Hey all, Driving around last night, I heard a very loud buzzing coming from the engine. It gets louder as the revs raise, and it gets quieter as they go down. It is not speed dependent, just engine speed. I opened the hood and it seems to be coming from the left side (facing the car), which makes me think it could be the supercharger going kaput. Please tell me it's not this! I couldn't see any belt fraying. The car has 71,000 miles, a dinan pulley and a good amount of track miles. The buzzing makes the car sound like it's one of those high-pitched dirt bikes. Any ideas? - Marc
How does the motor mount / dampener look? Can you use the good ole pipe technique to find where it is localizing from?
Motor mount looks fine. It's reinforced with TSW's damper. Not familiar with the pipe technique - do share!
I think he is talking using a pipe as an improvised "stethoscope". One end on the suspected component the other end to your ear. May help pin point the source.
Yes, by pipe I think we mean rubber tubing. I just reinstalled my SC after a rebuild - coincidentally at 71K miles. The sound it was making was more of a subtle grumbling sound, though. The shaft seal for the water pump drive failed, and the oil was leaking out. I caught it very early.
it's the chain tensioner. it keeps the slack out of the timing chain. it pumps up with oil pressure, but i have seen them go bad or get stuck closed.
Shop said it's the SC. Any info on rebuilds - I have no interest in spending the $1,650 for the new part from MINI. Edit - found "supercharger technologies" on NAM. Going to give them a call. $550 looks better than $1650! - Marc
Defiantly the route I would go. From the description over there - they go above and beyond the factory specs with the rebuild, making sure the has nice and tight clearances.
Went with Dustin at autoxcooper (well, the machine shop he uses) - just called to say that front of the charger bearings were damaged and causing the rotors to touch the case. Said I "caught it early" and didn't do much damage. He's sending a rebuilt unit tomorrow. Something tells me this market is about to flourish. - Marc
My thoughts exactly. I just had my SC reworked at Supercharger Technologies. They did a great job with a FAST turnaround.
Update - good news and bad news. Good news is that the supercharger was ready to be replaced, and Dustin at AutoXCooper.com was helpful in getting me a rebuilt unit. All is installed and working. Bad news is that it's STILL making the EXACT noise from before. I'll suggest they check the chain tensioner next. - Marc
Update: Finally picked the car up today after over a month dealing with this crap. Turns out the supercharger wasn't running properly due to a bad bearing which put undue stress on the alternator. The alt cracked and caused the noise. So I have a new charger (autoxcoopers - Dustin - excellent customer service and turnaround time) and a new alternator. I can only imagine what else was damaged (water pump?) during this time that will show up sometime soon. Car feels good. The only difference is that I can't hear my supercharger like I could before. It's weird that the whine is much more subdued. Any thoughts on this? I'll get some info from Dustin about what makes this rebuild $895 as opposed to the other option out there that's $500. - Marc
What was bad in the S/C, the bearing in the nose? Water Pump is run off the back of the S/C so in theory it is fine, the only thing would be the gears that run th pump in the S/C. What did they look like and were they rebuilt?
Yes - bearing in the nose. The unit they sent me was totally rebuilt - PTO and everything. I assume that is the "gears" you're asking about. I put specific questions in to Dustin; I'm sure he'll respond soon. mb
Spoke to Dustin - his rebuilt SC's use "better parts and racing seals." Hopefully this will help this SC last longer than the last one, especially with the car seeing more and more track work. The machine shop reported that the gears were worn on mine, although it was in suitable condition for a rebuild. This all makes me wish I had a boost gauge to check up on everything. - Marc