I just had an '03 in the shop with a rattle that has been getting progressively worse at the supercharger. I listened with a stethoscope and it was most pronounced at the water pump.
1) ordered new pump
2) scheduled appointment for monday
Sunday morning, my customer called my cell to say the temp gauge started climbing rapidly, he promptly shut off the engine, coasted to safety and he was enroute with the tow truck to my shop.
Monday morning, I procede with simple water pump replacement, expecting to see it in pieces. IT"S FINE... So, I remove the belt and turn the pulley, the water pump drive does not turn, so I remove the rear cover/ gear crankcase from the back of the supercharger. There was NO oil in it. The following pictures speak for themselves. BTW, this car had 119,000 miles, I installed a 15% pulley at 80,000, which had absolutely nothing to do with the oil being absent. I've heard this noise before in other MINI's, and always dismissed it!!!
Not Anymore

 

Thanks for the post.....I'm assuming that this is something that is present during idle......does it get progressively louder under load?

thanks.

 

The rattle did seem to go away while driving or under a load, but I think its just that you don't hear it much over all the other noise. If you goose the throttle while standing still, it does get louder. I believe that if caught early on, this can be remedied. 5-6 hours of labor I think is worth the price of protecting the supercharger, but I can't figure out where the oil went
--Dan

 

Wow! Any way to check the oil without taking off the supercharger?

 

my geocities bandwidth has been exceeded so here it is again on my own server

 

Yes, but the water pump does need to come off. Firstly ,I would take a long screwdriver and stick an end on the water pump. You may have to pull the radiator support towards you and sneak it in past the upper hose and put your ear to it. You may have someone goose the throttle to hear how the rattle reacts.
If a good rattle is heard, the only way to see whats happening is to remove the water pump and the rear cover on the s/c. Its a 5-6 hour job by the book. I would be happy to write a how-to if anyone needs.

 

I just had my clutch and brakes replaced and when starting the car heard what I thought was a "rubbing" sound. I chalked it up to a new clutch plate against an old flywheel (what do I know - I'm not mechanically inclined). I called the garage the next business day and brought the car back in. They thought it was a problem with the auto-tensioner. Replaced that but the noise was still there.
Pulled the S/C - same problem as above... NO OIL.
The garage is trying to find a new gear set but aren't having any luck. I may have to get a new S/C.

What a pain.

T

 

T,

Call the dealers and see if anyone has a JCW core. The core charge was $1,000, so they should sell it to you for that. You will end up with a cylinder head to sell.
--Dan

 

Or you could buy one from me with a 15% reduction pulley on it. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=65430

 

Thanks for the heads up !!! Great info. !!!

 

wow, that's sad...
what make the oil dry? how do we keep check the SC has oil or dry out?

 

That question has been asked a couple times in this thread, with no answer. Either onefastmini doesn't know how to check it or it can't be checked. I looked for a gasket on realoem.com for the water pump drive to SC and they don't show one. I also don't see a fill/drain plug anywhere.

 

K-hevo ... I'll see what my mechanic says in the morning.
Are you by a computer during the day? If so, I'll let you know if it's a go.

thanks for the help,

T

PS: How did you end up with it?

 

PARTSMAN - onefastmini didn't take a picture of the cover but I did notice, on mine, that there was some type of fill/drain plug.
But since the entire S/C was out of the car I don't know if it is even accessable.

T

 

Hmmm...

You know, there's an ongoing thread in Perfomance Mods::Drivetrain called "M62 SC on the Mini is reality"
( https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ad.php?t=73771 ) where there are lots of pretty experienced people working on and discussing the Eaton M62 and Eaton M45 (OEM MINI) superchargers. I'd bet someone there would know about lubrication inside the superchargers.

It's worth a quick hyjack of the topic there.

It's an interesting thread, too.

Best,

-- Don

P.S. I thought I read somewhere that the MINI SC (Eaton M45) is rated at a 100K mile life span. Could it be that these have no lube for a reason and are expected to disintegrate sometime after 100K minus x for a reduction pulley?

 

Thanks for clearing it up.
Can you post a pic of where the plug is?

 

I did mention earlier that the waterpump needs to be removed to access to plug. This requires the front end to be removed, radiator assembly pulled and held forward, and the intake plenum removed. Then the waterpump comes off with 3 bolts to the sc and 2 at the engine block. This is NOT a job for the DIY'er. MINI does not offer the gear set seperatly and I don't believe they will address the issue because the dealers will most likely not see this under warranty. Almost 10 years working for BMW tells me this. Also, World Pac distributors such as autopartswarehouse do not even carry waterpumps for MINI's, don't expect to find odd bits from them. I recommend removing the cover and cleaning the gearcase thoroughly, reassemble with an anaerobic sealer and filling with Redline 75w-90. There is also a plug for the front gearcase, you can see it below the where to dipstick bolts to the sc. I have already checked a few of the fronts, and there does not seem to be a problem.
--Dan

 

Thanks for chiming back in Dan. In the pic you posted...

...is that a threaded hole you are pointing to? Can't see from that angle.
By the location you are referring to, it appears that there is very little lube in there to begin with. Maybe just enough to cover the drive gear teeth when assembled at the factory. Which doesn't make sense and actually sucks that BMW/MINI would expect it to last for any real mileage.

 

There is not very much oil there, only enough for the lower gear to sling around and lube both gears, and 2 bearings for the upper (output) gearshaft. My guess is that the seal for the lower gearshaft is in the vacuum side of the sc, (I noted the release of a vacuum when removing the fill plug) and that the oil is pulled into it through the seal. Of course replacing the seal would require a complete disassembly or overhaul of the sc. I don't think too many shops could do this, and not without parts availability anyway. Perhaps we should all just expect to have to replace superchargers around 100k :(

If I could offer a low cost overhaul, I will. But until then....

 

If it's like the front fill plug, it's a small allen-headed plug. The fill level seems appropriate - the lube only needs to be at that level to lube the gears.
As for why it leaked? Perhaps it was that the mating surfaces weren't flush.
I've got an M45 in my '91 Miata and have had issues with 'weeping' from the front gearbox - so every few years I pull it and replace the fluid.
The service life for the SC oil is supposed to be 100K, no? This car had 119K on it. I'd have to say that having to pull the SC and change the lube every 100K doesn't seem that onerous - though I don't know that MINI calls for this at 100K.
Thought of one way, we don't have to deal with timing belt replacements at 60K, so a 100K SC R&R takes its place...

A note about using Redline 75w-90 - When replacing the fluid in the front case (don't have the rear one on the Miata version) I used, at Magnussen's (Eaton distributor) recommendation, some nasty smelling synthetic lube. It's sold at GM dealers as 'Supercharger Lube' or similar (they've got quite a few Eaton's in OEM applications). Who recommended the Redline?

P.S. Thanks for the demonstrative pics!

 

Eric is right, and I have to agree on all points covered.
I work in parts at a GM dealer, and part #12345982 is the Supercharger Oil.

 

Thank You, I used the Redline after talking with several people about it and comparing the feel of the oil in front to the 75w-90, and decided it should work. I like the idea of a lube that is manufacturer recommended, and since BMW won't give us that... GM part #12345982 it is!
I'm glad this thread has turned out to be a good collaborative effort, not the cat fighting of some others.
--Dan

 

as for where did the oil go, it went past the shafts over time. Remember, we spin this sucker at up to 14,000 RPMs. what's even more amazing is that you can have a sealed system that lasts that long! Our engines get their oil changed every year or so....

As for the level of the fluid, you don't want it to high, you'll get horrendus pumping losses by having to move it all around.

Sheeze, I remember when 100k on a motor was a large number!

Matt

 

onefastmini, you're welcome and thank you for posting this thread. I only have 40k on my car right now, but i'm thinking about checking it when I do the AGS install, which requires the removal of the front of the car.


Dr.O, thanks for chiming in here, what the heck took you so long?

 

I'll ditch the whole thing when the 62 goes on Meanwhile...where's my stethescope?