Radiator off, what to replace?
 

I developed a leak at the plastic upper neck of my radiator.. Having that replaced at a shop and a few things came to mind while its off. Am I forgetting anything?

-Crank sensor o-ring
-low speed fan sensor
-supercharger oil refil

That all?

If you have the supercharger off, you may as well replace the water pump and thermostat!

The supercharger needs to come off to oil fill it.

It's possible to fill the pulley-side port with the s/c still attached, but there's no access to the equally important water pump side. In either instance, you'd still have to drain the old oil, and how do you plan on doing that without tipping the s/c on its side?

Bottom line; s/c needs to come off.

Bendy tube + syringe... point is taken. Is the thermostat difficult to do without pulling radiator?

I had to drop $622 on a new radiator (installed)/oil change, so I went the cheap route and just had them top off the supercharger oil on the pulley side. Yes, draining and filling both sides would be best, but this will have to do for now. I figured with 38k miles, I was being obsessive evening thinking about SC maintenance, but it turns out it was down 5 oz!! $12 well spent. The radiator failed 2 days after I paid for our 2 week California family vacation, so the timing was not good. :eek:

Normally I would install my own radiator, but my new years' resolution was to take my cars to actual mechanics instead of postponing repairs until I have time.. My wife is much happier these days. :lol:

*Thermostat would have been good. For the low speed fan resistor I was quoted $75 and an extra day in the shop (waiting for parts) so I skipped that.

It is a total waste of time adding oil to one side! You need to drain and clean both side, before putting in new oil, or it is a total waste doing it at all.
You are adding oil to preserve the supercharger, without doing the whole thing, you are preserving nothing. If one end goes bad, the whole supercharger is done anyway!
Just do the pain in the ass work, if you want it to last. (which it may already be in trouble! (worn gears and bearings)

Topping off any fluid is never a waste of time. Would you rather drive across town with an empty engine or an engine with dirty oil? Dirty fluid is better than no fluid. Yes, draining both sides and refilling is ideal, but my car only has 38k miles, so a supercharger flush wasn't high priority. In any case, it turns out the mechanic misspoke and it was only down 1/2 ounce (if at all). They gave me back the remaining AC Delco oil and it was pretty much full. I'm out $12, not worried.

burly: quote:Topping off any fluid is never a waste of time. Would you rather drive across town with an empty engine or an engine with dirty oil? Dirty fluid is better than no fluid. Yes, draining both sides and refilling is ideal, but my car only has 38k miles, so a supercharger flush wasn't high priority. In any case, it turns out the mechanic misspoke and it was only down 1/2 ounce (if at all). They gave me back the remaining AC Delco oil and it was pretty much full. I'm out $12, not worried. :end quote.

Here is the deal, It does not hold much oil on either side, but if the side he filled was a half ounce low, how low is the other side? Answer: You have to take out the supercharger to find out!
I am not trying to cause you pain, but both sides are sharing the work and if one side is out of oil, it won't really matter, what is on the other side, as the supercharger will die anyway.
It just makes no sense to me to do half the job, for obvious reasons.
To add to your analogy: If the other side is empty, would it not be better with dirty oil in it?
Some of these superchargers have failed at this mileage. It is a crap shoot/gamble at best!
I hope your outcome is good, but I don't work that way. I do not mean to offend. I just learned another way!
Itsme Wayne retired tool and die maker.

Just one more thing to think about: if you have the radiator off, you probably have the front end of the car jacked up. That means the s/c isn't level in the fore and aft direction. The fill plug on the pulley side is at the forward end of the housing, so if you top it off in this position you will overfill it. Don't know whether that would be enough to cause a problem or not, but the difference is noticeable. On the W/P side however, the fill plug is at the rear-most end, so if it is properly filled and you take the plug out you will lose oil and won't be able to top it up again in that position. Again, the difference is noticeable but I can't tell you whether the underfill would be enough to cause a problem. For peace of mind you are much better off yanking it out and doing it right!

Its on a lift.

With no signs of trouble, I wasn't about to have them pull the supercharger to check the rear oil level with 38k miles. This alone would have been $400, and seemed like overkill. If I was going to throw $400 more into maintenance I would have had them install an ATI crank pulley because THAT is a ticking time bomb and it'll leave you stranded. The front oil was just about full, so looks like I'm rolling the dice. If my supercharger dies, I'll pick up another one and punish myself by doing the job in my garage. I'm sure my SC will last another 4-5 years at least. I've never heard of a SC dying before 80k, and most last well into 150k.

I'm sure you have all been in my shoes.. I just spent $622 on a radiator and $5k on a family vacation.. But yes, servicing the SC would be smart when your radiator is off, with a higher mileage car. (I've owned 6 Coopers, and have had zero SC issues well into 120k, so I'm just basing this off past, personal experience, as we all do).

Your gamble is well taken and I understand you are paying others to do this work and it ain't cheap! just keep in mind that maintaining it will be your best way to keep it working well and long! Thankfully I do my own work and can justify doing things others can not!
Many people here are driving around with working superchargers, that are out of oil. The waterpump side, with no oil, will wear out the gears that run the waterpump, which can blossom into a nightmare of epic proportions.
I see so may Minis in auto auctions, that have dead superchargers and turbos (along with timing chain failures). They sell for nothing!and many still look new, but are pushed in line with a pickup truck!

I can do my own work, but per my wife’s request we’re taking the car to the shop these days. I’m a stay at home dad with 2 kids and I run a business from hone, so time is nonexistent. At this point in my life I’m happy to pay and have a working car the same day.

I’ll pull the supercharger the next time my car is in front end service mode.. hopefully that’s when both kids are in school and I have another project car to drive while the cooper gets work done.