Porsche Maintenance Tips in St. Augustine, FL 

  1. Always observe and pay attention to warning lights and messages when driving. It is never a good idea to ignore a warning. You should have it checked out by a Porsche Specialist as soon as possible and limit driving. If there are symptoms associated with it such as rough running, low power or engine noise, DO NOT DRIVE. Have it towed to your Porsche Specialist. Continued driving could cause irreversible and permanent damage.
     
  2. Oil and fluid level checks are crucial. You should have your engine serviced by a professional using only high quality oils and original Porsche parts. Coolant levels should be monitored as well as coolant leaks are not always noticed right away. If you have a drop in coolant level, have the cooling system tested and inspected for leaks.
     
  3. Battery health is very important and should be monitored if your Porsche is not driven very often. It is advised to have a battery maintainer in use to keep the battery fully charged. By depleting the battery and charging frequently, you shorten the life of the battery drastically. It should be tested at every service.
     
  4. Tire pressure should be monitored and corrected when necessary to prevent uneven or premature wear. If your tires are over 5 years old, it is recommended to have them replaced for safety. All tires have a date code stamped on them to determine when they were manufactured.
     
  5. The most important tip is to drive your Porsche. Driving regularly is the equivalent of exercising. By running the engine through drive cycles, it helps to keep components lubricated and clean and also burn off any moisture in the crankcase from humidity. It helps to keep the tires round and pliable along with many other benefits.

M97 IMS BEARING DIRECTIVE


So you did extensive research on the Porsche IMS bearing failures and felt that you were safe to buy a 2005-2008 MY Porsche with the M97 equipped larger diameter IMS bearing.


Yes, you were mostly correct, the larger diameter M97 IMS bearing is a much better choice, but it is not totally immune to failure.


The M97 IMS bearing has proven itself to be quite reliable, but with a little care it can be a non-issue altogether.


Here is a small list of easy to perform items that can decrease your IMS worrying to almost zero:


  1. Change the engine oil and filter every 3k miles or 6 months, even though you are running synthetic lubricants.
  2. Utilize a boutique type of synthetic engine lubricant that has elevated levels of ZDDP (Zinc Dialkyldithiophosphate) additives with a minimum of 1250 PPM.*
  3. Cut the engine oil filter open and inspect it for any metal (ferrous and nonferrous), plastic (brown or black) and/or rubber (black) debris at every engine oil change.
  4. Have an engine oil analysis performed at every oil service, we recommend the Tribologist Lake Speed at SPEEDiagnostix. Once will not suffice, you must have a cluster of data, to monitor the trend of your engine wear.
  5. Replace the engine oil filter housing at every engine oil service. You can buy the filter housing with filter element together, at a small increased price.
  6. Install an LN Engineering magnetic engine oil drain plug.
  7. Install an LN Engineering spin-on oil filter which has improved filtration capability and bypass valve. Not all models possible.
  8. When you start your Porsche, take off immediately, but keep the load request at a minimum, i.e. half throttle and under 3,000RPM until the engine reaches operating temperature. CAVEATE: only if the ambient temperature is 30°f or higher. If your ambient temperature is below 30°f, let your engine idle for at least 5 minutes before starting off. If your ambient temperature is below 10°f, I would not recommend starting/driving your Porsche.
  9. Whenever the engine is started, drive the car for at least 20 minutes. This will ensure that you are burning all the moisture out of your engine oil.
  10.  When the engine is at full operating temperature, drive with the RPMs elevated, and if possible accelerate to/or near engine redline one or more times per driving cycle under full throttle. Only upshift when above 3,000 RPM.
  11.  As soon as you possibly can, remove the gearbox, flywheel, IMS bearing flange and then remove the M97 IMS bearing seal. This is the single most important item you can perform; it will allow the engine oil to EHL (elastrohydrodynamic) lubricate the IMS bearing sufficiently.

*If your concern with ZDDP is catalytic converter degradation, you must first understand that if your engine isn’t burning the engine oil at an elevated rate, you will not have elevated amounts of ZDDP in your exhaust to contaminate your catalytic converter. PLUS might I add that I would rather replace the catalytic converter at 125k-150k miles than an engine at ~40k miles.


Source: Tony Callas , Callas Rennsport