wouldn’t worry too much about it after you pull the grease seal. There is no need for a direct oil feed for the factory ims bearing as the bearing will be submerged in engine oil once you have the grease seal removed.
We would additionally recommend changing your oil every 6 months or 5,000 miles and use a quality oil like Driven DT-40 along with installation of one of our spin on oil filter adapters and magnetic drain plug.