I just found out my supercharger is broken. I'm not sure what exactly but the pulley is hard to turn when the belt is detensioned and my car has been overheating...I'm guessing the PTO gearbox lost it's oil like a lot of the failed superchargers and the gears are shot now. I was wondering what people thought the best choice for a replacement was.

I've checked out some sellers on ebay and some rebuilders like AUTO X Cooper(AXC). AXC claims to have the best replacement parts using racing seals, bearings, new gears. Any choices where the weak points of the supercharger are approved upon(like the seals that fail) are good for me. Replacing things with factory parts that are going to fail in the same way doesn't seem like a good idea. Any opinions on a good choice? Responses will be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you

 

replaced it!

 

There are a few places that will rebuilt them, or sell rebuilt ones. Not sure how long they last compared to the stock units. Either way...sounds like you are in need of a new one.

Also...how many miles do you have on the car? Did it chew up the belt???

 

Look at your crank damper pulley....just to be 100% sure...
But the water pump gears often fail from lack of oil....
Make 100% sure the price you get from auto-x includes these....he has done a bit of bait and switch with rebuild prices to a few folks...so get the worst case price...
Many places do keep sc rebuilt, and ready to ship...waymotorworks keeps a few instock...might be a good place to check put. Very good reputation...i have used him and been to his shop, when it comes to a guy who lives, breathes, and does anything mini, including selling parts, he is it. The site is kinda minimalistic, but he has tons of stuff not listed too.

 

ps...
Factory rebuilds from mini run about $1500, top end quality rebuilds from 3rd parties seem to run about $900, depending on options, including porting and coatings....low end partial rebuildd, from ok places with sometimes spotty reputations can be had on ebay for $600 or so....

 

I paid $550 for my rebuilt supercharger replacement from Supercharger Technologies in Old Town, Florida:http://www.superchargertech.com/

 

Way sells rebuilt superchargers for $995. If you're capable, replacing it is a very straightforward process. I wouldn't hesitate replacing it with a factory unit so long as you include the fluid change in your maintenance schedule. I just did mine and the fluids are still clear and topped off at 84k miles. I'm going to start checking mine every 25k miles to be on the safe side.

http://www.waymotorworks.com/r53-por...ercharger.html

 

So you are going to pull the supercharger off every 25,xxx miles to check the fluid in the front and rear oil reservoir? I know you can check the front one pretty easy...but you can't get to the rear one unless you pull it off of the motor. Sounds like more trouble than you really need to put yourself through. If you fill it up, and its not leaking.....it should stay full.

 

As others have said you can replace it, rebuild it or people are also installing Sprintex supercharger for more power.

Thread here:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...light=sprintex

 

Not sure how long you think it takes to remove the SC but it only took about 2 hours for me. Not that big of a hassle every 25k miles. The problem with your logic is that the same thing can be said about the SC coming out of the factory. If they filled it up and it's not leaking...it should stay full. By many people's accounts, it doesn't stay full and you cannot detect the leak. The leak is happening inside the SC and whether the leak happens now or 80k miles from now, I will never know. But at 84k miles, my chances of a leak due to seals inside the SC going out undetected only increases. The only thing I can do to keep up is increase my maintenance frequency. People have lost their SC at less than 40k miles. I'd rather be safe than sorry...

 

Good info, thanks. I thought it was a several hour (6+) ordeal to pull the supercharger. And don't you have to buy all new gaskets and seals also? I guess it's never bad to be overly cautious

 

Only thing I can think off right off the bat to replace are the water pump gaskets which is only around $2.00.

With the recent suspension work you did on your own - removing the SC is easy stuff.

 

Thanks for the info...good to know. I thought I read a post a while back about pulling of the supercharge and the guy listed something like $60+ in gaskets and seals he said he had to buy.

Well...once of these days I'll have to pull mine off and check the oil in it I guess

 

Same place that does the ebay deals...
Good price, good warrenty, but does have a spotty reputation....to keep the price low, the seals on the pto atr not properly removed and replaced, but glued in...some folks have had good luck, but one vendor i know used them for a bit...and had a high % come back....he discontinuted using them for that reason. Sure, rock bottom price, but you DO GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
I would say a sc from this place is a cheap diy way to get the car on the road if you plan to sell it asap....but for longerterm non diy, the labour cost swap out the sc to warrenty it is cost prohibitive...that and the rebuild they offer is basicly a "service level" rebuild, not a re-manufacture, or higher performance upgrade....they clean the sc, replacing the bearings, do the pto gears if needed, and reassable, and retime the vanes....so if the sc has lost effeciency due to wear, nothing addresses that......at one point i remember hearing they could do a coating to reduce the clearances and reduce heat transfer like on a 2005+ sc (same as earlier JCW ), but then i read it was more of a teflon paint...very different than the oem coating...only similaroty i think is they are both black....

 

I personally am going with ACX for a rebuilt SC.

 

Yeah I went ahead with AXC. They are the most upfront about what they do to rebuild and they seem to address every weak point of the OEM design, as well as everything necessary for a GOOD rebuild. I emailed a lot of the other rebuilders and asked them what they did specifically, I haven't gotten a reply back after 2 weeks.

 

How much did you pay the rebuild from AXC?

 

What is the cost comparison between a ACX rebuild and a Sprintex replacement?

 

Enough that you could buy a BVH head and cam and maintain stock reliability....

 

When I was considering mine AXC was about $1300.00 plus of course the W/P of about $200.00, so even if you don't consider the tensioner and belt your looking at about a $1700.00 difference to do a Sprintex kit. So no you couldn't do all of this:

But there is a considerable difference, I won't get into the reliability issue, since I haven't had one.

 

WMW rebuilt super charger = $995

Sprintex = $3200

Difference = $2205

Throw out the cam in the equation, and yes, you are in the ballpark +/- for a BVH.

One would be much better off with the stock Eaton and a new head than the Sprintex.

 

Big dollar figures on these supercharger options.
If my problem is just the waterpump gears I would just remove the back gear set
And go electric pump.

 

I just got one of this guy this week. I am putting it on this week. It looks almost brand new just by the inspection I did on it. I think they even repaint them or at least thats what it looks like.

 

I was quoted $1395.00 but 500.00 of that was a core charge. Since I live near St Louis they just came and picked up the SC from the shop that is working on my baby. Mine is a JCW SC with a different pulley from a stock S and it has the black coated rotors. The rotors looked great when I saw them and the inside bearing near the PTO was just starting to allow the rotors rub on the casing. Dustin and Mr Embree have been most helpful with good communication between them, me and Misha at Ecotech that is doing the work on my baby. I expect a bill of about $1100.00 depending on whether they need to machine new gears for the PTO to drive the water pump. I will let you know how it turns out but I am very happy with the service and help I have received from Dustin at ACX.