Hello. I need the smart people here to answer my stupid question.

I just successfully replaced my dead alternator, as well as the crank position sensor o-ring, on my 2006 R53. The car is still in front end service mode with the bumper and bumper cover removed. The radiator is still connected but moved forward on some longer bolts, like many do.

Now is obviously the best time to remove the supercharger to service the fluid and easily install my new WMW 15% pulley. So, I don't want to drain and remove the radiator if I don't have to. If I unbolt the water pump from the SC will coolant pour out of the supercharger side of the pump? I'm hoping the water pump drive area is a sealed unit that's just spun by the butt of my SC.

Please assist and thank you

 

No, coolant will not spill out, but I'm not sure you can remove the supercharger in the manner you describe.

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ge-how-to.html

Coolant will definitely come out of the engine block side of the water pump.

Why can't you remove the radiator? Or have any coolant spill?

 

If it is a high mileage car, > 100k, I would consider replacing the water pump also, as preventative maintenance. With it replace the rubber O-rings for the waterpump and flange on the engine. Check all hoses while it is all exposed. The cost of coolant is relatively inexpensive. It is also a good time to clean up the front section of the motor, probably it has some grime from the old seals that you replaced

 

Hello. I was just hoping to avoid the time and labor involved with removing the radiator. I didn't have to when I replaced the alternator. I figured the SC is in the same general area and about the same diameter, why go through the extra work.

 

I get it. I left the radiator in when I did my clutch.

It's not worth it doing the sc though. You're going to have to fill and bleed it anyway. It will make the job so much easier too.

I would also get a new water pump while you have everything apart.

 

The more I think about it I guess the water pump could stay in the block. Be a pain in the *** trying to get all the intake stuff off and the vacuum lines suck too. If it even comes out with the radiator still on I still wouldn't keep it on

 

Actually, if you are servicing the SC you must check the PTO gear oil level in the SC. This area is prone to failure due to the lost of SC oil. The lost of SC oil will destroy PTO gears, then the SC must be rebuilt or replaced, BIG bucks. The access port on the SC that sits behind the water pump that is mounted on the SC. Not to bad of a job since you are in the maintenance mode anyway. That is why I mentioned the option to change the water pump since it has to come off to service the SC PTO oil. The o-ring seal on the water pump flange is only a few bucks, which is a good option to replace also.

 

Anyone have any experience with the remote supercharger oil change system from Imperial Mini? I wonder is it's worth adding if you have your supercharger off.

http://www.imperialmini.com/

 

I know I should replace the water pump to be in the safe side, it's just not in the budget. I also know that the pump has to come off to get to the rear drain/fill plug. I'm hoping to unbolt the pump but need to know if it's going to start pouring coolant out. If it will, then I'll just drain and remove the radiator from the start.

 

If that is the case then there is no way around it, coolant will drain out when you remove the water pump to access the SC drain/fill plug. The water pump inlet port is pushed in to the engine block flange and is sealed with an o-ring, no hoses or clamps there. I highly recommend changing the o-ring in doing so. Use some lubricant on the o-ring when re-installing, I used vaseline. The best way is to remove the radiator, less "cussing" all around..... LOL

 

Like i said before, it will leak out of the block. If you try really hard it might be possible to unbolt the water pump, leave it in the block, and pull the sc away from the water pump.

Don't know if it will work but you can certainly give it a try.

 

Well, looks like I'll be pulling the radiator after all. I think my success with the alternator got my hopes up a little too high. Thanks everyone, time for me to do some coolant draining.

 

You haven't told us how many miles are on your car. IMHO, if I were in your shoes, I'd just button her up for now and wait until you can do a complete job of replacing the WP and checking the supercharger oil. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it". As you've learned, it doesn't take long to put the car in service mode and you'll need to drain the cooling system and remove the WP to get to the SC oil plug.

 

That is some great advise there.

If the supercharger is loosing oil it needs to be fixed, not refilled. But with the large cost of time and parts we just wait till it actually fails then rebuild the entire supercharger and a new water pump.

 

I don't understand this. Where is the large cost in parts? Oil and antifreeze is what? 30$ maybe? What else do you need to buy to check and fill the sc? Maybe buy a couple seals or gaskets but those are definitely optional.

As far as the time goes it's about a 4 to 6 hour job. For an ok do it yourself mechanic it's an easy job.

Everyone preaches preventative maintenance but a lot of you guys recommend not doing this.

Do you know for sure adding oil won't give you another 30k miles? If the car has 100k miles on it and is a little low on sc oil maybe topping it off will give you another 50k. How can you tell? I understand the oil is going away for a reason, but so is the oil in my engine and I definitely check and fill that.

You work on these cars daily and know a hell of a lot more than me. Have you refilled some to just have them fail in a short amount of time anyway?

The original poster shouldn't bother if he can't do the job correctly that's for sure. I just don't understand all the negativity about checking the oil

 

The car has just under 70k. I don't know if the SC is loosing oil, just figured I should change it since I'm in service mode.
Cost of coolant isn't a concern, spending $100 on a new water pump to replace my working water pump is. If I could've left the wp connected to the radiator and the block, unbolted it from the supercharger, and not lose coolant through the side of the pump that connects to the SC, I could remove the supercharger without going through the extra radiator steps. Why do extra stuff if I didn't need to?

 

The gaskets are NOToptional...
You are looking at $50+ there...the SC gasket WILL LEAK if you reuse it...
And many folks never get it back together quite right...plastic gets brittle, vac lines stiff...
IMO, run it till it fails....the do a $800 rebuild, the gaskets, and a WATERPUMP...
Heck, I sold my car at 10 years old, no SC issues....
You might spend $$ to "fix" crap that isn't broke, and total the car tomorrow.... Simple fact is, if the OIL is low in the SC when you check it, the seals are bad, and it needs to be rebuilt....if it is full, you wasted your time....
And the cost from most recent rebulders doesn't change by much/any to replace the WATERPUMP gears ...
Simple fact is, the SC is a wear item...the boost drops with age and miles as they wear, why limp along a worn unit unless $$ is more important than HP...
Many folks go CRAZY fixing crap that ain't broke on this site.... And do a crappy job, with cheap parts, and NEVER get their cars running 100%....
If you have skills...feel free to use them...but many folks go from changing their oil with a diy, then do a clutch of head job, and wonder why their car won't run or move when done...did someone say timing?
When I hear you say you want to avoid letting the coolant out, I worry...
THE SINGLE MOST OVERLOOKED ITEM for MX ON THE R53/52/50 IS THE COOLING SYSTEM....
Folks forget that the MOTOR has a cast-iron block, and an aluminium head....it needs changing and flushing EVERY 36-48 MONTHS....it has never been done on many cars...
First sign of issues is blocked heater cores....lots of them in gen1 cars...

 

Don't worry. I know the coolant in a car has to be changed. I was just looking change the oil in the SC because they're know to be neglected and I can install the 15% pulley at the same time . Avoiding radiator removal would just make the task quicker and easier.

Every DIY I came across for replacing the alternator said to remove the radiator, I didn't need to. I thought the same might apply to the supercharger.

 

Since the early 2000 gm's had the same sc as the mini I checked out some of their forum's.

Gm recommends maintenance at 30,000. So check, top off, or drain and refill

Some agree with zippy and say if the oil is low the seals are bad and needs to be rebuilt. Others disagree. Thought this one post was pretty good though. The one thing zippy has absolutely right is that if you can't properly do the job you might make your car worse.


http://www.gminsidenews.com/forums/f...rger-oil-9145/


From my personal experience - I never changed the supercharger oil in my Bonneville. I only found out that the supercharger had special oil around 70,000 miles.*When I checked it it was*pretty*low, so I filled it up. But I never had a problem with the supercharger, and the car is now over 107,000 miles.

BTW Ghrank, if the supercharger locked up, it wouldn't kill the engine. The car would probably be undriveable, but the motor should be OK. If those*cars*needed new motors, I doubt it was because of a wasted supercharger.

 

It is possible to replace the alternator without removing radiator. You don't need to remove it; however it does make replacement a lot easier. If you choose not to remove the radiator, you typically need to put the car into the radiator service position. All this is covered in our alternator DIY here.

 

Ok everyone. Now that the holidays have passed, and free time is more readily available, I FINALLY got around to servicing the supercharger.

I can officially say that the SC can be removed from the Cooper without removing the radiator or the water pump. You do lose a few tablespoons coolant when you separate the SC from the water pump, no big deal. So, of you've never had the oil in your SC changed and or you want change your pulley, and your in front end service mode for whatever reason, pull the bugger out.

 

Good job doing it without taking the radiator off.
You saved 10 minutes of work and $10 in antifreeze.

On the other hand, you made the job way harder and had to have added at least an extra hour to get it done. Not worth it at all in my opinion.

I get it, I left the radiator in when I did my clutch, but it only got in the way for a couple bolts, not the entire job

The big question though, how low was the sc oil?

 

Luckily it wasn't harder and didn't longer. You can swing the entire radiator assembly forward and rest it on a chair. Now you have all the access you need to get to the SC. You actually save the time it takes to drain the coolant, remove the radiator, reinstall the radiator, fill and bleed the system. Even if it only takes 10 minutes, I just saved myself 10 minutes.

Also, I swapped out the pulley. Doing this with the SC out of the car makes it effortless.

I just wanted to let everyone know that they can save some time and energy this way.

 

Oh yeah, the oil. It didn't seem to be that low. I didn't measure what came out, seemed like a lot. The oil on the drivers side resevoir was still pretty clear. The oil on the passenger side resevoir was dark, slightly burnt looking. Probably would have been ok if I didn't change it. Now I have fresh oil, peace of mind, and a 15% pulley.