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Stock Problems/IssuesDiscussions related to warranty related issues and repairs, or other problems with the OEM parts and software for MINI Cooper (R50), Cabrio (R52), and Cooper S (R53) MINIs.
New month, new challenge! Car is coming up on 235K and I believe we have reached the end of the road with the supercharger. Every 30 seconds or so, I hear what sounds like rocks tumbling around in the supercharger.
My son got home from school today and told me coolant had blown out of the reservoir and heard a loud clunk coming from somewhere in the vicinity of the water pump.
When the car cooled down, he and I checked the coolant in the tank and there was about an inch of coolant in there. Looked gray, not blue like it should...Blown head gasket?? See pic.
Checked spark plugs, all show a light gray ash, normal appearance, or rather all were the same color, sorry didn't take a pic.
Also check oil on dipstick and no evidence of choco shake.
Could we have dodged a bullet and all we need to do is R&R the supercharger/water pump, flange, o-ring and green gasket?
Inquiring minds want to know! Guess what we'll be doing this weekend??
Nothing inside the supercharger is connected to the cooling system. The pump is a separate sealed part attached to the rear of the supercharger. It is probably just your pump that has failed making all that noise and causing the engine to overheat.
Got a chance to spend a little more time to see what's going on. The noises are definitely coming from a component being driven off the belt, unlikely it's the waterpump. The bad component was enough to stop the motor at idle! I'll try to capture on video next.
The car stays home tomorrow so I'll get a chance to pull the belt and inspect what's going on a little more. I did get to put a screwdriver up to alternator and that sounded fine. Will rotate the supercharger pulley, idler pulley, and A/C tomorrow. There is a PRW harmonic balancer on there with about 15K on it, so I doubt it's that.
Took belt off and spun all the pulleys and components. Everything felt good.
Started car car with no belt and noise is not present. Put belt back on and voila, the racket is back. Supercharger noise can also be felt from the intercooler horns.
Time for a $upercharger and water pump now. Fun weekend ahead!
Used supercharger acquired. Now just waiting for new pump, seals, and coolant.
This came from an '06 R53 with 82K so says the salvage yard.
Of course, I had to open it up to peek in on the PTO gears. Very happy to see a full amount of oil in there. Gears look perfect as does the roller bearing.
Topped off the fluid with Redline MTL. The snout need a bit more since when I put it level on the ground, nothing dripped out. Maybe 30cc added. Again, not a lot needed.
If all goes well, should be tearing into the car this weekend.
You are putting the Refline in your trans and not the supercharger, right? Your comment reads as if you are putting the Redline in the supercharger. Superchargers require specific oil.
The only stuff you should be putting in that supercharger is the AC Delco fluid shown below:
You're going to need two bottles (actually 1-1/2), and there is a specific amount to add to both reservoirs.
With the unit on its side and level, you add through the port until the oil begins to seep out the fill hole.
Last edited by AoxoMoxoA; Oct 18, 2018 at 04:50 PM.
I would wait for the supercharger oil. The thread updated at 30,000, but that’s nothing. I wouldn’t take chances with a used supercharger. SC gears have a close mesh tolerance which means they are squeezing that oil at higher pressures. SC oil is non-foaming low viscosity, low expansion. It is designed for the abuse of a high RPM SC. I wouldn’t gamble over a few dollars.
+1 most use the AC delco stuff. Thats a good deal on the used supercharger, I was going to say get a used one in good shape and make sure the gears are ok in that or upgrade to the new JCW superchargers we have in stock at 59% off. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-shipping.html
BTW JCW Superchargers are on sale right now. 11657556981
You can get the Delco oil through almost any parts store. If they don’t have it in stock they can usually get it same day. Might cost a little more but it’s cost vs convenience.
...he and I checked the coolant in the tank and there was about an inch of coolant in there. Looked gray, not blue like it should...Blown head gasket?? See pic.
We know you replaced the s/c, but was the cause of the 'gray coolant' phenomenon ever determined?
Haven’t changed the S/C yet. Waiting for water pump, coolant and o-rings. We are planning to tear into the car on the weekend.
The leading theory on the gray coolant is that the seal between PTO and pump failed sending some oil into the coolant. There’s definitely no blown head gasket as previously feared since motor oil is not contaminated.
BTW, was the used s/c you picked up that clean, or did you spruce it up a bit?
Haven't seen a used s/c that looks as good as that one does...
It was that clean. There was a tiny bit of oily grime on the snout, but that took all of maybe 5 minutes to wipe up. I was very surprised it so clean when I picked it up. Hope that is a good omen for quiet running S/C.
