Supercharger noise - need new charger or just the rotor?

[Petos]

Hello, Friends,

I need some help fixing my Supercharger. As usual, please pardon my broken English ..

I am the fourth owner of my superchager (which was once owned by VehiGaz ), and from day one on my VX, the unit was making that "coins thrashing in a can" sound, especially at idle speed... I thought it was normal, until I heard how a new S/C sounds on a car of a fellow VXer.. in fact, it was making close to no sound, especially at idle speed..
I was advised by buddy to replace oil and bearings on the S/C which I did, but the noise did not go away...

The mechanic told me that when they dismantled the charger, they saw that the problem is that the rotor pack is damaged... they think that it could have happened when the charger somehow sucked in some sand when used by one of previous owners.. When I asked them what I should do they suggested me to replace the whole unit, since, as they claim, the rotor housing must be damaged as well..

Does this make sense to you? What do you think I should do - replace the whole unit or just the rotor?
Do you have any suggestions as to where I could buy rotor or the whole charger that would fit our Alpine kit? (I asked at magnusonproducts.com, but they dont sell parts and dont have any remanufactured m62...)

Much appreciated!
Petr

[raybob]

Go find an old Detroit Diesel mechanic. Old Detroits are 2 cycle and use a blower to scavenge. It's tricky , but " it can be done by a competant mechanic.

I haven't seen the insides of your blower, but I have fixed a bunch of " trashed"

superchargers. It doesn't have to sound any different from a new one.

[Riff Raff]

PETOS--- My first step would be to send an E-Mail or PM to fellow member "VehiGAZ" and ask him for advice (just click-on the Members icon to search for VehiGAZ). Since he's the PO, he probably knows his old VX like the back of his hand and can quickly offer more pinpoint information.

[tom4bren]

From my limited understanding of how a supercharger works (oversimplified) it's just an impeller spinning inside of a venturi. It's not likely that sand was sucked into it. If that was the case, the sand would've gone somewhere & done more damage (not likely that it could have made it through the cylenders & exhaust system without clogging something up).

It sounds more likely that you have at least 1 bad bearing that is making all that noise. If the impeller or the venturi were damaged, you would be getting little or no boost.

[Ldub]

Check the belt tensioner bearing.

[WormGod]

If the rotor pack was damaged, it would most likely seize up. Noise leading up to that would probably last a very short while before that happened.

Did they show you the damage? If it's disassembled still, post pics? Curious what they are seeing.

[VX KAT]

Hi Petr-
What about buying "autox-racer" 's entire VX with the supercharger? (I assume it's an Alpine also). Pay for the whole VX, but only have him remove & ship the S/C to you? Sell the remainder to a local boneyard in Michigan?
http://vehicross.info/forums/showpos...5&postcount=36

[Petos]

Hey, gang!
First of all, THANKS for your advice, everyone!

raybob: hmmm... I am not sure there is a single person in Russia who knows what a "Detroit Diesel" is..

Riff Raff: yeah, I spoke with VehiGaz already, and he told me that it has been making noise already when he got it from the previous owner... he said he didn't bother - but for my money, its way too loud!
Also, I agree, I dont really believe these guys about "sucked sand" either...

Ldub: I did buy a repair kit like that on eBay and got oil/bearings replaced but the noise did not go away... does this rule out the possibility of a bearing issue or am I missing something?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Eaton...Q5fAccessories

WormGod: no, they didnt show me the damage unfortunately (have been too busy in the office to monitor the process)... but did give me those earphones (like the ones doctors use) to hear for myself that the "metal noise" is coming from the body of the charger...
I plan to make a sound video of the charger and place it on youtube so you can hear for yourself and make a more educated guess please
They blame it on the rotors... ony ideas where I can buy a replacement set?

VX KAT: yeah, that IS a good idea! I will shoot Anthony a pm right away!

[WormGod]

I am curious as to how bad it is/how it sounds. ALL roots superchargers have a clickety-clack to them by nature. Many of us are able to hide that by using short rams that create a suction noise that overrides that, heh.

I am actually on my stock airbox again and the ticking taps on my mind every time I am in the VX. Not really something you get used to, but also not really something you can do anything about.

Replacement parts..... I think you are screwed. We all are. I don't even think I would trust the guts out of a used one. I guess you can always put the OEM common back in.

[johnnyapollo]

Mine always made a scraping noise at idle from the rotors slightly brushing one another - probably a mis-alignment that would take some machining to fix with new bearings applied. I've been trying to find someone to do the work. When the drive bearing started to go I just took off the whole kit-and-kaboodle and put another manifold on there (it was from a Trooper) - decided to keep the injectors and rails with the SC manifold as they were such a pain to seat. Right now the unit is sitting in a box - I'm thinking of having the whole thing reworked.

-- John

[Ldub]

Ldub: I did buy a repair kit like that on eBay and got oil/bearings replaced but the noise did not go away... does this rule out the possibility of a bearing issue or am I missing something?

Those are the bearings in the S/C itself, in my post I was referring to the bearing in the tensioner pulley that keeps the belt tight.

Read these...

http://vehicross.info/forums/showpos...2&postcount=12

http://vehicross.info/forums/showpos...3&postcount=13

http://vehicross.info/forums/showthr...=s%2Fc+bearing

[Jolly Roger VX'er]

mines made noise from day 1 @ idle...pretty noisy...but as soon as you give it gas and drive off from a dead stop..it quits.

Not sure, but I believe that if you have the hood open and the engine running and you work the throttle assembly by hand (give it gas) it even stops rattling then.

The only time it bothers me is if you were to trade it in; they will most likely believe that there is something wrong with it and ding you for it.

[Petos]

Thanks again folks!
Ldub, sorry for one more silly question but is tensioner pulley = idler pulley?
Will replace it and let everyone know if it helps..
Thanks
Petr