Porsche 996 Carrera

The vehicle in detail

For those with anxiety regarding the IMS bearing, I personally have never experienced an IMS bearing failure on one of these cars since they were introduced in 1999.I googled the issue, as you should, and read several opinions. The one article that seemed the most accurate and well researched was written by Paul Kramer of AUTO KENNEL in Orange County, I have copied the most significant paragraph that discussed the IMS issue; ” I discussed the M97 vs M96 vs the 2009 direct injection motors with Dwain Dement (owner of Vision Motorsports) at length. I even took a tour of his engine building business. Dwain builds over 100 M96 engines each year as well as nearly the same number of M97 race motors. The funny thing is that the IMS bearing is seriously an insignificant issue. With proper care, etc. any wear issues can easily be caught WAY before catastrophic failure. However, most people just go by what is proliferated by online lore. The big issue with M96 motors that gets overlooked is the casting of the cylinders into the case. With excessive use/high miles, they can crack. The M97 motors have thicker cases and rarely have issues with cracking. Dwain said that he has NEVER seen an IMS bearing failure on an M97 motor. He said the bearing is significantly larger and more stout.