My mechanic has identified the supercharger needing an oil top up.
Does anyone know how to top up the oil reservoirs without taking the whole supercharger off? Looks like you can get to the filler plug next to the dipstick easy enough and also the filler plug in the water pump. Anyone done this?
There are good YouTube videos on on this done by Mini Mod (I think - the mechanic with a head mounted go pro)...
I believe you can get to the front fill point without removing the SC ( annoying to do though) however to refil the rear oil reservoir you need to take the SC off as the full point is behind the water pump.
If it is left it will strip the PTO gears in the SC for the water pump.
If its already rattling the gears in the back which drive the waterpump will most likely be shot. If so it will either have to be a supercharger rebuild or replacement, either way the supercharger will need to be removed & checked
I've topped up my front reservoir because it's easily accessible and almost a whole bottle went in. The sound is the same so I'll have to top up the rear one to get a better idea if it's shot or not. That plug is much harder to get to. My gut tells me the water pump is shot or the bearings are shot.
Does anyone know a good Mini Wrecker? In Western Australia or Australia?
This weekend I started taking apart the front end to get to the rear filler hole. As soon as got down to the water pump, it was obvious that the supercharger bearings are gone. Here's my video of what I found:
Latest update! I've managed to find a low km supercharger from ASV Euro Parts so I'll be installing that soon. While I have the front end off the car, does anyone have any recommendations of typical items to replace before I put everything back? I'm going to do a range of seals and pipes because they are obvious however I was thinking of putting on a 15% pulley. I'm hesitating because but every 3 months or so, I do a long 300km drive so I'm thinking the adding the 15% might cause problems with the Supercharger.
Before you fit the new charger it would be a good idea to renew the oil, dont fill it up though as they only have small amounts in each end, do a search & find out the exact amount needed as overfilling it could blow the seals. A 15% pulley will be fine & shouldn't cause any problems with the supercharger, i have a 17% on mine & regularly do 200 to 300 mile trips
They are all pretty much the same, the easiest to fit are the tapered collar type. You slide the collar on put your pulley over the top insert the bolts & as you tighten the bolts it tightens the collar onto the shaft. The other type is interference fit where you heat the pulley up so it expands then slide it onto the shaft then as it cools it shrinks back down to a tight fit, i have never tried this type as i would think you would have to be quick to get it on right, i would be worried about it cooling before its on properly
thanks for the feedback. fingers crossed I can borrow a pulley puller rather than buy one for a single pull.
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