Super Charger questions

Yenko

Registered User
Im a new SC owner but been a member here for about 2 years.Anyway,i bought a 90 35th 5 speed that just turned 100,000 miles.Hasnt ran for atleast 2 years ,anyways got it running today and the super charger doent sound quite right.So my questios are as follows.

1. Can you actually change the oil in the Supercharger or can you only just top it off?
2. Is see 2 plugs in the front of the Supercharger,i unscrewed the lower one "allen wrench type" and the oil is nowhere near the bottom of the plug,is that how you check it and how full is it supposed to be?
3.when i change or add can i just use the G.M. oil, if so will it mix ok or do i completey drain it and if so how.

The super charger doesnt sound terrible, but just bad enough im pretty sure that something isnt quite right and maybe it is because it's just low.

Thanks in advance.
 
Alot of times people use a turkey baster to suck up the old fluid.

It won't get all of it, but most of it. I used the GM oil to change mine and didn't have any problems with it.....

Other than the smell of course...
 
my supercharge rattles like crap but its still pushes 16psi so just make sure your oil supply is full and only check it when the car is stone cold. also make sure your snout seal isnt leaking...feel right underneat the snout right behind the pulley to see if there is any residue...
 
i cant even get mine out to change the fluid :( Opening for the allen is stripped so i gotta figure a way to get it out. Where can you get a replacement plug???
 
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN IT'S FULL ? That was one of my questions!! Once i owned a XR7 for a veryshort time but it was a low mile car that needed nothing.I need some advice here for you guys that know.I know i sound like a female "no offence" wondering how to check oil but there is nothing about the supercharger maintainace in the owners manuall!!Im assuming it's the allen wrence plug but once i get that out how full is the oil supposed to be?
 
Yenko said:
HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN IT'S FULL ? That was one of my questions!! Once i owned a XR7 for a veryshort time but it was a low mile car that needed nothing.I need some advice here for you guys that know.I know i sound like a female "no offence" wondering how to check oil but there is nothing about the supercharger maintainace in the owners manuall!!Im assuming it's the allen wrence plug but once i get that out how full is the oil supposed to be?

It needs to be up to the bottom of the threads when cold.

JD
 
Yenko said:
Im a new SC owner but been a member here for about 2 years.Anyway,i bought a 90 35th 5 speed that just turned 100,000 miles.Hasnt ran for atleast 2 years ,anyways got it running today and the super charger doent sound quite right.So my questios are as follows.

1. Can you actually change the oil in the Supercharger or can you only just top it off?
2. Is see 2 plugs in the front of the Supercharger,i unscrewed the lower one "allen wrench type" and the oil is nowhere near the bottom of the plug,is that how you check it and how full is it supposed to be?
3.when i change or add can i just use the G.M. oil, if so will it mix ok or do i completey drain it and if so how.

The super charger doesnt sound terrible, but just bad enough im pretty sure that something isnt quite right and maybe it is because it's just low.

Thanks in advance.

Blown 91 Bird,

Just use an Easy Out to remove the plug and either get a new plug from someone on hear or the dealership.

Yenko,

You can get the oil out by taking the blower off and apart or simply get a little hand pump and pump the fluid out.

There is one plug and it is on the right side of the blower in the middle on the front (allen head). Take that out and add fluid up to the plug.

Some use the GM supercharger oil from the dealerships, I use jet engine oil, and some even use Mobil 1 0W-20/0W-30 motor oil.
 
Yenko said:
Now we are getting somewhere! Thank You


Are you sure you have an owner's manual for an SC? Because mine did cover this..... anyway yes the oil when checked cold should be to the bottom of the threads.

Also I've heard many times you can use the GM fluid and that makes sense because they are both Eaton Superchargers, However if you want to be absolutely sure, you can get the Ford Fluid still.... Don't have the part number anymore but it's simply called "Synthetic Supercharger Fluid" and the dealer can still get it. I have been told the GM stuff is not synthetic but I don't know if that is true.
 
squirt bottle

I used an old squirt bottle on my 93 to drain it. I just took the end filter off of the squirt handle, if equipped, and put the tube down in the SC as far as I could, and squirted the fluid into a bottle. This also works good for brakes and power steering. I remember reading that GM and Ford SC fluid were the exact same thing in different bottles, and with way different prices.
 
How can you tell when the Supercharger is bad?

Hi, guys;
I was just changing my water pump last night, and there's some oil in my S/C tubes to/from the Intercooler. Does the Supercharger have rubber seals that go bad, or is some oil leakage normal? (It's spinning freely, and runs fine.)

Do I just need a top-off, or do I need to go buy a new Supercharger?
Does anyone legit rebuild them?

Something is clattering, which surprised me because I just fixed a leaking water pump that I thought was making the noise. Any observations or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Also, I tried to remove the oil filler plug...seems to be an odd size, because I have a metric/english allen wrench set...it's bigger than 4 mm, but larger than the english ones. Anyone know what size allen wrench it takes?

Thanks,
Fred in San Jose
 
peacefulruler said:
Hi, guys;
I was just changing my water pump last night, and there's some oil in my S/C tubes to/from the Intercooler. Does the Supercharger have rubber seals that go bad, or is some oil leakage normal? (It's spinning freely, and runs fine.)

Do I just need a top-off, or do I need to go buy a new Supercharger?
Does anyone legit rebuild them?

Something is clattering, which surprised me because I just fixed a leaking water pump that I thought was making the noise. Any observations or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Also, I tried to remove the oil filler plug...seems to be an odd size, because I have a metric/english allen wrench set...it's bigger than 4 mm, but larger than the english ones. Anyone know what size allen wrench it takes?

Thanks,
Fred in San Jose

The plug takes a 3/16 allen wrench. easiest if you get the socket type so you can use an extension and a ratchet on it.

It is normal to have some oil in the I/C tubes. In fact there used to be a thread on this in the FAQ section of this site. I don't know if it's still there but I read all that way back in 2000 when I bought my SC. Some oil will escape past the seals under boost, I used to just check my S/C fluid at every engine oil change and top off as necessary.

As for your 'clattering' you can remove al the belts and spin everything but the 2 most likely culprits are the power steering pump ( they all have some back and forth movement on the pulley and will make a clatter sometimes) and the tensioner pulleys. But if the clatter is still there when you start the engine with no belts on it, then you know it's internal rather than external.
 
The clatter he is hearing is more that likely the coupler inside the SC. Over time it gets worn out and needs to be replaced, there are a few of the Vendors here that sells them

Derek
 
Last edited:
Thanks...

Thanks, guys; I do appreciate all the help and advice I can get.
I just put in a new Water Pump, Power Steering pump, all hoses and belts, so I can rule those out. I'd better check the engine and S/C oil levels.

Thanks,
Fred
 
The oil found inside your IC tubes is usually from the PCV valve. The connection of the lower IC tube at the IC is where most of the oil will collect, and it's not uncommon for what seems like a large amount of oil to drain out when the tube is removed. It's usually less than an ounce, but it looks like more.

Noise from the supercharger is usually from a worn or broken coupler. Not really anything to be worried about and you can get replacement couplers from several vendors.

David
 
David Neibert said:
Noise from the supercharger is usually from a worn or broken coupler. Not really anything to be worried about and you can get replacement couplers from several vendors.

David

What all is involved in replacing the coupler? Is it a difficult task? Does it require a press for anything? And last but not least... is there anywhere one can get ahold of an exploded view of the supercharger or a how-to on rebuilding one?


Tracy
 
XR7inWI said:
What all is involved in replacing the coupler? Is it a difficult task? Does it require a press for anything? And last but not least... is there anywhere one can get ahold of an exploded view of the supercharger or a how-to on rebuilding one?


Tracy
You have to take the blower apart to get to it. It's not very difficult at all. All you do is take the snout out and then swap out the couplers. It's easy.

Wynn at Texas Thunderbirds does a snout rebuild for $75 including parts and labor.

Here's some rebuild instructions from Wynn (Tbird88) himself...

http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52563&highlight=supercharger+rebuild+instructions
 
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