1st Gen R53 Cooper S Supercharger oil change R52, R53

Are they going to post their kit for everyone to see or become a vendor

Also you have a PM on NAM about a used supercharger

 

Please share a photo of access tubes installed.

Clear supercharger lube from GM has an odor to begin with, as does the factory fill. Because there is no exposure to combustion by-products there will be no odor or color imparted from normal operation as in an engine. Oil extracted from the supercharger gear lube reservoirs regardless of mileage will have a translucent amber character if the gears and seals are healthy. Darkening beyond amber indicates damage.

 

Well, I'm of the opinion that it can't hurt, but I am curious about the comment about other companys requiring changes at 25K intervals - I've never heard that before - but it could explain why Chevy dealers carry the oil and MINI dealers don't. (generally)

I changed the oil on a 175K supercharger and it was black as night, but the bearings were still smooth, there was no indication of play or wear on anything - so I simply poured in the new oil and reinstalled it - it's still going strong today.

 

From Eaton:
Q: How often do I need to change the oil in my supercharger?
A: The sealed oil reservoir in a supercharger is designed to last the life of the vehicle. Changing the oil is not recommended unless you suspect contamination, leakage, or other issues like bearing failure. Also, if your vehicle has an abnormally heavy duty cycle, such as racing or towing, you could consider changing the oil at regular intervals such as 20k, 30k, 50k, or 100k miles depending on usage.

The common problem with our OEM M45 is loss of lube, and the only way to know the level is by replacing the fluid, or failure if too late. There are other wear related issues of course.

 

Someone simply needs to come up with a way to check, remove and fill the oil w/o tearing the front of the car apart.....

 

I did ours when we changed the water pump just for security. I know that I'll have to do it again sometime since the rear gears didn't have that much and the rotors had some residue. Think I'll send it to Steggy for a port and rebuild when the head and cam happens.

Shawn

 

I talked with Shaun (Imperial MINI) at MOTD also, got the demo, asked some questions, looked at the install on the car. Very clever what he worked out IMHO. The access tube comes up between the valve cover and the air intake hose. It wouldn't look out of place to someone not intimately familiar with 1st gen MINI engine.

I have a spare SC on a shelf and plan to install it this summer around 125k. I think I'll install one of Shaun's systems at the same time. The setup is very repeatable in terms of being able to measure the quantity of oil extracted and replaced. It doesn't extract 100% of the oil, but gets close enough that you can evaluate whether you're "losing" oil to seal leakage.

Shaun's system is one of those things that perhaps looks like it should be less expensive, but I think it's probably a pretty good value given the R&D effort he has put into it and the lack of viable alternatives. Seems to be a simple and effective solution.

 

I can't see any way to install the kit without removing the supercharger, and if it's not leaking, changing the oil once should carry you for a very long time, shouldn't it?

IOW, I never thought of this as a routine maint. item unless you're putting on 100K miles a year.

Again, I pulled a 175K super, changed the oil and it's still going strong and from what I can tell it will go another 170K with clean oil.

Nasty smelling stuff that oil is!

 

IMHO, the problem is less freshness / longevity of the oil, versus failure of the seals. It appears that the vast majority of failed SC's are due to oil depletion due to seal failure. And most of the ones I'm aware of died well before 100k miles.

While you MIGHT get lucky and have one of the SC's that never fails... you might also not get so lucky. For me, the device would provide the peace of mind to periodically check the oil fill level without removing the SC every time. If you're a paranoid preventative maintainer like me, that's a good thing. If you're more of a "I hope mine is a good one" types, then it's probably not for you (not that there's anything wrong with that). :wink:

 

What is the cost of this system and any pics?

 

Pic's are too small to see much, at least for these old bi-focal eyes.......lol

I assume this req's the car to be put into service mode to install?

 

^^^ Did you go to their web site? Click media.....
Imperial MINI

Even my tired old eyes can see it without my glasses on.....

 

The ones on the site are almost as small and I didn't see the first one at all.......lol

Was hoping to see one w/o the IC in place.

Oh and......rrr:

 

Did you click on the small picture? When I did that it brought me to full size picture.

 

Man.... Some people.... You just gotta hold their hands.....

Oh Crikey.... Sorry Scott, I forgot you can't click to enlarge.....

 

I did.....! and it didn't.....! (at least not very much........:biggrin5

 

My 2 cents...

Since you pretty much need to tear down the car to get to the S/C to add this bit and for the most part an R52/53 is going to have higher miles, then since you are in there why just add this item. Change the seals too. If you have a seal going bad and leaking the S/C oil won't putting a vacuum on the seal to remove and add oil with this tool just potentially make things work. Since this is something you would only do 80K+ miles anyway and you would not need to get in there again till say 160K+ miles why spend the money on this item. That is my thought.