My 03’ JCW R53 has 118,000 miles on it, runs great, and makes around 12-13psi of boost……so it seems like the supercharger is still working like it’s supposed to. I’m going to drop the subframe soon and replace the inner and outer ball joints, and replace the motor and transmission mounts while I’m at it. I’ve thought about pulling the supercharger off and replacing the oil…..but I’m wondering if it’s worth the time, money, and extra hassle. From what I’ve read in other posts….the R53 SC’s seem to start having bearing failures around 150,000 miles….no matter if it’s never been serviced, or if it’s been serviced by someone every 50,000 miles.

I’m just wondering if pulling the SC off to drain and refill the oil actually extends the life of the SC, or if it’s just something people just do for peace of mind.

Just looking for some opinions.

On a side note…if I do pull the SC, what gaskets will I need to buy in order to put it all back together?

Thanks again!

 

Mine let go at 150k... i did service and not sure that it extended the life of the bearing seal.


I would just do the other work and save that job for when the gearbox goes dry.








phil.

 

Inexpensive piece of mind for high mileage SC's.

If the PTO gears are shot, or if it's low/out of oil the costs from overheating will cost way more than the service did. You'll be happy to know you've caught anything, or if it was fine.

I don't have a list of the gaskets.

While the SC is off, change the CPS & gasket as well

 

I am on the same boat as you. My car runs strong and the SC is nice and quiet but at 78k it's time to service it I think. It's a big job so I am waiting for a 3 day weekend to tackle it nice and slow. Replace gaskets, WP, thermostat and housing, crank o ring, maybe the oil pan gasket, oil dipstick tube o ring, radiator hoses and anything else that may look old and work out while your in there.

My advice is make it a car refresh rather than just changing the approx. 4 oz of oil in the SC

 

This seems to be the latest cool kid thing to do lately.

IMO don't worry about it unless you already have the supercharger off. In the last 11yrs of working on MINIs I've only ever had 4 MINIs come in with ruined PTO gears. So I don't feel its as big a problem as the internet makes it out to be.
Also if you have a 70k+ car and it's low on oil the damage has already been done and adding oil is just going to delay the failure, will it delay it more than if you don't?? Who's to say. I also look at the time and cost of labor to do it. That is the same time it cost to put in a new or rebuilt blower. I'd just wait and enjoy your MINI until it does. Usually they give warning by making the rattle sound if they are going to fail.
I have customers with over 150k and know of at least one over 180k that still have the original superchargers never had an issue. That is one big reason I can't honestly sell or scare someone into changing the oil in it.

 

Thanks for the info...that's kind of what I was thinking. I think I will just run it until it starts acting up, and then mess with it then. Sure, it may give a false sense of security if I change the oil in it...but in reality, it probably does nothing to extend the life.

 

Agreed
If the sc seals are bad (the reason for low oil) are you saving anything by refilling it when it will go low again....in an unknown number of miles....and the SC is a wear item...
If you are a performance driver....don't you want max psi from it? So get it rebuilt....or live with a weak SC....results in low boost....
The sc is good till it fails...then rebuild it, start fresh, get extra ZIP!!!

 

I was in the same boat as you raceworks... i have a low mileage 03 and I been thinking i should service the oil now so itll "last".... but doing my own work.. it seems a bit time involved.... and the more i read and looked at how much a quality rebuild is and the time spent.... I agree with way... in that just wait till theres actually something wrong then go ahead and change it...

time is money haha

 

Just doing the refresh now, and to be honest I do all my own work. This was not a huge job as some make it out to be. In depth yes, but seeing the oil come out of the supercharger at 130k was like a bad oil change. It may do nothing but I know one thing preventative maitnance always wins over let it ride. Clean fluid and the right amount over dark brown is a winner! Plus I was 3 oz shy meaning I lost 3 oz of fluid in a 130k, not bad. Learned that the hard way many times. Plus was doing my pully upgrade, adding an intake system, water pump, radiator flush, thermostat all in one not bad!

 

i know im bringing up an old thread..... But it dosnt hurt to open it up and take a look and or just fill with oil.

ill have to look again but i think i changed my SC at around 135K, and the bearings in the PTO were toast. the the brass bushing on the SC side was ovaled out. and the shaft of the gear was starting to wear into the aluminum of the housing. and on the otherside of the gear where it conects to the fork gear the ball bearing races were worn out and the ball bearings fell out.

yea the teeth were worn out but they could have gone longer. i wanted to change it anyway becasue i was more worried about the shafts the gears are on seizing in the bearings sense ther was no bearings. and they wobbled like crazy

i can post pics when i get home from work. or look through my build thread for them.

 

Sounds like you had some major problems with your SC.....long before you decided to change it out. If it was that bad, I don't know how it hadn't started making all kinds of noise.

 

I changed the oil on mySC because I was already there anyways, it was good to know that they oil level was good and although dark it was clean of metal shaving etc as far I could see, so that gives me peace of mind, I would recommend that you do a seal refresh and W Pump plus the usual CSP sensor O ring etc. I would do it just to change the oil, tackle a few things at the same time. If you are low on oil at least you'll have some time to save for a rebuilt.

 

yea it made rattling noises, but it worked lol. i could get full boost when it was stock and water temp was good all the time so it was working. i had got a rebuilt unit and its been 7 or 8 months since i got a rebuilt unit and everything is great so far. i just didnt want to wait for the day that it broke and i was stranded some where.

 

This is my problem..... I was running hot maximum temp on my dashboard, pulled over at the mall to check and the water at the resorvoir is not blowing steam, the A/C however turned off and blowing hot air i assume its a safety device to automatically shut the compressor, ran the radiator fan without turning my engine until it cooled down to normal temperature, went home without any incident... The next day i ran the engine for a few hours full blast the A/C and watch the temp gauge it was normal no rattling noises whatsoever. Further troubleshooting nothing so i decided to pull my Supercharger and check the oil.. supercharger side still more than 4 oz but the PTO is 5 tsp ( equivalent to .88 oz) so there is a leak though, I open the PTO and looks good.. I took picture and here it is. I am in the process of installing a refill tubing on the PTO side, Imperial Mini sell a set but way too expensive $337 plus shipping, another way is drill and tap on top of the PTO gear then install a tubing there.
Anybody has done this way? Comments please I know its worth installing it.
My 2002 MCS has 55,000 miles, 19% underdrive pulley. I also replacing the water pump, new thermostat incase, the A/C compressor has a seal oil leak also.

 

This is my problem..... I was running hot maximum temp on my dashboard, pulled over at the mall to check and the water at the resorvoir is not lowing hot water, the A/C however turned off and blowing hot air i assume its a safety device to automatically shut the compressor, ran the radiator fan without turning my engine until it cooled down to normal temperature, went home without any incident... The next day i ran. The car full A/C and watch the temp gauge it was normal. Further troubleshooting nothing so i decided to pull my Supercharger and checkthe oil.. supercharger side still more than 4 oz but the PTO is 5 tsp ( equivalent to .88 oz), I open the PTO and looks good.. Wished i can upload the pictures the i took. I am in the process of installing a refill tubing on the PTO side Imperial Mini sell a set but way too expensive $337 plus shipping, another way is drill on tap on top of the PTO gear then install a tubing there. Any body bought a kit from Imperial Mini?i know its worth installing it.

 

being one of the four that WAY mentioned, my personal experience would actually be to not worry about changing it, but rather just check your intercooler periodically.

If you swipe your finger and it comes back gunmetal grey / silver (sort of a metal-oil emulsion) then I may start worrying

This was my first sign that it was starting to go as it was bleeding oil and wear particles.


Problem is that changing the oil may help the efficiency of the gears some, and its not a bad idea, but it is a lot of work to get to unless you just have a weekend to kill, are bored, and dont mind doing it.


Other problem is, changing the oil will not extend the life of that seal.

And where there is a drip, shortly after it is followed by a stream ( stresses begin to exploit the weak spot and it deteriorates quickly)

Mine lasted a few thousand miles before it sounded like a bucket of nails being turned around at high speeds.

So in short, your problem really resides in the wear of the seal, which does have a service life.

the seal and oil are not expensive, it just so happens that what is expensive is the labor to pull the SC apart and replace that back end seal

hope this helps explain some things, and my advise is to just let it ride, but always keep an ear to things and check the intercooler before any long trips to make sure you arent going to get part way into it and loose your water pump!

 

well i guess better late than never.... finally remembered to post these pic's

when i cracked this open it was completely dry and quite a bit of powered metal poured out. as you can see the in the first pic the bushing is ovaled out and i dont rember if it was touching the casting. and i dont have any other pics. the small gear was warn out, and the big gear turned to a knife blades. not really a big deal it could have gone much longer i think. and i dont have pics of the other side with the bearing and how wobbly it was.