Engine Drivetrain 1st Gen Cooper S Machined a low cost bolt on kit to refill the supercharger oil w/o removal or mods

Discussion in 'Tuning and Performance' started by The_R1_Kid, Mar 5, 2017.

  1. The_R1_Kid

    The_R1_Kid New Member
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    #1 The_R1_Kid, Mar 5, 2017
    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 26, 2018
    Hi all,
    About 3 years ago I was installing a new clutch and replacing all the typical wear items on my R53. While waiting on parts that I forgot to order, I designed and made a bolt on kit, so I could refill the supercharger with oil without removing it from the car.

    supercharger plugs 3 small_zps99seejir.jpg

    The center of the kit is a machined billet aluminum plug that replaces the PTO and nose OEM Drain/fill plug on the supercharger.



    8 oem plug in pto_zpsfvyqplyd.jpg

    There are drain and fill tubes that run from the nipples to the bottom of the car. One to drain off excess oil and a second tube that runs up to the radiator cowl area to fill.

    9 hose routeing_zpsrw5jqwpe.jpg

    All you have to do is fill a syringe with the correct amount of GM Eaton supercharger oil and inject it into the fill tube with the drain tube capped. Once filled you take the cap off the drain tube allowing excess oil to drain off. Then you are done and the supercharger has a safe level of oil again.

    15 sc fill_zpsychoquyp.jpg

    Simple, and with no tools, I top it off every 3rd oil change. My mini has 178k miles on it, 150k miles with an M7 overdriven pulley and its running great quiet and no issues.

    In an effort to earn some side money to help pay for the restoration of my 1976 Mini, I made a little square space site and put this together into a kit.

    If your interested in trying out the kit its for sale at

    www.MBKperformance.com

    I would love to answer any questions or hear any feedback. It's been working great on my mini for the last 3 years.

    supercharger kit small_zpse3ybso2i.jpg

    I've received some good questions, and thought it would be good to share to better explain the kit:

    1) How do I remove the old oil? How is the correct oil level attained and not over filled?

    A) The old oil doesn't need to be removed. It is supposed to be a sealed lifetime oil, thus no reason to remove any of the old oil remaining in the sump. The supercharger PTO is only two gears splashing around in a 1 inch deep pool of oil. The only thing that matters is that there is oil PRESENT. The oil level is self regulating when you fill it.

    B) With the kit you inject the appropriate amount (or more if you want, it's doesn't really matter) of oil into the upper fill line with the drain line capped. Once injected you remove the drain cap and let the excess drain away. The gear box now has the correct amount of oil in it. There is no possible way to over fill, as long as the drain line cap is removed and the line is drained.


    2) What about the tubing, do I need to remove them each time refill?

    A) The tubing is very robust it's temperature range is -100° - +500° F. The same tubing has been installed on my R53 MINI S for 3 years with no issues. It's just as pliable and soft as new.

    B) The tubing stays in place to allow you to top off the supercharger whenever you would like. The fluid in the supercharger cant physically drain below the fill plug, so there will never be a fluid loss below the appropriate full point.


    3) Is there a video of the process?

    A) A video could be done, but it's simply injecting the oil into the supercharger, essentially over filling it (very boring to watch!). Then removing the cap on the drain tube. The oil drains to the correct max fill point with no fuss. Fin

    4) How did the original oil disappear or the oil level go down?

    A) The shaft of the input gear that turns the PTO gear box is part of the lobes of the supercharger. On the shaft is a seal to seal the High vacuum environment of the supercharger compressor from the PTO gear box. As that seal wears the vacuum is able to slowly over time draw oil past that seal, and it's burned in the engine. Eventually resulting in an empty or low oil level in the PTO gear box or nose of the super charger. This results in excess wear on the gears and bearings of the supercharger, eventually leading to a failure and stoppage of the water pump which is driven by the PTO gear box.
     
  2. wmwny

    wmwny Well-Known Member

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    Welcome to M/A! :Thumbsup:

    Nice, informative post! :cornut: We Gen 1 MCS owners appreciate these things!
     
  3. drabdub

    drabdub Well-Known Member

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    interesting. do you have the link to get one?
     
  4. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    I don't have a R53, but I stayed at a Holiday Inn once....:beer


    "If your interested in trying out the kit its for sale at
    MBKperformance.com"
     
  5. Gil-galad

    Gil-galad Club Coordinator

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    Seems like something that should have been thought of long ago...
     
  6. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    Welcome to a new forum sponsor. :)
     
  7. drabdub

    drabdub Well-Known Member

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    i know it was a hard day at work yesterday but i cant believe i missed that :mad2:
     
  8. Metalman

    Metalman Well-Known Member
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    No problem.... We're here for you....:Thumbsup:
     
  9. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    This is not needed just like a belt tensioner stop.

    The bearings and gears either fail or they don't. No amount of changing the oil in the SC will help if they are set incorrectly which is what causes them to fail in the end.

    I am still on the same 12 year old SC and Oil for 100K now with no issues with a 15% pulley. Also have a new SC on the shelf for when the Original fails.
     
  10. Crashton

    Crashton Club Coordinator

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    Oh no Dave, you have jinxed yourself.
     
  11. The_R1_Kid

    The_R1_Kid New Member
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    I wont argue but this is what happens when the PTO goes dry. with that kit you can keep the supercharger oil at the correct level and prevent the PTO and nose from going dry. Negating the need for an extra supercharger or a rebuild.. or a breakdown in the first place. I'd say the kit is a lot cheaper than all of those scenarios
    broken small_zpsa1zplshk.jpg
     
  12. Canusrufis

    Canusrufis RMW Powered R53
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    NICE! And encouraging given the HP you have on the mistress Dave. I'm hoping to keep mine going, saving $$$ for RMW kit w/ TVS.
     
  13. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Yeah the gear and bearings failed and lost all the fluid. So adding or changing the oil would have done no good at all. It would be like putting oil is a car without putting the drain plug back in the pan. Your kit does nothing to prevent the leak from happening which is how you get the above picture.

    Like I said, this product is worthless just like a belt tensioner stop.
     
  14. The_R1_Kid

    The_R1_Kid New Member
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    What caused the gear and or bearing to fail?
    Where does the fluid go?
    Does the fluid the fluid drain out quickly, or is it a slow loss?
     
  15. BlwnAway

    BlwnAway Well-Known Member

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    Sorry Dave but this is backwards, the gears and bearings fail because of loss of oil, the oil seeps through rotor shaft seals of the S/C, as they wear with millage, into the rotor pack itself and is simply burned off through the intake system.
    So keeping the W/P gear housing level full, will prolong the life of those gears and bearings. But only until the seals are so bad that they aren't working at all, so us, this is a life extender not a fix, but the extension should be comfortable enough to warrant the cost of the kit.
    Honestly my only concern would be the hoses coming off.
     
  16. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    Look either way you say it the bearings and seals are not life time parts. They all fail in time. This is a mod for a 13 year old supercharger at best and is a waste of money. If this was out when the car came out it would be a great idea but now, not so much.

    Almost all of us have a pulley on our SC's which causes the heat in the Eaton to degrade everything faster even with a 15% pulley. Not to mention a 17% or silly 19% pulley. Things fail on a 13 year old SC it just part of owning a modified car.
     
  17. jeffster06

    jeffster06 Active Member

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    I'll one up you mine is 11 years old almost 170k and have had a 15% pulley on it since 65k. I checked the fluid while doing my water pump around 90k and it was still full on the PTO side. added a splash of oil for what dribbled out.

    I'm with you Dave if its gonna fail it will fail and no amount of changing the oil will stop it.
     
  18. clifforddward

    clifforddward Active Member

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    I'm with Dave.O on this one.

    I recently swapped out the S/C on my 120k mile R53....the seals were still good with plenty of oil at both ends but the nose bearing was shot. Factory installed bearings...they had simply worn out. I had installed a "Recharger" adapter on my S/C which allows for drain and refill of S/C oil but my failure mode had nothing to do with oil so that device proved a non-starter for me. I did not re-install it when I swapped out my SuperCharger.

    Mine is a street driven car so I'm not at high RPM for extended periods....therefore I run a 17% pulley. I am not trying to kid myself, however, I'm constantly running the S/C at higher RPM than designed for...therefore I anticipate less S/C life than a factory built car. But swapping out the unit is not that difficult, and is easily accomplished during a weekend for anyone who works on their Mini.

    I won't fault anyone who decides to use this mod, its just not for me...I worry a bit about those soft filler and drain lines in the engine compartment (The "Recharger" was a hard line device), and how to keep them from being damaged and sealed....Hopefully the creator has addressed that and provides good instructions for routing of lines and sealing off of the tubing ends.
     
  19. BlwnAway

    BlwnAway Well-Known Member

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    I'm actually in partial agreement, if the seal failure was quick or immediate, then yes it really wouldn't be worth having, but since it takes time for the oil to seep out (I think I got 30k from the time mine started making noise until I was worried about driving it) this just may help extend the life of some gear sets, or at least give someone extra time to determine if they should fix or sell the car.
    Honestly, if the kit is inexpensive enough and/or you're going to have the car apart to that extent, it really wouldn't be that bad of an idea.
    Hell once you install it, the actual maintenance part would only take a few min and not really cost much considering how little oil is actually used.
    At least this is something that is available for people who may want it, and yes it would have been nice if someone would have done this 5 or 6 years ago, it would have been much more viable then.
     
  20. Crashton

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    #20 Crashton, Mar 7, 2017
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2017
    Duplicate post. Doh!
     

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