The kid and I did the exam of the old supercharger and we found the failure pretty quickly. The water pump bearings were toast. It would not spin unless it was forced to. Super bad. Also, it appears there are two seals that must have failed. One on the pump and one on the PTO side of the S/C.

This pic was taken just after separating the two components. Tell tale source of the gray coolant. Not supposed to have any fluids here!



Next up we drain the fluids inside the PTO side of the S/C. We kind of expected some fluid, but not this! The whole reservoir was full of this! Yes, this was the source of our gray coolant'. Whatever amount entered via the failed seals of the PTO housing and the water pump and into the cooling system. After being flushed out, the system is now blue again with MINI branded coolant.



Still shocked, we thought the gears and roller bearing would be toast. To our surprise, the gears and bearings were okay despite being submerged in that filth.



The snout oil was surprisingly normal in comparison. Yes, it was dark and stinky, but it still had viscosity and appeared to still be about 2 oz of oil left. Definitely not the 4.9 oz that it supposed to be, but after 235K, that's not bad.




Questions. Are the seals for the PTO cover available from a supplier? If not, how do we get the plate rebuilt so that it is serviceable again? The rest of S/C seems to be in usable shape so this potentially could serve as a spare if I can get that back plate repaired.

One last thing. When I opened the fill plug of the front, it made this sound like a vacuum sound. Think Indiana Jones opening a crypt after thousands of years of not being disturbed! Well, okay, maybe not that loud, but both my son and I both looked bewildered such a sound would come out of opening a drain bolt.

Hope this thread helps some of you in the event you search up rattling, gray coolant, and or an over heat condition later down the road.

 

For others reading this thread and who haven't delved into their supercharger and might not know -- just a note as I'm sure you've discovered -- the water pump is driven by the supercharger that is directly driven by the serpentine belt, i.e., the water pump will not work unless the supercharger is turning/operational.

 

Word of advice here, change out your upper radiator hose for a new one..... yours has a rubbed spot on it, now it's weaken to the point where it won't take much to have a leak from there

Bryan