Hello All;

I believe that my Supercharger is starting the dreaded fail, which I have read so much about.

I am hoping it will last until I have to put it away for the winter.

My Mini is a 2003 which just turned 60,000 miles the other day. I am wanting to try and find a used Supercharger that I can send in to be rebuilt. What years Superchargers are compatible with which years? Will the 2005/2006 Supercharger fit my 2003?

Thanks in advance.

Regards

Dibz

 

Any year 02-06 supercharger will work, the difference was in the rotor coatings. Be cautious about who is rebuilding your supercharger, we've used several places and there a few I definetly wouldn't use again.

 

WayMotorWorks;

Thanks so much for the quick reply, I certainly appreciate it.

I also have read a lot of posts regarding some rebuilders. Who would you recommend to do the rebuild?

Regards

Dibz

 

I'll be having one rebuilt soon, also.
Think I'm going to go with this place.

http://www.stiegemeier.com/home.html


Jim

 

So far that is who I am leaning towards. This forum is awesome for info and to be pointed in the right direction. Now if I can find a used Supercharger at a reasonable price I will be all set.

Regards

Dibz

 

you can get nearly new ones for about $600....
or used up, worn out ones for $200 (cores) that need a $500 rebuild.......there is some risk either way, but ....there is less risk with doing an exchange with the re-builder (yours becomes the core)...IF the rebuilder has one, but most do not...so it takes a week or more to get YOURS back rebuilt. So buying a spare is a great option for a daily driver.....so you can minimize downtime.

 

Hey there Zippy;

Having a spare is what I am thinking in order to keep the downtime to only the removal and install of the rebuilt one. So it still comes down to the best place to find a spare and the best place to have it rebuilt.

Regards

Dibz

 

All other things being equal....get a coated SC...if the BLACK coating is intact....it was on all JCW, and all 05+ superchargers...it helps to make it slightly more efficient, and keeps the air cooler...it was one of the factors that gave the 05+ cars 5 extra HP.
this board and others can be good places to find them...I found one on E-bay for about $600 with about 6000 miles...off a wrecked (rear-ended), but running car.
They are around, and some folks with connections to dealers have a few around from JCW upgrades on convertibles...the prices I've been seeing seem to be dropping a bit.
Since dealers are selling rebuilds for about $1500 ,(new most be ordered, for about $2200 I think) even if you get one for $600, then have to spend $500 to rebuild it, you have STILL come out ahead....just by planning ahead. The one advantage...the dealer has them available, same day usually if you are in a rush.
The place to watch out for is down in FL...sells most units on e-bay, rebuilt...the seals are glued in..can fail....some do fine, cheap, good warranty, but the labor is so costly to swap out a SC, IMO it is better to pay more up front for a better rebuild.

 

If you're going to send it out to have it rebuilt, make sure you ask questions about how much they charge and what's covered and what's not - especially if the gears are bad. I just recently had the snout of my supercharger rebuilt and made some assumptions that I shouldn't have. Additionally I assumed that because it cost $28 to ship it, it should cost the same for the return, right? Nope - they charged $50 to ship it back with the additional expense due to "packaging".

 

Zippy;

Thanks again for your insight on this topic, it is greatly appreciated. So I am going to keep my eyes open for a 05+ Supercharger and have it sent out for a rebuild. Going to keep my fingers crossed that mine will hold out until then. And I would be using the place in Florida by the sounds of it.

Regards

Dibz

 

Earl;

Great info.... So where did you end up sending yours out to? Did you buy a spare? or just remove and send your own unit out?

Regards

Dibz

 

I ended up sending it to Stiegemeier. Fortunately I had the luxury of having a spare vehicle so the MINI just sat. I used the down time to polish and buff the supercharger air horns and to clean up the engine bay. Stiegemeier had decent service and a good reputation but I was a little disappointed in the answer I got when I questioned them about the return shipping charges. They originally said that the higher cost was to cover the cost of accepting credit cards which I informed them was illegal. They quickly changed their story to say that is was due to all the extra care in packaging to make sure the supercharger gets back to the owner intact. If you have them rebuild yours I would look into having it ported. It wasn't that much more and it feels like it's got some extra kick. All in all I would recommend them but learn from my experience.

 

Earl;

Now that is good info right there. So I have 1 thumbs down for the place in Florida and 1 thumbs up for Stiegemeier's. When I go through the trouble, I will definitely get them to port it. What are you running for a pulley? I am not much into the aftermarket thing, I like to keep my toys stock.

Thanks Again

Dibz

 

I started out the same way in wanting keeping things stock but evolved into being more stealthy/frugal instead. After I first got my 02 MCS I figured it was everything I wanted but soon I was bitten by the mod bug. I tried to do be reasonable with the expenses but to still get the most bang for the buck. This entailed the one ball exhaust, drop in panel air filter (still uses the stock air box), and a used 15% reduction pulley among other things. Looking in the engine bay you really can't tell that any thing has been done to it. I was patient and came across some great deals on Ebay and here on NAM.

 

Glad to hear you were satisfied with Stiegemeyer. :thumbsup: Whenever I get around to having mine rebuilt, that is who I am going with.