How many miles on your car, Sid?

 

I just past 50k And people didn't think I drive my Mini:impatient

 

FYI, according to Magnussen, the front 'gearbox' in the M45 takes 4oz - the amount in the bottle you get from the GM dealer. There is no fill level in the front (assuming it's similar to the Miata M45)- you just pour out the old and dump in the new.

 

I'll check my SC when it comes off....

Also, someone may want to check with the SC rebuilders to see what oil they use and why...

Matt

 

k-huevo, You have a PM
Supercharger SOLD!

Thanks,
T

 

and it's funny that the part that fails is the accessory drive off the back, that isn't even provided on most SC applications Eaton sells to! Quick! Whip out a water pump retrofit using the new Mini water pump! Get rid of the drive in the back of the SC, and you're probably golden for longer!

Hmmm, sounds like the M62 conversion!

Matt

 

If I had the time I would have gone with the M62 conversion but.... with Monterey Historic and MINI Takes the States coming up I don't want to miss them.

I guess I'll go with the conversion in approximately 90k more miles.

T

 

to tap a new hole in the side of the sc gear housing at the appropriate level to allow xs gear oil to run out, and also possible to add a new tapped hole for filling somewhere above that hole in the side of the gear housing?

Both new hole locations could have extension pipes with caps attached if this would work. The purpose would be to have easier access to checking the level and adding sc lube when necessary.

All a person would have to do is open the easily accessed new drain port, add new oil in the fill port, allow xs oil to run out the drain port, close all ports and be done.

Obviously, this mod would have to be done with the sc removed, but if this is possible, and we could check and add oil as necessary, we could potentially eliminate dry gears at 100K miles.

Just a crazy question.

thanks,

YD

 

Having this occur at 119,000 miles doesn't seem too bad...I mean...119,000 miles! But my question is, would the car continue to be driveable without damage to any other components had it been undiscovered? In other words, can the MCS supercharger fail in this manner, yet the engine still works fine (it's just not supercharged anymore), correct?

 

The car would still be driveable, but with no coolant circulation, not for very long.

 

i just diagnosed the same problem on a '03 MCS with 78k. customer heard a "racket" of a noise coming from the engine and the car started overheating. the customer took the car to an independent shop and they couldn't pinpoint the problem.

when it got to us i checked all the obvious and after remembering this thread checked the water pump impeller and sure enough it was not moving when turning the pulley.(no weird noises heard at all) now the customer has to get a new supercharger. ($1700)

thanks for the info because if not i was gonna waste a lot of time bleeding/checking the engine over.

 

If you're really worried, just check it every 70 thousand miles!

To do all you suggest, you'll be pulling the SC, and routing a bunch of stuff all over. ***** of a job, and you're only going to need to do this once or twice over the life of the car...

Matt

 

Hi Joey,

Does that $1700 price tag include the new (or are they refurb units only?) Supercharger PLUS installation charges, or is the $1700 only cover the cost of the Supercharger without installation?

How many hours does MINI specify to complete the SC removal and installation?

Thanks!

-boognish

 

I'm afraid that by the time 70K rolls around it will be too late. If I ever find myself that deep and that close to the sc, I'm going to at least consider doing the drill and tap to give me some options. I just hate to have to replace a part that could be still running well if only the lube could have been maintained. We'll see.

YD

 

the $1700 is the price of a reman supercharger, not a new one. this car has been a headache because due to the supercharger being bad it actually warped the head so now the customer has to get the head machined.

for the head job is about 10 hours plus parts plus the machining, not sure how much the machining is.(independent shop) so since we were already taking the head off, we didn't charge the customer for the supercharger removal. is only 4 more bolts at that point. i'll be finishing the car tomorrow, can't wait to get it out of the shop

p.s i took the plate off the supercharger an sure enough the gears was destroyed. no fluid found.

 

Here's one at less than 60,000 miles

 

Thanks for posting Keith. I guess i'll be moving the electric water pump up a few notches on the mod list.

 

and it looked like the day it was made. I guess some just get lucky!

Matt

 

Wow, Keith. I guess that some of these just were not meant to make it. I have yet to see another one like this come through my shop, but time will tell. I did have one making alot of noise, thought it was the belt tensioner, but the sc made a grinding sound when spinning it by hand. Turns out, it was the water pump seal squealing... the sound is amplified when bolted onto the sc.
--Dan

 

The warning signs were there for this supercharger; oily soot covering the water pump housing and supercharger.

Personally I like the simplicity of the R53 water pump drive and I don’t think it is inherently faulty. This vehicle is no different than any other in that it requires some attention. In addition to the Bentley service manual, the modular extensions that allow the radiator support to move forward providing access and a means for a visual inspection should be a part of every owner’s tool kit.

The water pump drive gear photos were from another owner’s MCS that unfortunately progressed to the overheating stage.

 

Will the addition of a reduction pulley accelerate the loss of gear oil?

 

I'm sure it does (can), but this is not a definite that this problem will occur, I feel that most will NOT fail, but since there is no real pattern it is hard to say when a good time is to be proactive.
--Dan

 

Wish I never seen this post since I will now worry about every little noise I hear :(

Seriously thanks for posting your findings it is something all mini owners should be aware of. I wonder what the occurrence on SC failures is on the 2002/2003 and at what mileage.

 

My '04 SC failed at about 15K.

 

Thanks Dan, for the st8 answer!