Carpokes Porsche Forum

Can I use my car's, 2005 Carrera S stick/coupe, VIN to determine if its IMS bearing has been repaired by the previous owner?

Gunship wrote: Fri Aug 19, 2022 5:12 am Can I use my car's, 2005 Carrera S stick/coupe, VIN to determine if its IMS bearing has been repaired by the previous owner?

Welcome to Carpokes! I think you might be able to find proof that is WAS replaced, but if you find nothing I don't think you can draw a solid conclusion, since so many independent shops do this repair. A dealer might be able to tell you if it was repaired/replaced at a Porsche dealer, but lots have been replaced with non-Porsche solutions for which the Porsche dealer network may have no record. One of the most common solutions is LN Engineering and they actually try to maintain their own searchable database here:

https://imsretrofit.com/ims-check/

Many thanks & best regards!

Some IMS repair/replacement kits use the installation of an oil feed line from the engine oil filter mount. If your Porsche has one of these aftermarket oil lines you know the IMS has been replaced. Not having this does not mean it hasn't been done with a different style of kit. But if you do see a line like this, it may give you some peace of mind.
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There is also a repair that replaces the bearing with one that has oil line from a connector coming from the top of the engine. Similar looking braided line. This one engineered by Pedro’s garage.

I have used this update on a Boxster and a 996.