For those of you who have serviced the oil in your supercharger and maybe used some sealant, how long has it been? Have you seen longer life out of the sc? How long?

Thanks! Debating whether or not to go through the trouble or just get a rebuild done on my working one.

 

Most folks with a working SC find it pretty full...GM sells the oil. If it starts making noise, remove it, and you might get it in time.
Some SC do recomend/require an oil top off/change...GM do, but is is eassier to get to, and only have the snount to add oil to.
If you remove it, and the sc waterpump pto is low on oil..this is the problem area on the mini...it is unknown how much time you are buying without a rebuild...it only holds a couple of ounces of oil...and if is low, the seal internally may be bad, so refilling may not help tons.
There are a few threads and opinions around.
If you decide to do it, check the waterpump weapholes for leaks...depending on the miles/age, it might be a good time to swap it out..either way, get a new set of gaskets for the WP+SC.
Good luck, have fun!!

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...er-thread.html

 

Thanks for the posts guys, but I'm looking for a number of how many miles would this extend the life of a supercharger?

 

The SC is a bit of a wear item...the rotors wear, the bearing and seals fail...
Desgin life, as installed is about 130,000 miles/5 years I think..remember reading something to that effect. I know some eaton/gm/toyotda sc have a 5 year oil service....
Some folks have failures at 40,000, some have gone 200,000 miles...it is litererly all over.
You can buy a used, 05+ sc with coated rotors that is a takeoff from a jcw upgrade (they are still around) for $500. Or buy a used, run out core for $200-300....and then rebuild it...
You can overhaul you unit for $800 ish from a reputable place like steigemier, or a vendor here for similar $$...a few places do cheapy rebuilds for $500...good warrenty, but high failure rate... And the downtime/labor yo r/r is the killer...so many choose the better rebuild...Time is about 1+ weeks, plus roundtrip shipping....
A few places have stopped rebuilding them....mostly due to reliability problems...the mini m45 is said to be harder than most to get fixed right dur to the PTO...
Mini sells factory reman'd units for 1500-1800, new is special order, about 2200...they are sitting in a warehouse...production has ended...
I know it not the exact info you wanted, but it is good to know.
Since labour is free when you diy it, it might make sense to do a lube job...most shops that offer a SC oil service have kinda come to the conclusion that it is just to $$$ to pay to have done for an unknown increase in service life.
Like I said, other factors can make you remove it...noisy bearings, noise, or low boost preasure...if it appears it is a good unit, adding oil might be good...just do not overfill the port...
I have a spare SC...if the oil is low...then remove the pto plate, 4 bolts, and check for debris. If it is clean, use a sealant....the oem says anaerobic sealant, but many have used gasket maker or rtv, let dry and refil. If you go this far..the waterpump is a good idea..the coupling can get worn a bit, and the waterpump is a wear item too...and all the work to swap it is done...so while it is appart, it might be a good longterm thing to do.

 

Interesting.

Are the seals and bearings and the special seals for the charger blades available as separate items?

Also, has anyone heard of someone modifying the supercharger to make it easy to check and add oil? I was thinking that if I ever needed to pull the supercharger, I'd look into making the mods. 'Probably involve some custom made parts and modifications. But likely, it's doable.

 

I have already done it, added a dipstick to the PTO. can check, add, suck it out, whatever in a matter of minutes...

I have many posts on here about it.

YD

 

MINI has New SC in stock in the US ( both versions ), for a while there new ones were special order from the Depo in germany. 11657526657 & 11657556981

The Factory Remans are now NLA for JCW and NON JCW. For a while the new ones were on BO and only remans were available. Things changed.

https://www.ecstuning.com/Mini-2005-Cooper-R53-S-Coupe-L4_1.6L_W11B16A/Engine/Supercharger/

 

Quick question, when should I consider changing the supercharger oil? I heard that sometimes the "lifetime oil" runs out at 100000 miles for some, but more for others and less for the rest. I don't want to end up doing the supercharger which costs as much as I paid for the car.

 

Changing your sc oil....much debated...

Much debated amount gen1 owners.....
If you were to diy it and have 8+ hours to spend plus maybe $150 in gaskets and fluids, and are sure you can get it back together and not break anything, it would not hurt...
Many get stuck, or never get the car running right...gaskets lease than 100℅ sealed, etc...
If you will pay a shop for 6-8 hours, then imo wait...then spend $700-800 on a rebuilt unit (performance units rebuilt are about $100)and seals, gaskets and a waterpump and other stuff at the same time for the 6-8 hours shop time....
No clear cut answer...
Comes down to risk and how much you value YOUR time if you diy it.
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Question: I am removing my s/c and want to inspect the pto water pump gears. Is there a gasket between the supercharger body and the pto?

 

No gasket, just a wax type sealant. You can use a skim coat of RTV, or there is a Permatex surface gasket you can source from some stores.

 

I have a tube of Toyota FIPG (formed in place gasket.) Would that work?

 

It might. I didn't have any wax type sealant on hand when I opened my SC up to see how it looked inside and opted to use a skim coat of black RTV and it has been fine for over 15k miles.

 

Please p/m me with your name and fax # so I can send you a list of parts for a price quote; thanks.