Supercharger Bearings
 

my local dealer told me the bearings in my supercharger are going bad. what is envolved in this procedure. can i do it myself, or should i just buy another supercharger?

Thanks
Devon

I don't believe it. Convince me the bearings are bad. Which ones are bad? The ones in the nosecone or the rear bearing?

What are your symptoms? Any noise? Performance problems? We've got some sharp cookies around here. Superchargers are easy to troubleshoot, and easy to fix.

Lay it on us.

the ones in the thing that goes out the side, i think that is the nose cone. i hear a squeking/hissing noise at idle, and acceleration.

Have you checked the oil in there yet? Usually a rock tumble noise at idle means you have a bad coupler. This is the most common problem. But during acceleration, that may be a sign of something else like bearings.

If the oil level is low, try adding oil first.

And the nosedrive bearings are the easiest to change!

You have a few options here. You can replace the parts inside the nose cone, like the front bearings and coupler. Or you can replace the entire nose cone. Or the most expensive route is to replace the entire supercharger.

It really depends on what the problem is and how much you feel you can do by yourself.

Supercharger problems i'm having....
 

Just got a call from the dealer again....this was now the 5'th time i had to bring my car there in the last two months. Luckily they're giving me a loaner car and only charging me for the parts this time. The last time i was there they replaced the crankshaft sensor, and this time they said the camshaft sensor needed replacing. They said in hindsight they should have replaced both last time.

Anyway, that's water under the bridge. The reason i'm posting here is because i was told that the dealer thinks the main bearing is going bad. I had noticed a "rattle" noise myself in the past, but the dealer thinks it's is the main bearing, not anything to do with the coupler in the nosecone (which i had already contemplated replacing with a ZZP one). They said the "rattle" is louder once the engine gets hot, and the other main noticable thing is a bit of "jumping" in the boost gauge at idle. The dealer thinks that might be blowby, due to a bad main bearing in the back of the charger.

I know i repeated myself a bit in there, but i wanted to get it all out. :) SO, oh experienced supercharger guru's, what do you suggest? The dealer says they wouldn't want to do anything because you can't change the bearings in the rear and it's $1300 for a new supercharger. Can i get one cheaper, or change bearings myself....or is there any way of knowing if the rattle is the coupler vs. bearings?

Thanks in advance. love this forum :) -Brian

Take the belt of the supercharger. Spin the pulley back and forth. Is there any play in the pulley? Turn the pulley in the same direction. How easy is it to turn?

What does the rattling sound like? Does it rattle at all speeds or just at idle?