Jake Raby

With coolant coming out the tail pipe raw, its a very good possibility that you have a slipped sleeve, and with a physically damaged spark plug it sounds like it could be a full blown D chunk failure.. Raw coolant out the tailpipe has never been anything other than a D chunk for me thus far..

Of course... The car is a Porsche, isn't it?? The engines we create aren't "Rebuilt"... They are fully updated and few of the original pieces are reused, most are upgraded with heavier duty components that are much better than the OE Porsche parts. What Porsche did to create these issues was cut corners... The ONLY way to alleviate these issues is by making the engine more like a conventional 911 engine. This is done with the assembly given by ONE human coupled to Nikisil plated bores, billet chain tensioners, upgraded bearings, better chains and etc... Addressing the 15 modes of failure as a standard offering is the only way we fly... **** right that cost money. The assembly of one of our upgraded engines takes north of EIGHTY hours to complete.. Porsche dealerships charge 100-140.00 PER HOUR just to service your car. Once you put that into perspective what we are doing labor wise looks cheap, then add up the cost of the parts and you'll see that it is a steal! And every single engine has 12 hours of run time, has been Dyno proven and comes ready to install with no break in necessary..

When I hear any complaint of a rattle in the engine I immediately recommend having the IMS bearing checked for issues.. Thats because if caught early enough it can be repaired... Sometimes 1 mile of driving can make the difference in salvaging the engine or not. Lots of things can rattle including water pumps, pressure plates, A/C compressors and the list goes on.. None of those rattles are more critical than that of the IMS bearing. Thats why ANY rattle should be taken seriously and looked at immediately!

Do not crank this engine up again until it has had a diagnostic done by someone familiar with the modes of failure this engine has. If this has been caught soon enough the engine can still be salvaged. Contact the warranty company NOW and see what they say.. I see people screwed by these companies ALL THE TIME because some stupid little procedure wasn't done in the correct order. One second is all that separates the engine from being "repairable" or not, don't even fire it up to put it on a tow truck, they have failed while loading them on roll backs before!!

None of our work is on hold due to cracked heads.. We are working out some new repairs for the heads and ways to strengthen them... I have not received an email from fudgiewhale as of yet concerning his misfortune with the IMS, but I'll respond promptly when I do.. We'll be happy to help as options are available that haven't been previously..

Which one?? the good used one or the core that needs rebuild? Please email me at info@flat6innovations.com

A "core" is an engine that is rebuildable but also needs to be rebuilt!!

I started working with these engines as a challenge.. The fact that no one had done it before was the biggest driving factor! The road to education was hard and still is as we apply more and more developments to the engine, but now we have overcome the major issues and have our own directives and procedures. Peak HP on the engine above is at 6,500 RPM, but whats more impressive than the HP is the torque and how flat it is, 53 lb/ft of torque at the rear wheels is HUGE and let me tell you, this can drives great!! Its not peaky, just has power everywhere! I have a core 3.2 and a 40,000 mile 3.2 available..

This engine is nothing like you have experienced before... I have worked on most everything from Ford tractors to Diesels, and Turbine engines in aircraft as well as most every VW and Porsche Engine (with exception of the rare 908,917 and etc) produced including the 4 cam Carrera engine.. The M96 is by far the most challenging beast I have touched to date.. We are working on our DIY engine kit program complete with 6 hours of instructional DVD now and hope to have the program honed for the most popular engines by the end of 2009. Without this sort of assistance and direction the normal and even well experienced DIY assembler can't do this job right the first time. For an idea of just what lies in store without our direction see how I build this M96 from scratch into a 240 HP performer.. If you can't do surgery without the use of optical assistance and don't have extreme patience this isn't the engine for you to assemble. It will test your every nerve and even most professional Porsche Technicians at Dealerships can't do it without calling me for assistance at some point. Their directives are few and until recently they were not doing ANY internal work. I'd be happy to help you assemble one and update it as well. http://www.flat6innovations.com/engine-assembly Here is one of my charts from yesterday.. This engine started life as a 3.2 Boxster S engine that was subject to our updates and enhancements. This power was made at the rear wheels, on pump gas with stock induction. I drove it home last night and averaged 28 MPG, coolant temp data logged at 178 average and it was 87 degrees out... Yet again, this WAS a stock 3.2 that still has 3.2 heads! I am continuing to tune this engine now, it was a tad lean in a few places in the below plots.

Your dual mass flywheel is gonna love this!

Yes, every unit I have seen has had this, including a 3.2 thats still in the crate on the floor in front of me..

You won't find many pictures of an M96 online... There are a few, but until last year you could count them on one hand and thats primarily due to the fact that so few people have seen these engines internally and fewer have ever built one... The M96 case half is huge compared to any motorcycle engine and it's bulk is much more difficult to work with than the weight.. The major issue is holding the rod/ piston assembly in the position necessary for installation, since ANY tool that would be used for this could not be retrieved after the block half was put into position over the 3 pistons.. More than likely all of this work would do nothing more than slow the process down, after you have done this procedure it becomes second nature and we have made some revisions to some of our updated parts that make it more easy to install the tools and the clips. In our training classes we'll be giving the students first hand experience with the piston install procedure in an actual block half set up to practice the procedure.. Before I attempt to do this procedure on any engine I practice it and that makes the event much more simple and less risky. I see people work twice as hard trying to save themselves time or money.. Just suck it up and do whats required! The engine isn't smarter than a human..

How about taking your 3.2 to a 3.8?? I am doing one of these big bore updated engines now. Most dealers now require a 3.8 core when you buy a new crate 3.8, they aren't taking a 3.2 for a core... At least from what I had heard..

This particular car was not.. It was a 98 Owned by a Customer thats in Atlanta. My test car also has the bearing implemented, but it was already done when this article was put together.. The pictures do not do the components and the challenge the assembler has to overcome justice. **** right, that was one of the very first things we tried. I even had a special set of ring compressors made that would allow this.. There is NO WAY to do this without taking more risks of more severe damage to components. This is due wrestling a 55 pound, very bulky crankcase half onto THREE pistons at once, all at different phases of stroke. Thats because the cylinders are either individual units and installed as such or at most they are siamese units that do not weigh 55 pounds! I assemble all our aircooled Porsche engines with the method you refer to, but this engine is impossible to assemble in this fashion- if you saw one up close and personal you'd see why. There is enough room for this, but there is no way to get inside the case half to even hold the pistons for assembly into the bores. I hope I addressed it well enough. I learned long ago that there are time that we do what is required, taking the time to do the procedures required. If we lose a clip inside the engine we have to also do what is required. (and some people wonder why what we create isn't cheap!) This is just part of playing the game for us and if it wasn't a challenge I'd have zero desire to work with the engine..

Read the article!! The car in the article is a 98!! Thats correct.. Until this development we had never been able to remove the dual row bearing before.. We were proven wrong, but thats a very good thing!

Mike is 100% correct in his post concerning the future for this bearing kit. If we encounter ONE engine that can't have the bearing pulled, I'll not offer the kit because at that point a preventive ends up compromising a complete engine. At the present we are working to save engines that are already failing. These already have rattles, rumbles and leaky IMS flanges already so if they end up having to be dismantled, so be it.. Its no loss. IF this ends up being sold a sa kit you can bet there will be a twop page long disclaimer that details why we are not libel for issues related to this procedure. The variables and risks are numerous and unless a vehicle is in my shop for the work I care nothing about dealing with the risks as of today.. I want to make it clear that I have no doubt that the bearing that we are using is superior and is overkill for the task, my reservation is limited to the original bearing extraction procedures and the risks involved with them. Another car hits the road today with the bearing installed..

The only bearing thats larger than the opening in the case is the unit that is used in the Gen II 997 engines as well as the Porsche remans and new engines...

The IMS Bearing retrofit is applicable to ALL M96 engines, despite year or model. The only exception are those engines with the latest generation bearing updates from Porsche, these are the replacement engines currently being sold.

This is not the first time that this has been done.. It just took us a while to put the pieces of the puzzle together and make it more of a streamlined procedure. There are dozens of cars out there that have used the procedure in the past, but they used a Porsche single row bearing with a spacer that makes up the difference in bearing width. We certainly take no credit in finding the puller that allows this to be a reality, (that credit goes to Scott Slauson) but we are taking it a step further by having a specially designed bearing made that is more robust and more resistant to wear than the stock 10 dollar bearing that Porsche used in this position. There are risks associated with the procedure, but I took those risks with one of our test cars that has a 40K mile engine installed without even blinking an eye. Only time will tell, we will be pulling these bearings in test cars at some intervals to inspect them for wear and etc and also we'll be monitoring used oil samples to see if any new materials show up in the short or long term.. My car will be back on the road on Monday that has this bearing mod, I decided to pull it down for an intake cam enhancement while we were at it and had the tranny out and now feel confident that I'll be making much more respectable numbers as well :-)

I have successfully replaced three dual row IMS bearings as of yesterday.. We have found the tools and made a few that allow the dual row bearing to be removed! LN Engineering has also made a silicon nitride ceramic bearing to replace the unit with as a complete drop in! This means that preventive IMS measures are now a reality.. BUT we are still very much in the development stages with this and would like to get 100 beta testers out there (with us installing the bearing) for at least two years prior to offering this as a "solution" to the IMS issue. Look for a step by step procedure on my site soon as a step by step pictorial. I did this job in 6 hours yesterday, including R&R of the tranny, start to finish! One of the bearings I installed first has been in service for 3 months already. I'm game and only a few hours away. Will this work for an 03 S? Yes, but your car **may** have the single row IMSbearing, which our solution has already been perfected for. The dual row is the one that we are focusing on now. I finished the pictorial last night of the installation. You can see the procedure, tools and etc here. http://www.flat6innovations.com/saving-an-...ne-ims-retrofit We are doing another one Monday and have a 996 with the death rattle that hasn't failed yet coming in from 800 miles away next week.. Hopefully we can save this engine with the procedure!

I have successfully replaced three dual row IMS bearings as of yesterday.. We have found the tools and made a few that allow the dual row bearing to be removed! LN Engineering has also made a silicon nitride ceramic bearing to replace the unit with as a complete drop in! This means that preventive IMS measures are now a reality.. BUT we are still very much in the development stages with this and would like to get 100 beta testers out there (with us installing the bearing) for at least two years prior to offering this as a "solution" to the IMS issue. Look for a step by step procedure on my site soon as a step by step pictorial. I did this job in 6 hours yesterday, including R&R of the tranny, start to finish! One of the bearings I installed first has been in service for 3 months already.

Thats good news.. Better news than most hear with 146K on the clock! We should talk before the big day does actually come...

I agree.. The seal being square in the bore is critical to success with these seal installations. Trust me, I hated to spend the 400 bucks for the RMS seal tool, having installed seals in all sorts of engines successfully without the need for any special tools.. This tool is a requirement if you want to do the job right...

LN and my company work closely together.. Our focus is the whole of the M96/ M97 but with the earlier engines having more issues and more miles on them than the later engines, so we do have more interface with them. Most of the later engines are barely out of warranty, so our calls about these engines are increasing.

One of our test cars has 38K on the clock.. During testing of the new 2.9 engine we found 2 of the 6 coils bad under heavy load.. Our other test car has 78K on it and it has had 3 coils replaced in the past 18 moths I have been using it for development work. You can change all 6 in less than an hour with a 5mm hex...