Thread: Supercharger coupler replacement

so after an hour long drive I arrived at my destination and found my car making a rumbling rattling like rocks tumbling in my supercharger it being on top of everything the noise itself was easy enough to pinpoint. I looked over troubleshooting and decided at 145k miles the coupler could be a sound culprit after replacing the coupler today the noise was still there. I took it for a drive and it was quieter for sure but after popping the hood with it in idle I could definitely hear the same noise. Im curious at this point if my nose or bearing would be the next likely suspect and how bad is it to do a full supercharger replacement comparatively to the coupler that was just swapped.

my guess is either the bearing is going or gone as the pulley itself after coupler replacement had little to no play whatsoever

I have a mechanic who does work very cheap for me when it comes to anything I think I may be over my head on I'm just wondering if this is one of those situations

the sound could only be compared to a very low pitch rattle almost like a whined up toy you would buy your kid

Did you seal the snout back up with anerobic sealer? Recheck the oil in the sc and make sure it's full.

yeah sealed up and it took 8 ounces I know most people say 6-8 of sc oil is it something where running it to get the oil moving around is going to help with the noise? Also there was a good ammount of oil in at the time of coupler replacement and no metal shavings inside the housing to suggest shearing

Did the noise immediately get quieter after the coupler change? Maybe take a video.

posting a link now
VID_20120724_195022.mp4 video by beelzeboul - Photobucket

couldnt hear anything with that video, audio was bad.

Maybe possible lifter noise?

Too hard to say.

it's a 98 with high flow cat and straight pipes aside for that un-modded and no trouble codes engine light overheats and so fourth just that awful noise and this is after the coupler replacement I'd say it seemed quieter after I left my destination and had first noticed the sound but since changing the coupler its hard to tell with the straight pipes noise pollution but hopefully the vid will show ya the pulley itself seems straight with no wobble and turned freely before the belt was put on

VID_20120724_210256.mp4 video by beelzeboul - Photobucket

this ones just audio as its a little dark out now moved phone from side to side over recording to try to make sure I got a clear sound of the noise but its pretty much identical to the previous video

still couldnt hear anythying, was just loudness and screetching, the phone cant handle the noise.

If you got a real camera I would try that.

nah not atm it is terrible for sound though. it almost sounds like someone grinding gears in a manual transmission but much more subtle and consistent would the same symptons for a coupler appear for a bad supercharger I'm not to clear on the other inner workings of them but the only other thing I've read is that it could be the belt tension er that would present the same noise as a coupler going bad had I not seen the teeth of the gears attached to the coupler today id say it was scraping its own teeth off but it really seems to change pitch or nearly dissapear entirely while driving and not gassing or idleing but anytime im merely coasting trying to listen for it I hear nothing and anytime I gas it trying to hear the supercharger my exhaust drowns it out but anytime im idling or at low revs its incredibly noticeable

Eaton m90 supercharger rattle no 2 - YouTube

this is almost the identical noise im getting

so had it into shop today mechanic through a scope on it told me it was definitely the bearings going out or gone however I noticed while driving out to the shop about 25minutes my car is idling somewhat rough not anyway near to stalling but just a sputter every twenty to thirty seconds I didn't have the gas to leave her idle before heading out so was chalking this up to not giving the computer enough time to relearn before starting to drive and planned on just resetting it when I took the sc out to have new bearing pressed in but is there anyway my previous tinkering could be the cause of this sputter ie oil on the belt or lose harnesses(checked any I thought I may have jostled) or if it was another symptom of my bearings being poor. are any funny bits needed for the sc removal? everything I read said it was depressurizing fuel line removing fuel rail and taking the bolts off(does the sc need to be drained of oil previous or can it be done after it is out and off?)

nah that was part of our troubleshooting with the stethoscope also checked all the pulleys to try to isolate the noise and its coming from the intake end of the sc.

thanx for the tip I have no need of help making messes I've nearly perfected the art . garage has the stains to prove it . Sometimes briefly and fleetingly I miss my dsm

to pull the sc you need a 10mm deep well, a 13mm deep well, and a flat blade screw driver. That is all.

Originally Posted by dsmuts

to pull the sc you need a 10mm deep well, a 13mm deep well, and a flat blade screw driver. That is all.

if only I could press the bearing with those this would be a breeze :P

any idea on the subtle developed sputter?

You could press a bearing with one of those on a press lol. The sputter maybe you need a tune up or maybe a vacuum leak. It's hard to tell without codes or looking at it.

You can get a snout from intense for like $50