Hey guys, before I make a road trip, I figured i'd do a supercharger oil change. I'm at 117k miles and I see no record of my SC being serviced. I'm also interested in throwing in a 17% pulley reduction while im at it. Is there an easier way to take off the pulley when the supercharger is off the engine? Or should I just do the job before servicing the SC?

 

pulley puller tool, probably lots easier if it's on a workbench

 

At 117k miles on the SC, you are money and time ahead to just run it until it starts making noise.....then replace it with a rebuilt unit. At this point, wasting the time and money to change the oil in it isn't going to do anything for you. The SC is a wear item, they don't last forever. Most seem to die when they are 150k-200k miles on them. And changing the oil on one with 117K miles isn't going to make it last any longer....

Plus, that's a decently big job to attempt right before a long road trip. What if you get it all back together and you have a leaky gasket, or some other problem. Just leave it....they don't need to have their oil changed.

As far as the pulley goes....just throw the 17% one on there now

 

Thats great to know. I'm a college student and I have a month before I head back to school. I've already taken the cylinder head off my engine for some repair so I thought is familiarize myself with the front half of my car because why not. Does replacing the supercharger oil give any benefits? If not, then I guess I'll pass. Thanks!

 

If you started early....maybe when the car was new, there is a chance that changing the oil every now and then might lengthen the life a little....but it might not. At 117K, your best option is not to tear into it. I'm at 143,000 on my SC, and it's still running fine...never changed the oil in it.....and don't plan on ever doing it. When it dies, I will put a rebuild SC on there and be done with it

 

I believe now is a great time to do the service but I wouldn't do the whole job for just a supercharger. At 117K, it's time for preventative maintenance. I would plan on supercharger oil change, serpentine belt, plugs, valve cover gasket, spark plug gaskets, dipstick and crank sensor O ring replacements, possibly the oil pan, oil filter housing and oil cooler gaskets. Then, for the extra $100, get the pulley, although I'd go with the 15% but that's me. All the gaskets would only cost you another $60-$70. I agree with IQ that just doing a SC service is a lot of work with little gain, but combine that with two extra hours of work and you have done your car a great service with very little to worry about while you are at school.

 

I disagree with above posters those superchargers do not hold much oil and are known for being dry. I would definitely change the oil in it, and in your transmission if you haven't already

 

The part that fails the most on the sc are the water pump gears. They died on mine because they ran out of oil.

It's not extending the life of the sc, it's what keeps the gears alive. The gears are not failing or wearing out really. The don't provide any extra boost, they spin the water pump around.

You have no way knowing how fast the oil is going away. Adding oil might give you another 50k miles. It might give you a couple thousand miles. You just don't know if it will help or not.

I'm not suggesting that you should add it to any kind of regular maitainence schedule, but I don't think that ignoring it completely is the best idea either. If you're already taking the front end apart for something else it certainly doesn't hurt to check the oil.

A rebuilt sc is at least $800. Change a gasket and the oil for maybe $70 and you might get a few extra years. It's an argument that can only be answered by you. There's at least a hundred posts on this subject and public opinion seems to be pretty divided.

 

I didnt even have to change the gasket, cost me 5 $ to change out that oil