I was hoping to get some impressions/feedback from the community with regards to this Supercharger I'd recently acquired.




The SC was pulled from an '05 R52 S automatic. From my overall impression; the car had been fairly maintained. Good but not great. Mileage unknown. Why it was salvage - unknown....

Other than having serviced/oil changed the SC, 2wice in my own 103k mi,'04 R53 - Beyond that, I really know nothing of what to look for when inspecting a supercharger. But FWIW, here is what I've observed looking over this unit.

The rotors are Teflon coated with some wear marks but spin freely by hand with no binding/seizing. When spun slowly by hand, some contact (?) between the rotors can barely be heard. Though nothing alarming/concerning to my novice ears.
The SC is absolutely silent when spun faster by hand. There is no in/out play at the pulley. No unusual slop (that I can tell) or internal grinding noises.




As mentioned above, I wonder about the slight wear marks on the Teflon coating. Is this bad or normal wear?


As seen here: There is some obvious wear on the knife edge on some of the rotors. The above image is the most noticeable example. Is that normal wear?


There is some inscription/numbers written with a Sharpie on the inside. Not sure what that may indicate?

Here is the SC oil I have drained from the snout: 3.1oz and from the rear/water pump end: approx 1 teaspoon. (Yes- the oil from the pump side was that clean/clear).


Snout


Water pump end








This barcode sticker was revealed after doing some de-griming on the exterior...



I understand that while not every aspect of this SC can be ascertained by just looking at these pictures - but I'd thought I might encourage some solid knowledge and feedback based on your impression.
I've never taken a Super charger apart and have heard that it it not the kind of thing for the average DIYer. Having said that -
Outside of me just examining some of the working components and condition of the rotors and gears, I would appreciate suggestions on anything you or I would further "bench test" or can check?

This SC was an impetuous buy. Perhaps a back-up part for my R53 if mine should ever fail in the future.
I have asked myself the question: "Would I put this part with unknown mileage, history, condition in my car?"...

The jury is still out.

I appreciate your experience, suggestions, time and consideration for any thoughts you may have.

Thanks!
:
EDIT:

• The rotors are not Teflon coated (the date on the barcode sticker was a dead-giveaway). After recent closer examination of the rotors I attempted to run my fingernail over what I thought might be a crack. It was not. But there was an oily film that I felt I could dissolve with some carb/brake cleaner. Although when dry; the black would not scrape off (leading me to erroneously believe it was Teflon), after spraying with carb/brake cleaner, the black coating was revealed to be nothing more than indurated baked in carbon. [face-palm!]. EDIT (again) - YEP - the rotors WERE Teflon coated after all. [face palm!]. "Were" as in - read below in my following posts...
• There is no noise or indication of the rotors making contact when turned as I'd first thought.
• I Ran a 13mm bolt in the center snout/pulley and used a 1/2' cordless drill to spin the SC. 'pretty impressive suction powered just by a drill. Whirred, looked and sounded pretty good to my novice senses.

 

As patience has never been one of my most foremost characteristics, - After determining that the rotors were not of the Teflon (JCW) coated variant, I felt there was little reason not to move forward in removing/cleaning up the built up carbon.
Today I'd spent a fair amount of time spraying down and cleaning up the rotors with 2) cans brake cleaner, some non ethanol 93, a plastic panel tool (used for scraping) and some ScotchBrite red(burgundy); as I enjoyed my morning coffee.







After a thorough rinsing, I gave the entire unit a light spray of engine degreaser and stored it away for the time being.

EDIT: As previously posted (#1: EDIT) - What I suggested was black carbon and not Teflon coated rotors as I had originally thought, as it turns out was indeed Teflon.
The Teflon coating itself was so easy to remove by just simply spraying brake cleaner and a little gentle rubbing with a ScotchBrite pad which took no effort at all. I was in complete disbelief to learn it could be that easy to remove.
Although, I am a bit embarrassed - I am not going to loose any sleep over the faux pas I've made.

 

Wish I would have seen this before posting

 

Looks fine to me. I would pull off the front cover also- there's lots to clean in there (ask me how I know.) Just some break clean and a good wipe down is fine. Also lets you check the teeth on the gears. As long as it doesn't have a tone of play back and forth inside the case, I would be fine with it. Add some fresh oil and let her run!

I would not worry about the rebuild and new seals, etc as you need a shop with the right tools to do it and that's not cheap. Unless the unit is really beat - and yours does not appear to be- I'd proceed as mentioned above.

 

Thanks for the reply @Boostmaster .
Good advice!
I had planned on removing the snout for further, thorough, inspection this weekend. It took me a bit of searching to find out if the pulley had to be removed first.
I'd come across another good website that gave me confirmation and a little more insight as what the internals looked like and what to check = the sc coupler.
Good stuff to know with respect to basic knowledge and evaluation for a first time novice like myself.

My current SC in my R53 is just fine.
This used supercharger I picked up, (despite some minor rotor wear?), seems to be pretty tight in all the right places. I'll check the condition of the gears and coupler in addition to a good cleaning of the snout/chamber.
If it checks out good - I"ll keep it as a spare....I may even consider having it rebuilt.

 

If it spins freely and has minimal rotor movement towards snout and backside , it'll be JUST FINE. IVE seen much worse that ran perfectly fine..
You can buy upgraded pto gears for the snout too if you do an at home rebuild on it. Ive had great luck with them , i liked using them in blowers id port and run 19% pullies on then.

 

I'd run it.

 

Having had a small piece of fiberglass lodged in my right eye yesterday; I am currently visually impaired and sporting "the pirate look" with a patch over one eye.
Please forgive the quality of the photos and typos.

I went ahead and pulled the snout off this afternoon to evaluate the condition of the gears, coupler and endplay. Again, I was a little surprised t find no gasket or sealer on either mating surfaces on the snout end or the pto end.


After removing the snout, I wasn't at all surprised to still find and managed to pour out another 3/4 oz of remaining fluid/oil...



Everything looked and felt really great/tight after cleaning out the housing. Inspecting the gears, backlash and also observing that the coupler having no discernible play or wear...



I had pulled the coupler off for closer inspection and cleaning. After doing a clean "trial fit" , I had a heck of a time trying to pull the coupler back out...
Feeling confident - I decided t leave well enough alone and moved forward with checking the rotor's end play...


There was barely any endplay whatsoever!
In absence of a dial indicator - I went "old skool" pushing and pulling, checking and re-checking, several times with feeler blades - .0025 (0.06mm) at the drive gear side of the rotor.


Even closer tolerance at .002 (0.05mm) on the "spindle side" /other rotor.



The needle bearing appears to have little to no wear and feels/rides very smoothly...


Ready for a refill?


Topped off the snout chamber with 140ml (a little over 4.5oz), AC Delco supercharger oil.
Although, the mating surfaces never showed any indication of a prior gasket or sealant; I decided to skim the surface with a very light coat of permatex ultra blue gasket maker....(it's all I happened to have onhand at the time)...

In my blind/impaired state - I had forgotten to take a photo of the pto end during the re-filling, sealing and fitting of the back waterpump plate. Nevertheless; the pto end was filled with 40ml (1.35oz) of fresh AC Delco.
Although I am pretty convinced after inspection of the water pump; that it is also in very good condition, I have chosen not to reinstall it back on to the SC. Having heard that the water pump can be a pain to change out while in the car,
I felt it might be in my best interest to buy and install a new one beforehand while the SC is out and accessible. With that in mind; I will also take the opportunity to upgrade the pulley to a 17%.


Checked, re-checked, cleaned, re-oiled, sealed, torqued down and ready for storage.

I think it's safe to assume; that I feel very lucky on getting a great deal when making such an impetuous decision for scoring this (mystery condition) salvaged supercharger when I had the chance!

Thanks!

 

In order to be effective you need to run the gasket maker on the face inside of the bolt holes.

 

Good work! That'll be a nice spare to have!

In regards to the gasket maker, you need an anaerobic type when putting the PTO back together. This is the stuff I used. https://www.fleetpride.com/parts/per...kaAjtlEALw_wcB

More than likely, you'll be fine though!

 

That supercharger appears to be in great shape and you did an excellent job in cleaning it up .

 

Moving forward with this great score on this mystery supercharger...
This morning I changed out the stock pulley for a Cravenspeed 17%.


Mod Mini's suggestion/method for using a chain vise on the puller is great advice.


Having never upgraded/swapped out a stock pulley on a supercharger, on a bench before, I was hoping the old pulley wouldn't put up too much of a fight.
I secured the supercharger down to a small work bench using a ratchet strap.


3 minutes later....Removing the old/original stock pulley was hardly a challenge. I used a 20V Dewalt impact driver which made quick work for removal.


Good used 17% CS supercharger pulley ready for install.


Good stuff! - The inside securing collar slipped on effortlessly right over the shaft. Smoothly with only the slightest friction.
I mention this because; when I had installed my 15% on my current Mini, the collar was so tight I struggled for an hour trying carefully but forcefully to get it to seat properly all the way down the shaft.
Talk about being a nervous wreck during and afterward throughout the whole ordeal.


Pulley in place. Loc-tite securing bolts gingerly torqued down in x pattern to 15#/ea.








Making good use of old aerosol can caps for added protection. (nothing goes to waste in my household).


Wrapped up and ready to be stored away...
(No. Not for sale), until when/if the day should come when a frown is quickly turned upsidedown knowing that I have a perfect back-up in my parts stash ready to be installed.

On a last note:
I had read some discussion regarding the proper size belt fitment for the 17% in conjunction with the standard size 0%/stock crankshaft pulley = pt# 060539 vs #060532.
As seen in the previous photos I had also purchased the belt (4060539), along with the pulley from the seller.
I knew I wanted to have this refurbished supercharger complete and ready to install with all new gaskets and water pump. So in addition; I ordered the 060532 belt as well.
It's nice if not prudent to always have options at hand!

Thanks!