Super Charger locked up on me today

HwyStar

Registered User
Im not sure why it did this. But, when I got the abradive coating done, the rotor pack came back feeling as if it had interference. I sent it back to Magnum Powers and they did a balance procedure of some sort. It was quieter, but still not quiet. Im wondering if this was just a crappy rotor pack or what. Does the case and rotor pack look salvageable? I have a decent amount of money tied up in it. It feels to me that a even surface cut of about .002" would do it. That would be on the rotor and the case though. This might do it for me this summer.







 
That sucks. Thats what happened to my mp3 after a fresh rebuild, 2 1/4 mile passes later.:mad: And thats when I dumped the m90's. You should be able to save the case but them rotors are done.
 
Yeah, just got the car back from the exhaust shop. Swapped in a set of Kooks headers. Took it up and doan the highway. First couple of shift I've made holding it out to 6000 rpm. Never did that before. Can't really wind up out here without getting into trouble. Boy did it feel good though.

Went to turn back into the driveway and the car cut off. Starter wouldn't do it, I was still rolling, so I dumped the clutch restarted the car and parked it. Oh yeah it was noisy. I knew what it was. So, I just took the belt off the SC and drove it into the shop and tore it down.

That really pissed me off. Is there a alternative SC that will allow me to use what I have? Not a ton of modification? That TVS looks real attractive. I took my time with everything on this car. Torqued, checked clearances etc...
 
Tough break man.. I'm curious though when you got the coating did you get the mp bearing plate or stock?
 
The SC had the plate when I got it. It was just plain uncoated rotors. I sent them off to get coated. All the bearings are in good shape with no debris or flattened rollers. I checked to see if I used bolts that were too long on the inlet. They weren't. Even if they were I don't think it would have mattered because of where they are positioned. The gauling started in the center rear of the case.
 
Sorry to hear. It almost looks like something had got in through the throttle body or some piece of metal somewhere had got in there and had got wedged in between the ends of the rotor and the supercharger case, and then had scratched the living crap out of it.
 
Ok. I just talked to the guy that builds transmissions for me. He said he has seen damage like this before. As he explained it, both the case and the rotors are aluminum and will expand when they heat up. So, there must be end clearance to compensate for this. Then, these rotors were installed too tight? I don't see how end clearance can be adjusted on this SC unless either the rotors or the case gets machined. Anyone know how this is done? I will be calling Magnum Powers Monday when I get a chance to see what they can do for me. I'm willing to just hand the whole thing over and have them rebuild it. I would be willing to also pay full cost of repair. But, it would be nice if I got some help with it.

Tell me what you think of this idea. Big Dave looked the case and rotors over and said it would be a good idea to machine the case and put a bronze insert in the back. And, the back face of the rotors could be case hardened. He said that the two dissimilar metals would wear well together and reduce friction. Told him I would run it by who ever I talked to at Magnum Powers to see if they thought it was a good idea.
 
If the bearing were not seated to proper depth it would shift rotor forward/backward. I haven't rebuilt a blower but this would seem the most likely, as I assuming the bearings are pressed in.
 
Ok. I just talked to the guy that builds transmissions for me. He said he has seen damage like this before. As he explained it, both the case and the rotors are aluminum and will expand when they heat up. So, there must be end clearance to compensate for this. Then, these rotors were installed too tight? I don't see how end clearance can be adjusted on this SC unless either the rotors or the case gets machined. Anyone know how this is done? I will be calling Magnum Powers Monday when I get a chance to see what they can do for me. I'm willing to just hand the whole thing over and have them rebuild it. I would be willing to also pay full cost of repair. But, it would be nice if I got some help with it.

Tell me what you think of this idea. Big Dave looked the case and rotors over and said it would be a good idea to machine the case and put a bronze insert in the back. And, the back face of the rotors could be case hardened. He said that the two dissimilar metals would wear well together and reduce friction. Told him I would run it by who ever I talked to at Magnum Powers to see if they thought it was a good idea.

I think that what you're suggesting is fair. These blowers are meant to hold up under these circumstances, because it is why we pay the professionals to do this, rather than ourselves. That being said, with high performance applications where things are under a lot of stress, any weaknesses in things (tolerances, materials, etc) reveal themselves.

The rotors being drilled--as far as I know, from information on this site--is meant to lighten the rotors, correct? I believe that I've read that people have wondered whether there wouldn't be some balance/ vibration problems as a result.
 
Those holes r 4 balancing I believe. The Stieg modified holes 4 lightening are much larger, more in the center of the lobe mass, and go all the way thru front to rear, then I believe r capped on the ends.

Did U assemble the blower after receiving the coated rotors, or did MP assemble it? If u did the work, sadly u will probably b on ur own for repair. If they did it they SHOULD stand behind their work. That will likely depend on how long u had the blower in ur possession, IE if it sat on the shelf 4 a year, they may not believe the low mileage b4 failure, if they shipped it back last week....

Sorry, just reread the OP, I would contact MP, it sounds like it was never quit right, and if u can document the return/rework, they may well warrenty the whole rotor pack. I would try to push 4 that a little. "May not get the whole chocolate bar, but get a Hershies (SP?) kiss"

Pretty much sux no matter, it's time to play with toys, not ship parts out 4 mods/repair.

Good Luck

Adam
 
Last edited:
So, I called Magnum Powers this morning. I explained what had happened and they had done the work with the rotors. It was clear that this wasn't the first call that they wanted to hear in the morning. But, they were nice about it and said to just send it in and they would see what they could do. I think I will leave a letter attached to my receipt explaining what Big Dave had suggested. Maybe it's a idea that hadn't been tried yet.

I know shipping will be expensive. UPS the best bet? If I was shipping a transmission I would use R&L Shipping. But it's not that big.
 
Last edited:
I just shipped a rotor pack to magnum powers and usps let me jam it in their 12-13 dollar medium flat rate box, it bent the box out a little at one end and I just threw some tape on the end for backup
 
So, Magnum Powers got my SC a couple of days ago. Told me that the case was wasted. Problem being that the spot at the rear of the case where the bearings stay were distorted. They did say that the rotors were salvagable. What had happened was that the rotors were .086" deep, so when the rotors grew from heat, they drove into the case. I told them to go ahead and mill the high spots off the rotors and press them in properly ditch the case.

I was pissed, but the guy was really cool. Turns out he was on the Enterprise from 65 to 69. I was on there 2003 to 2010. My wife 2004 to 2012 with a recruiter tour in the middle of that. We talked for probly an hour about that ship and everything else under the sun. Cool guys. They know what they are doing. Stuff happens. I would still recommend them. I just want to change to a different SC. Dalke is right,"its amazing how well things work when they are operated with in their normal design limits." Im going to try again with a MPx, mostly because I have no choice and I REALLY want to head out to the track. Its my luck that the guy that I want to beat has been out to sea a lot. So, I still have time to get my stuff together and my car tuned. I also need to move on to my Lincoln and get the turbo stuff figured out....
 
So, I ended up reusing the case. I filed down the high spots on the case where the rotor gauled it. It moves freely and doesn't make any noise. At its tightest point the tolerance between the back of the case and the rotor is .008". Is that too tight? The other rotor is about .012".

 
Back
Top