super charger noise

Ty Whutaker

Registered User
i am new to the super charger, so i need to know how much noise it makes. i can hear it chatter when i am in the car. am i ready for new bearings? [120k miles]
ty
 
all the experts will show up with the best answers but I'd say time for a rebuild, mine chatters a bit too and I'm gonna rebuild
 
Typically no you should not hear "chatter" inside the car.

Before you start ordering bearings though, you might want to check the fluid level in the SC. There's a filler plug in the front of the SC body that takes an allen wrench. The fluid should be just up to the bottom of the opening.

Lee
 
The chattering is caused by either bad bearings in the snout or a bad coupler, specifically if it is an early supercharger with the spring loaded coupler. Either way, if its making noise, it will need to be rebuilt eventually. Many will argue that adding fluid if its low is all you need to do, however, if it is low on fluid, it had to leak out somewhere and the damage is already done. You may get another 15,000 miles out of it or you may get 15, but rest assured, if you keep driving it without fixing it, when the time comes to have it repaired, it will be more expensive to fix than if you fix it now.

Paul
 
I'm with Paul on this one. However, the older style solid couplers are prone to wear also, and can cause blower chatter too.

The likelihood is that your snout seal failed, resulting in a loss of lube in the blower. You should be able to tell if that is the case by grimy black deposits under the snout near the pulley, or a wet mark on the hood blanket (if your car still has one installed) right inline with the pulley and belt. Depending on how long the car has been run with low fluid in the snout, you're best to have the snout rebuilt at least, including a new snout seal, a new coupler, and some fresh blower fluid.

The solid couplers can be obtained from ebay. Just do a search for 'M90' or 'Eaton M90'. I believe the couplers are the same for our blowers as they are for the GM Eaton blowers (M90, M62), so you may find some GTP guys selling them. If you do a search here in these forums, you should be able to find listings of part numbers for the seal and the bearings in the snout. A little more digging, and you may find Dr. Fred's instructions on how to rebuild the snout of your blower.

In the event you're not comfortable rebuilding the snout yourself, you can always send it off to ESM or Magnum Power for a rebuild and/or porting. I believe that both of these companies offer a one year warranty on their blower rebuilds.

Best regards,

Sean
 
Not to get off track, but why is ESM no longer affiliated with SCP? Thought I read a post in members section saying ESM was no longer going to either be affiliated with SCCOA or SCP, not exactly sure which. Anything on this?

Ty, I'd use Magnum Powers anyway. They have some other goodies for your car.
 
what kind of noise is it?
make sure its needs rebuild b4 u tear it all apart
my stock blower with 100k mi and my new mp2 blower both make the exact same growling sound at idle
so I assume that noise is normal
g/l
Josh
 
A small amount of clatter is pretty normal at idle. But if you can hear it clattering from in the car, it's probably do for bearings and possibly a new snout.

I don't think either type coupler is 'better' or 'quieter' than the other. My stock '91 blower was quiet as good be after 120k miles with a spring coupler. I have a '94 unit that has about 80k miles and has had new bearing put in it but is still spring loaded and quiet as can be. I had a '90 parts car that had the solid coupler replaced at 120k miles but sounded like a bad rod bearing by 175K when I got the car. And my ESM Dominion III with a solid coupler has always had a little clatter at idle that has gotten a tiny bit louder over the last 15k miles. However, the D3 is running a 23% OD so it'll wear a little quicker. But, I hardly ever go over 4500 rpm and have only been over 5500 like 3 times since the new motor went in 25k miles ago.

Sooooo.. ya kinda need to decide if it's too loud for your comfort level. If you have a 89-93 model, it might be the perfect time to do a MagnaPort II exchange program.

Steve
 
I agree with everyone about the Supercharger snout, but have you replaced the plastic belt tensioners with steel ones? Those will quiet it down alot.

Calvin
 
I wouldn't get too worried...mine sounds like a coffee grinder at idle. Most of the noise is from the coupling. I used to have an early style spring loaded coupler and the blower was nice and quiet. Now it's got an ESM solid nylon coupler that was quiet when new but has gotten progressivly louder with age.

I'm sure it doesn't help that I'm overdriving it 23% and that the blower ate a couple throttle plate screws last winter. I found one a month later in the bottom of the intercooler tank and don't really want to think about where the other one went.

It's probably about time for a rebuild on yours, which is a good time to upgrade to a ported blower or better yet an MP II...I'm planning to ship mine off to MP over the winter for a rebuild and polish.

David

PS: To test if the noise is coming from the coupler, push the bypass valve shut with engine idling. If the coupler is making noise, it should get quieter when you put it under a light load by closing the bypass.
 
David, if it is his bearings making the noise, wont that too get quieter if he pushes in the bypass valve shut?
or are you saying that this will diagnose whether its the bearings or coupler?
 
David, if it is his bearings making the noise, wont that too get quieter if he pushes in the bypass valve shut?

I don't think the bearing noise would get any quieter under a load, it might even get louder. The coupler will get quieter under a load, so yes that would be a good way to determine where most of the noise is coming from.

I would also suggest removing the belt and turning the pulley by hand to make sure it's rotating smoothly. You should be able to feel a bearing that is going bad because it will generally feel a little grainy or stick slightly instead of smooth when you turn it.

David
 
david,
ive been having problems with sc bearings, and when i close the air bypass vavle my chatter get WAY louder, so you think that this means the bearings, not the coupler, are screwed?
ive beem pretty sure that thats what it was (bad bearings) but then some suggested that i may have a bad coupler, which i want to rule out as not being the problem before i order new bearings again.
 
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