AricDay

If I had metal particles like waynes I would be very concerned indeed! The metal found in my filter was very small I liken it to very fine ground pepper or gold flakes you see in beach sand. I read in the Excelence article that it was not uncommon to find metal the size of fine ground pepper. I will probably order a magnetic plug and check out the filter on my next service. Since the vehicle was only serviced by the dealer I'm sure they stuck to the factory service interval of 12k miles. I will change my own at 3k with Castrol Syntec. Again my filter didn't look anything like Wayne's. Wish me luck!

I bought a 3 yr aftermarket warranty so I could sleep nights. Now I stay awake worrying about the warranty's worth!!! Kidding, but for around $1400 I do rest better. If I was having a clutch done, I'd do the IMS as well. Like the other writers said, it doesn't happen to a large % of us.

Enjoy your car.

Bob

Who did you go with for the warranty?

I own a 1999 Tip that I bought a year ago with 74K mi. on it. After driving the car for six months I decided it was a keeper and that I wanted to put a lot of miles on the car. Based on available tests a ceramic IMS bearing outlasts the OEM metal bearing almost 5:1. I made a decision to invest $1,800 and change the RMS to the new silicon RMS and install the LN Engineering IMS versus a potential IMS failure that would probably result in selling the car for parts as a new motor is around $15K installed. I made my decision based on extending the life of my car and not on the fear that the IMS would fail. As has been stated in other posts a lot of the fear over IMS has been exaggerated, at times by those who stand to make a profit from fear. Think it through and decide whether or not you think the odds favor your engine, with the OEM bearing, lasting for the amount of time you plan on owning the car or you would stand a better chance of the car lasting by doing some preventative maintenance and replacing the IMS and RMS.

Thanks, I have thought that through and ultimately I will probably replace the ims soon. I can do the labor my self and the car isn't a required mode of transportation so having it out of commission isn't a big deal.

So I cut open the filter and this is what I found... I did take a good magnet to them and they are ferrous. Could this just be the filter doing its job? The last time the oil was changed was 6k miles ago.

I recently changed the oil for the first time in my new to me 01' Boxster. While investigating between the pleats of the filter i noticed some small shiny metal flakes ( similar to what small specks of gold look like at the beach ). Is this normal? Mt Touareg has the same filter setup as the Boxster but I have never bothered to look that close. After finding this I decided to use a mechanic stethoscope to listen at the rear of the engine just below where the IMS is. I didn't find any unusual noises. The car has an impeccable maintenance history with a local dealer and has 70k miles.

Should I be worried?

If you start hearing the IMS is it too late?

I am a new 2nd owner of a 2001 Boxster 2.7. Previous owner did all maintenance at dealer and car looks like it's never been driven in the rain, no leaks either. Should I be concerned about the IMS with this many miles on it and no problems? Would getting the IMS replaced as precaution be a wise decision? This is my first p-car but I have owned many VW's. This car is incredible just want to drive it everywhere!