Hey guys. Any tips and tricks on how to remove a rounded drain plug from my supercharger?

 

1) Get it hot. By hot I mean real hot. Like Bo Derek hot. Use a yellow MAP can on your propane torch.
2) Use a small cold chisel on the face of the plug to back it out. It should move pretty easy if you get it hot enough. A couple taps and it will be loose. I would then just spin it out with a left handed drill bit. You can smash a Torx bit into it if you like. That will work and is pretty safe. The plugs are pretty soft, just dont (use) break off any easy outs. Oder new plugs.
*Never even attempt to loosen stuff like this without warming it up first.

 

Photo deleted

 

Ah, memories.

 

i'd stick a bolt that barely fits in it and weld it to the bolt head.

or maybe first try a screw extractor, but i've not had consistent luck with those.

 

...Good analogy;... but I don't think a 16y/o would know who that is

 

 

Or 26, 36, ...

 

@ttawfik3 how did you come out? any luck yet?

 

i used one step larger hex (or maybe torx) and hammered it in. I also left it in place when reinstalling so I didn't have to buy another plug.

 

i tried using a drill extractor set, I drilled first the screw but I accidentally drilled right through the screw. Yes I know very dumb mistake on my end. So now there’s just this big hole in my supercharger. I don’t know whether I can weld something inside the hole to remove the screw orrrr I get a really large drill bit and just make a new hole with a new thread and get a new screw.

 

No offense.
I wouldn't be so concerned about the screw as I would be about the metal shavings inside the SC.
But I don't blame you for trying.

 

oh your right. Should I just replace that side? The pulley side. I don’t see any hope in it

 

Admittedly - I've never taken a SC apart.
However there maybe hope by removing the "nose cone"/pulley end to access the internal reservoir and flushing it out.
Seems to be an inordinate amount of gasket material around the mating, which leads me to believe someone has gotten in there/removed it before.
I'll stop here and give a chance for the pros to advise you further.

Crossing my fingers for you.

 

Yes that was me. I removed that cover because I wanted to see the condition of the gears and teeth. I took apart everything in the supercharger because I wanted to know the condition of it. My uncle gave me the mini and he didn’t know about “servicing the sc” so I wanted to do it to know when and what condition the supercharger is. I will see if I can purchase that “nose cone pulley side”

 

As far as purchasing a new side cover , just remove the cover again and have a machine shop remove the plug correctly and glass bead cover . Note: use the Permatex Ultra grey sealer….

 

just spray the burrs clean if you're taking it apart. If pulley's off already it's no big deal, might as well inspect the coupler and throw an performance pulley at this point. just drill & retap the plug (not the aluminum), use a bolt and nut (tight against plug) to extract plug.

 

I'll chime in one last time.
You & Tombstone have a good point with the operative word being "new". Or at least Ebay.
On occasion I would source a salvage yard for some parts. However in this situation spending the time and effort removing a used part (SC) at a junkyard....Time & money would be best spent on just sourcing a new/good used component.
In addition: (In my local area); one would be hard pressed to find an R53 in a salvage yard these days. They are just not commonly trashed as the R50 - and if you are even lucky enough - Usually the first part cannibalized (in a matter of hours) is the SC before you even get there.

There's still hope.

 

Just cook up some alum if you don't want to struggle

 

I readily admit to knowing essentially nothing about minis in particular. But, I've dealt with stopped screws and bolts.
As long as that bolt is steel and not aluminum, and I'm correct that your S/C is off the car (if not, remove it) then I don't really see any reason you couldn't weld a screw or bolt to it

Doing so will have to benefits:
1) obviously it would give you something to grab to unscrew it2) the heat will likely break it free from the supercharger.

And because it should break free from the heat, then it won't take much of a weld to give you enough torque to break it loose.
And... If somehow the weld does not hold, go back and try the extractor again because it should be pretty easy to break loose after heating it with the welder.

As long as you're thorough in cleaning the shavings from your extractor attempt, you should be able to reuse the super charger.


Also ...I don't think I'd replace the sc without trying to salvage what you have. If you end up with shavings in it, and it fails, and explodes or otherwise gives up... Your only loss is the supercharger. It's independent of the rest of the engine. It's not like it could contaminate the entire engine and cause a catastrophic failure. If given the option to run the repaired supercharger and replace of it fails or assume failure and replace it anyway? Shiiit.. I'm sending it