my supercharger install experience

[autox-racer]

For those of you thinking of buying a supercharger i thought i would give you my feedback on last weekends install.

First off I would like to say some positive things. The additional power is great. It does not really kick in until 4k but screams up to redline. The PV muffler really starts to get that woosh sound like of lots of air being pushed out exhaust. I was surprised that the car is not much louder than stock with PV. The SC looks good sitting on top of the engine.

Ok, now the things that sucked. They kit was not complete and the lack of complete instructions required extra time to figure out how to assemble. I had to go buy some extra heater and vacuum hose. I also had to get a male/male barb to extend one hose. No mention of this in instructions. Had it mentioned would have just replaced hose but needless to say SC was bolted down and hose end was in middle of valley. No mention of the wiring harness needed to be split to get wires to reach new throttle body location. No mention of how to install throttle cable/bracket. No mention of proper vacuum hose routing. Fit and finish was lacking. So basically the instructions sucked. I did figure it out but was frustrated.

Now to quality of kit. I was less than impressed with the construction of brackets/fuel rail or anything else that was drilled or tapped. Many threads were not square with surface. Looked like all holes/threads were a rushed job. There was on striped bolt on egr pipe. I had to get a longer cap screw to fully engage tapped thread in thin wall Aluminum casting. Drivers side fuel rail holes that hold to intake were very elongated and after bolting down applied a weird angle and pressure to injectors(see note on fuel leak below). I had to grind down cruise cable end that had too much solider on the end to fit in throttle cam.

After about 10 hours(not including removal of intake, which took place 3 weeks earlier after i ordered kit) I drove 2 times and everything seemed fine. Then this morning I backed out of garage and smelled fuel. Got out and looked and one injector was dumping. I did replace some orings as they got cut going back in(lack of good chamfer on hole-note: quality of kit) But the rail is clamped down at a weird angle so it could be binding on injector as I think it applied too much clamp pressure because holes in rail are in wrong location. I will find out more tonight as I repair.

With all my frustration, im still glad I have a supercharger but install was less than enjoyable for an ASE master tech with lots of tools to make life a little easier.
;Dr;

[Capri]

it takes 4k of traveling to notice the power? Hmm, I wonder how else I'll be able to tell if the install went smoothly, or it's just a matter of time before the power kick in...

[autox-racer]

I got on it hard after about 10 miles of cruising and waiting for 93 octane to work its way though system. I can kind of tell at low rpm but most of the kick is higher rpm.

[Dallas4u]

Originally posted by Capri
it takes 4k of traveling to notice the power? Hmm, I wonder how else I'll be able to tell if the install went smoothly, or it's just a matter of time before the power kick in...

I think he meant 4k rpm. I could feel the extra power from take off, but it's true that most the power comes in around there... feels comparable to, say, VTEC in a Honda.

[jayfotos]

Join the club....****ville experience for me as well.

I'm going back in to my shop on wendsday to find out the problem with the check engine light.

I think we narrowed it down(due to some help from here...thanks guys) and hopefully we'll get it all dialed in.

At that point I'm heading to the Dyno to see how rich I'm running and if I'm in need of a fuel regulater.

[UtahVXer]

The kit was not complete and the lack of complete instructions required extra time to figure out how to assemble.

Someone told me that they left a couple of things off the instructions like the fuel linkage and also a vacuum line that connects to the manifold.

[FeatherFoot]

What did they do rewrite the Instructions?

I have a MS Word file of the Insruction Guide I wrote.

I could e-mail it if you want.

It also covers the dis-assembly as well.

We'll send the tip jar around later.

John

[autox-racer]

Fuel leak update: I put some thin washers between the fuel rail and the manifold to change angle of rail and it helped loosen up the injectors. I can now turn them injectors with everything tight(should have known better when i put together and though was too tight).

However, the one injector seeps so i have to remove rail and replace oring... of course it is drivers side that is the hardest side to work on because of throttle body in the way.

Glad i did not get down the road this morning or I would have had a fireball on the freeway. Get to see one of those a year hear in detroit.

[skunkworks]

Since several of you are getting supercharger kits with Tone's group buy I thought I would update this thread.

First of all shipping, The kit came in a large box and appeared to be well insulated. While I was glad to see it waiting for me on the porch, saving a trip to UPS, it is a little disconserting to have a purchase of this amount delivered without a signature required and left out in the open. When I opened the box I immediately found a throttle body adaptor with a severly bent flange. Everything else appeared okay, although the fabled cruise cable bracket, CARB sticker, and as I learned later, an extended cruise cable were missing.

Second, the install. Having read several horror stories here I had a heads up on most of the problems to be encountered. The whole kit except the fuel rails and blower snout come painted an ugly flat black. I decided to copy Cyrk's and paint the blower a bright red, the intake black, and polish the fuel rails. To make this easier I took the two apart. THIS WAS MOST FORTUNATE!!!! When I got them apart, I found the intake full of metal shavings from where it had been milled and then slapped together. If these had not been cleaned out it would have been catastrophic in the long run as the aluminum shards would have slowly ground away the cylinder walls of the aluminum block.
Counting the painting and spending a quite a while to straighten that bent flange without breaking (only to later find out it was not needed) the install took about 9 hours over 3 days.
The water hose under the intake needs to run out the back up to the back side of the throttle body. None of the supplied hoses are long enough so I would get a 3' section from the store before starting. If you live in a warm climate these all could be capped of but anywhere that has cooler weather it would be a dog until fully warmed up.
The biggest problem in the install is the fuel rails. I would suggest trying to polish all the injector openings as they are poorly machined especally in the intake. I was able to get the injectors into the rails, only tearing 2 o-ring in the process, although I had to tap them in with a block of wood and hammer. The o-rings at the bottom going into the intake would not go in without tearing. I used all I had and then said hell with it and decided to see if they would leak. Before anyone jumps on this, I have probably done 50 or more GM 3100/3400 intakes, so I have plenty of expirience of installing injector o-rings in proper holes.
Other than these items, the install was fairly straight foreward. I think the kit was designed for drive by wire models as the throttle bracket looked to be an afterthought. It kind of bolts haphazardly to the back of the assembly at an awkward angle. Also the cruise control cable will not reach nr throttle body's new location. I was going to build some proper cable brackets and a close cruise mount, but Tone assured me he will get my missing parts and and an extended cruise cable. I put a one piece polished aluminum air intake on with the cone filter right at the hole in the left fender. Later in the week I built a cold air box around the MAS and filter (this was not included in the install time). As stated in earlier posts, the TPS, IAC, and depending where you put it, the IAT sensor wiring harnesses need to be extended. I would really suggest soldering the connections and using heat shrink to maintain the wiring integrity. I put the IAT near the throttle body so it would give the EMC a true reading. I should note that even though the bottom o-rings all tore going in I have not noticed any evidence of vaccum or pressure leaks.

Third, since the install. I drove it to and from work for a week before taking a small road trip of about 250 miles. Gas milage around town is about the same as before, however I was surprised that even though running 80-85 mph all the time, I got almost 20 mpg on the highway, my best ever. The power is noticable especially as RPMs go up. I have put about 1500 miles on since the install and have had no problems all all, be it leaks or codes or anything. Overall I would call it a worthwile purchase.

Footnotes: I have since installed the C/F WRX insert and mirror covers. I have no real problems with the fit or finish of the insert. I did have enlarge one of the washer holes and when in place you can barely see the water drains in the hood. Cosmetically the edges look good and intake opening is well done. I am very diappointed in the mirror covers however. They kind of snap on but do not come close to covering the whole mirror, not coming within 3/8" of the back edge of the mirror. Trying to use molding tape to secure them only makes the worse. Overall I would give the insert a thumbs up and the mirror cover a cobbled thumbs down.

Sorry to ramble on but I thought I should get the word out to check the intake for shavings and give some tips on the install.

albert
________
weed vaporizer

[SPAZZ]

Guess someone's Quality Assurance guy needs fired.

I'm glad I didn't get that Super Charger and installed a Warn XD9000 winch, winch Bumper, 160 Amp Alternator, 200 battery amp isolator, and a Yellow top as second battery to run winch and car amp.

[WormGod]

*sigh*

You all are killing me!

Mine is supposed to be shipped tomorrow (as Tone relayed it to me) and I have been plundering these sorts of posts all weekend. I feel like I just signed up for a branch of the military that is skipping training and sending me right out into the LZ.

:O

[autox-racer]

well after you step on the gas with SC all will be forgotten.. not necessarily forgiven though.

[Tone]

I’ve forwarded all these posts to John and spoken to him at length several times about these issues. I feel the injector holes are the worst of the poblems and that can be resolved with scotchbriting the holes prior to install or even grinding a slight chamfer on the edge of the hole with a dremel. I have yet to cut an oring on over a half dozen installs. Use lots of lube and install the injectors on the intake BEFORE you set the SC manifold inplace- then install the fuel rails afterwards as they prohibit access to some bolts.

Coolant lines should run under the manifold - I recommend running the 2 cooling lines that go to the throttle body under the new intake for a cleaner install - be sure to use the protective cover from the old lines. For some reason, Alpine continues to supply only a few feet of the hard to find 3/8” heater hose with the kit and include hose barbs to splice them into the stock hoses. Buy 7’ of 3/8” heater or power steering hose and either run them like above or out the front of the intake to the throttle body. Or if you are in a warm climate, leave ths 7 foot loop uncut (so you can change your mind later) so the throttle body stays cooler for a bit more performance as the coolant is actually used to keep ice off the throttle body in extreme climates.

Biggest thing is use patience - you are working with an aluminum block and parts and it is easy to crossthread or break items that can then make the install hell. It is basically a great kit and the extra power will be worth any difficulty you encounter.

Other info:
Gasket, Intake manifold 2 rqrd 8-97237-538-0
Stock Serpentine belt (6PK2288) & part number (8-97130-560-0)
Supercharger belt (6PK1225),


SC Install Tools
4mm Allen Socket fuel rails, new EGR tube
5mm Allen Socket fluid level plug
22mm Shortie open end wrench EGR tube
14mm socket w/ breaker bar Factory belt tensioner
10mm sockets and open end wrenches
Misc metric sockets

TORQUE SPECS
EGR Nut 21 lb ft
Crankshaft Pulley 123 lb ft
Fan pulley and bracket 16 lb ft
fan and clutch assembly 88.5 lb ft
idle pulley bracket 38.4 lb ft
throttle body 18 lb ft
Intake manifold 18 lb ft
be sure to clean threads in the block before installing SC manifold.

Replacment parts
NSK bearing part # 6301C3 Idler pulley bearing

[Tone]

Yes, those should be Goodyear Gatorback part numbers - great belts!

Red heater hose is fine - just needs to be able to handle the heat but if it is called heater hose, that is it. 3/8” is hard to find so I used power steering hose that can handle more heat and pressure.

Shutoff valve would be fine.

[Ldub]

Finally got the beast installed! As stated by others, It's not the funnest way to spend a weekend, but the final results are completely worth it.
Received my new throttle/cruise bracket + longer cruise cable & installed today,MUCH better. Why they don't ship the proper stuff in the first place HAS to be one of life's great mysterys.
BIG TIME thanks to Tone, for all help and helping me to keep my sanity during this ordeal. He always replied promptly to all my questions, going above & beyond the call more than a few times.
(talk about "going farther")
Thanks also to all who posted their install experiences, the information was invaluable in helping me to be better prepared for some of the pitfalls associated a fun s/c install weekend!