Well, SEMA may have made a decision for me.
11-09-2008, 10:03 PM
#1
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Well, SEMA may have made a decision for me.
On my way out of the convention center I heard KHUUUUUUUKHKHKHKHHHHHHHCRASHBANGBOOMGRINDGRINDGRIND. At first I thought my front bumper came loose and was dragging but I pulled over & it was still in tact so I but I popped my hood & my bearing blew AGAIN & shot the shaft out of the housing.
Luckily, I have a friend at Vortech & he was driving in my xB about 3 minutes behind me after it happened & he said he'll see what he can do. But dammit, the supercharger barely has 4k miles on it & its already gone through 2 bearings (first time it was Toyotas fault & it was replaced literally 2 weeks after the install).
Now I don't know wtf to do, say bye bye to boost all together, get the supercharger fixed (hopefully my friend can get it fixed for cheap), or just go turbo which I'm sure most of you will say. I swear something has to go wrong at EVERY show, dammit!
Luckily, I have a friend at Vortech & he was driving in my xB about 3 minutes behind me after it happened & he said he'll see what he can do. But dammit, the supercharger barely has 4k miles on it & its already gone through 2 bearings (first time it was Toyotas fault & it was replaced literally 2 weeks after the install).
Now I don't know wtf to do, say bye bye to boost all together, get the supercharger fixed (hopefully my friend can get it fixed for cheap), or just go turbo which I'm sure most of you will say. I swear something has to go wrong at EVERY show, dammit!
)
11-09-2008, 10:20 PM
#3
you have a lot of custom work done. it's hard to say... but basically you play...you pay. nothing is bulletproof. its the risk we take. no guarantee with turbo either. turbo guys/gals have bad luck too.
pics of the blown shaft?
pics of the blown shaft?
11-09-2008, 11:11 PM
#4
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Custom work done yes, but not much under the hood, the supercharger which was dealer installed, headers which were installed before the supercharger was even installed, killerglass radiator hose that has nothing to do with with the supercharger & CAI. The supercharger was hand polished by me & was never taken off the car. No reason for the bearing to blow.
11-09-2008, 11:26 PM
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they may foolishly argue that the heat from the header may have heated it up causing the shaft to get hard.....hot......i mean hot....and blow....out......blow out......yeah.....wow....awkward....
11-09-2008, 11:29 PM
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Funny thing is, it's heat wrapped. 
They tried to pull that excuse with me the first time. I'm like, uh, yeah, the cars been driven like 300 miles, highly doubt it'd kill it that quick.
They tried to pull that excuse with me the first time. I'm like, uh, yeah, the cars been driven like 300 miles, highly doubt it'd kill it that quick.
11-10-2008, 12:12 AM
#8
Originally Posted by jetlounge
you have a lot of custom work done. it's hard to say... but basically you play...you pay. nothing is bulletproof. its the risk we take. no guarantee with turbo either. turbo guys/gals have bad luck too.
pics of the blown shaft?
pics of the blown shaft?
Tina I have had the same problem, i'm waiting on a new supercharger from toyota, i will be replacing the stock crappy rubber sealed bearings with teflon sealed bearings. They will be open on the insides and the whole pulley side will be filled with grease, hopefully this is a fix that will make my supercharger last, mine made it 10k before it blew up.
PS when your bearings go there is a very good chance that your shaft is damaged, if it gets scraped up too bad it will spin inside the new bearings and the same thing will happen all over again.
11-10-2008, 12:27 AM
#9
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Originally Posted by kiss_kiss_kill
Funny thing is, it's heat wrapped.
Just because it's heat wrapped doesn't mean that it still doesn't get hot. You can heat wrap it, jet-hot it, and do anything else, but it's still gonna get hot. And you never know, the heat may from the header may have affected it.
11-10-2008, 12:31 AM
#11
lol yea but im sure the stock header with the "heat shield" gets just as hot if not hotter then an aftermarket header with heat wrap.... have you ever touched the heat shield after a long drive?
yea its hot
yea its hot
11-10-2008, 12:33 AM
#12
Originally Posted by 06SCtC
Originally Posted by kiss_kiss_kill
Funny thing is, it's heat wrapped.
Just because it's heat wrapped doesn't mean that it still doesn't get hot. You can heat wrap it, jet-hot it, and do anything else, but it's still gonna get hot. And you never know, the heat may from the header may have affected it.
The reason the s/c bearings blow is because they are a crappy design, the rubber seal heats up too much and the small amount of lubrication leaks out of the bearings. No lubrication=blow up very soon. There are plenty of other superchargers that are similarly designed that last. No reason why ours shouldn't also. I have taken the whole s/c apart and from what I can tell, its just the bearings that are a problem. I will be modifying the new s/c when i get it and posting results, like I said hopefully it will be a fix everyone can benefit from.
11-10-2008, 12:40 AM
#16
Originally Posted by 06SCtC
^ trust me i know... i have the S/C. But I was just saying that she shouldn't think that just cause it has the heat wrap, doesn't automatically protect it.
11-10-2008, 01:58 AM
#20
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Originally Posted by 06SCtC
Originally Posted by kiss_kiss_kill
Funny thing is, it's heat wrapped.
Just because it's heat wrapped doesn't mean that it still doesn't get hot. You can heat wrap it, jet-hot it, and do anything else, but it's still gonna get hot. And you never know, the heat may from the header may have affected it.