What precautions should be taken when buying & installing a used Supercharger???

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

I am curious as to what precautions should be taken when buying and installing a used TRD Supercharger.

What preventative maintnenance should be done on the supercharger before install & how expensive would it be?

Thanks for your input.

 

[Michael Hanson]

Check for discoloration in metal from getting too hot any looseness in parts. Mike

 

[nicholas]

AFAIK, the blowers are supposed to be "lifetime" sealed and should last at least a 150K or so before a rebuild is needed. As long as the cone and the rotor connected to the pulley are tight and show no signs of leaking, then I wouldn't mess with trying to rebuild it. I assume you are looking at the used one in the classifieds which is getting removed to trade the truck in for cash-for-clunkers. I'd just make sure you get all of the little bits and pieces. I would hope he kept all the original parts because I thought that the rig has to drive on it's own power to qualify. I'm not sure if the crank pulley is a one time use or not, so you may have to buy a new one from TRD. The install is pretty simple and straight forward when you have all the parts labeled in bags from the factory. IMHO ~$1000-1300 is the max I'd pay for a used s/c kit with that many miles.

 

[wearsabrowncoat]

x2 on making sure you get all the critical parts. You can print out the installation guide to double check:
http://george4wd.taskled.com/scharger/scinstall.pdf

You can expect to buy new hoses and possibly a few new bolts but make sure you have everything else.

 

[slowgrowler]

Just to clear it up all the original parts are coming with it. It was actually removed by the Toyota dealer to make sure he didn't screw anything up.

 

[cruiserdan]

Be absolutely certain you get everything. Replacemet parts such as the tensioner assembly or the crank pulley or the plenum are brutally expensive and hard to get a hold of. In addition I would consider sending the blower into Magnuson and have them spruce it up so you can forget about it for a good long time. That prolly costs ~600 bucks these days.

 

[lenross1]

new superchargers that just came out any different from old batch?

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

Thanks for your input guys! Any other info you'd like to ad. I'm like a sponge and will soak it all up. I just want to make sure this doesn't costing me as much as buying a brand new one from alot of nickel and dimeing of parts.

CDan - What all would Magnuson do to it and how long exactly would you expect the to have it?

 

[nicholas]

Just to clear it up all the original parts are coming with it. It was actually removed by the Toyota dealer to make sure he didn't screw anything up.

What dealership removed the blower? Perhaps the tech that did the job could give his opinion on whether or not the blower needs rebuilding as well as the condition of the spring tensioners etc. Like Dan said, it's probably not a bad idea to have it rebuilt anyway. If I were buying it I'd want to talk to the tech since he was intimately involved with the removal.

 

[cruiserdan]

CDan - What all would Magnuson do to it and how long exactly would you expect the to have it?

As I understand it they "recondition" them throughout. I do not know how long it takes, I have never sent one in myself.

 

[SBFJ60FIG]

Nicholas my naive friend, you presume that the tech that pulled the S/C would be cut from the cloth of a "craftsman." The tech did not pull this thing with a lab coat on, the tech knew he was getting paid XX hours to pull it and was trying to beat the time, IMO, so he can get to the next job and have productivity well over 100%. Tech's don't really care too very much about the minutiae of any particular job and I would argue might not even know what to be looking for with respect to wear and whatnot with this blower.

Unfortunately tech pay structure in most shops makes it hard to make a decent living, so they are humping to get on to the next job. There are plenty of guys who do care about doing a good job, but at least in my first-hand experience, there were more that did not, or were careless, or just not super qualified.

The bottom line is you won't know until you have it installed and are sure all the parts were there, and it is working fine whether it was "a good deal."

I would have a lot of trust in the seller...and maybe some creative guarantee to ensure your satisfaction with the deal.

What dealership removed the blower? Perhaps the tech that did the job could give his opinion on whether or not the blower needs rebuilding as well as the condition of the spring tensioners etc. Like Dan said, it's probably not a bad idea to have it rebuilt anyway. If I were buying it I'd want to talk to the tech since he was intimately involved with the removal.

 

[nicholas]

lol, I know that has been my experience with techs as well. I was being half sarcastic as I seriously question the fact it was removed my a dealership. At the rates they charge, I don't know anyone who would pay close to $1000 to have it removed from a truck they are trading into for cash for clunkers. All I know is I wouldn't even think of dropping a dime on the thing until I saw some recent pic's and possibly verified by a reputable mud member even if it has "free shipping." That's a lot of money to be giving to a new member after some of the things we have seen go down in mudbay over gun purchases. It sucks that it has come to this, but a few bad apples have made it this way. I hope that is not the case with this seller, and I apologize in advance if this a legitimate deal.

 

[SBFJ60FIG]

I know...I recently had a thread about a rather complicated transaction that did not go "right" for either me or the buyer.

Caveat emptor, CYA, et cetera.

And yeah, I'd rather have someone who cares and has the time to do it right take the S/C off. To work on cars, motorcycles, boats and do it the way it should be done takes a lot of time. So much I'd argue that it becomes really expensive or gets half-assed if you're paying someone to do it. I'm fresh off of such a task so I know all too well (and it only got .25 assed b/c I did the work).

Sucks to be handy sometimes...

My new mantra is unless you can DIY or afford to pay someone to fix your older boat/snowmobile/car/suv/motorcycle then you've no business owning it. Sell it or learn...the hard way. Hell I have, and I'm not very smart.

That's a lot of money to be giving to a new member after some of the things we have seen go down in mudbay over gun purchases. It sucks that it has come to this, but a few bad apples have made it this way. I hope that is not the case with this seller, and I apologize in advance if this a legitimate deal.

 

[cruiserdan]

My new mantra is unless you can DIY or afford to pay someone to fix your older boat/snowmobile/car/suv/motorcycle then you've no business owning it. Sell it or learn...the hard way. Hell I have, and I'm not very smart.

That there is sig line material..................

 

[SUMOTOY]

I am curious as to what precautions should be taken when buying and installing a used TRD Supercharger.

What preventative maintnenance should be done on the supercharger before install & how expensive would it be?

Thanks for your input.

I bought mine used for my '94 3+ years ago, I just changed the fluid and put it in... Print off the instruction manual, and go thru the parts list to make sure you get them all. WRT other items, you likely won't get the fan, and know the stocker will hit the radiator. I wouldn't rebuild it as preventive maintenance. Change the fluid (just about any GM dealer has the SC fluid in stock), as that needs to be done with the SC off the engine.

Most of the fasteners you can get, but the key pieces: SC and Pipes/hoses, the drive pulley and the tensioner are expensive to do without. If it's all dumped in a box like mine was, make sure no fasteners went where they shouldn't have.

HTH

Scott J
94 FZJ80 Supercharged

 

[lenross1]

I bought mine used for my '94 3+ years ago, I just changed the fluid and put it in... Print off the instruction manual, and go thru the parts list to make sure you get them all. WRT other items, you likely won't get the fan, and know the stocker will hit the radiator. I wouldn't rebuild it as preventive maintenance. Change the fluid (just about any GM dealer has the SC fluid in stock), as that needs to be done with the SC off the engine.

Most of the fasteners you can get, but the key pieces: SC and Pipes/hoses, the drive pulley and the tensioner are expensive to do without. If it's all dumped in a box like mine was, make sure no fasteners went where they shouldn't have.

HTH

Scott J
94 FZJ80 Supercharged

Have you had any issues with your supercharger since install? how hard is it to change fluid on a supercharger. is it as simple as drain and refill?

I am the guy who is rolling the dice on this supercharger!

 

[nicholas]

Have you had any issues with your supercharger since install? how hard is it to change fluid on a supercharger. is it as simple as drain and refill?

I am the guy who is rolling the dice on this supercharger!

I would see if you caould have a mud member that is knowledgeable with the s/c system take a look at it to verify everything is there. That is a lot of $$$ to gamble on parts from a relatively new mud member. It sounds like you are dealing through a 3rd party, so you are relying on what the supposed dealer removed, what the brother says he is shipping to the seller and what the seller clams is in the box. It doesn't sound like anyone can get a straight answer on how you can guarantee all the parts will be in the box. Did the original owner really have all the old cooling hose lines, new crank bolt, etc to take to the "dealer" so he could actually make the truck run for the "cash for clunkers" and remove ALL of the s/c parts to make a complete kit at the same time?

The whole thing sounds rather suspicious to me. Hopefully the seller can shed some light on these concerns before you bite the bullet.

 

[SUMOTOY]

Have you had any issues with your supercharger since install? how hard is it to change fluid on a supercharger. is it as simple as drain and refill?

I am the guy who is rolling the dice on this supercharger!

No issues with the SC, other than good fun! Changing fluid is easy, but the drain/fill hole is not at a proper orientation to do it on the engine. Lay it flat, remove the allen plug, drain and fill, pretty easy.

I too bought mine used, and it came in a single box with almost everything, minus a few fasteners. That said, I've installed turbos and SC's in a variety of vehicles, and believe that if you get most of what's on the list in the manual, minor items can be sourced. If this is a 'take-off' type purchase, I would expect that some of the fasteners will be missing, and the fan won't be included (you need the spacer behind it though!).

In my case the price was less than half of the best discounted new unit at the time without the included 505 PAIR valve, and the risk then, was worth the trigger-pull. I expected less than I got frankly, and have been pleased with the decision since. The best bet for this, is to print off the parts list, and have the guy ck-off what he has and return it to you.

HTH

Scott J
94 FZJ80 Supercharged

 

[lenross1]

Hopefully most of the parts i need to to install it are there. the fasteners can be matched up if they are missing. i am mostly concerned about supercharger plenum, idler tensioner, basically the parts i can't make or buy basically. I will get more info about what comes with it on monday. i sent him the installation guide with parts list.

i have emails out to TRD and Magnuson for parts availability.

 

[lenross1]

waiting on my refund from seller. not happy.