My wife and I have a 2003 Porsche Boxster and like many Boxster owners or early 996/997 owners the niggling thought that the engine could seize at any point due to a badly engineered use of a bearing to hold the IMS “Intermediate Shaft” in place plays on most, like a game of Russian roulette. Each time you place the key in the ignition you can’t help but think “will this be my last trip”. So in an effort to wipe my anxiety I have ventured on to one of the last and biggest of my Porsche restoration projects. I have spent some months looking at different posts articles and talking to experts on the matter, and the conclusion would be I’m no better off then when I started. I couldn’t help but feel lost in a sea of misleading information. So with the magical words “fuck it” I decided to bite the bullet and do it my way. I researched the different replacement bearings available and solutions and always came up with either LN engineering or European parts solutions. As I’m currently located in southern Italy I decided to browse the design911.co.uk web site and see what they had on offer. This is my go to place for all hard to find Porsche parts if I cant find them on auto doc or amazon/ebay. The options of RND bearing kits, dual row bearings, direct oil feed DOF, or ceramic cylindrical rollers is confusing enough. So as anyone that values the dollar would do, I purchase the the middle priced solution. The EPS cylindrical bearing kit @ 475 pounds. I was also lucky enough too find the IMS removal tools on Ebay for 70 euros. so I was set, ready to start the job. However that wasn’t the end of it. I said to myself since I’m going to all the trouble of doing the job I better do the Rear main seal and tensioners at the same time.. another 330 Pounds. I meticulously went through the process that was burnt in to my retina from watching wheelers dealers, home built by Jeff and Burners cars and realised that no one tells you what you’re going to need to start finish the job.
So here is my contribution to it!
Car: 03 Boxster manual
List of parts I used
1. Oil Filter OX 128 /1 D MAHLE
2. Engine Oil Motul 8100 xcess gen2 5w40 (A40 approved)
3. RMS elring Pn: 0PB105249/1
4. IMS EPS Pn: 99610590102EPS
5. Chain tensioners x 3 (NOTE: they are all different and no need to order green o-ring, it comes with the new ones)
Pn:99610518058, 99610518802, 99610518602
6. Crush washers Pn: 90012314730
7. Clutch flywheel stretch bolts (need 8) Pn: 99907309202
8. Clutch pressure plate bolts (need 6) Pn: 90006713103
List of tools needed.
1. TX55 (to remove and install pressure plate bolts; hi torque so get a good quality bit)
2. set of Allan keys and 14 mm Hex/Allan socket (needed for chain tensioner, one off)
3. 32 mm socket (needed for other chain tensioners)
4. 10mm tri-square bit 12 sides (needed for Clutch removal. NOTE: it need to be short bit or it will not fit.)
5. IMS removal tool
6. tool to install rms (makeshift from pvc pipe or by expensive one)
7. breaker bar
8. torque wrench ( I use a digital one)
9. assortment of spanners (mainly 10mm, 13mm, 15mm, 24mm)
10. set of torx bits and socket set
11. assortment of screwdriver
12. pliers to remove cir-clip
13. set of external star sockets (needed to remove gearbox/transmission)
14. Pick set
15. 5 mm drill bit (drill into rms to remove) NOTE: take your time and remove metal debris as you go and make sure you don’t go to far in. add some tape at 5mm from end of drill.
16. screw to screw into rms to use as leverage to remove.
17. Radio
18. 4 jack stands – 5 is better you can use one to support the motor
19. good quality hydraulic jack (must have good lift and preferably low profile)
20. oil filter removal tool 46mm /14 flute
21. container to catch oil.
torque setting
eps bearing
1. ims cover 10-13 ft-lb
2. ims center bolt 30ft-lb
3. clutch flywheel bolts. 19ft-lb there extra 120Deg turn
4. clutch pressure/thrust plate bolts 17ft-lb
5. chain tensioners 59 ft-lb
6. transmission bolts. 63 ft-lb
7. transmission nut 33 tf-lb
8 slave cylinder 17ft-lb
9. diagonal suspension brace 48ft-lb
10. transmission mount top 17 ft-lb
11. transmission mount gearbox 48 ft-lb
12 drive axle inner M8 29tf-lb, M10 60 ft-lb
13. muffler support to transmission 48ft-lb
14. reinforcement plate to body 48ft-lb
15. reinforcement plate to rear axle support 34 ft-lb
16. reinforcement plate to suspension support 48 ft-lb
17. sway bar bracket to body 17ft-lb, end link 37 ft-lb