FAQ: Supercharger Noise (Bad Coupler)

you will need a special tool to disconnect the fuel rail, but its avail at an auto parts store and pretty cheap.
Injectors will likely pull out with the rail and it's a very good idea to have a set of o-rings in case you tear one. (should be replaced anyways)

Natesriv wrote:

Can you remove the innards of the s/c only without taking it off entirely? I see the alternator bracket gets in the way, but that can be removed... would I be able to pull out the inside that way??

Yes, that's what I was referring to as the Rotor Pack. If you can get the physical clearance, the whole thing will slide out. At that point you have to look for a machine shop, etc. that knows how to rebuild it, or put in one from another blower.

Nate, Ed Morad can probably sell you a complete supercharger with snout and throttle body attached, used, low mile, for probably near the same you will end up paying to have yours rebuilt. It's certainly worth checking with him. Then all you have to do is swap them. While you are in there you can replace the LIM gaskets, which if you've never done you should do (or have done).

Well..the damn belt noise was from that bolt I lost...fell down and was rubbing against crank pulley... Took off wheel and there it was! Aha!!

So that's gone!

Put engine cover back on and the rattle is much less... (I had cover off thinking it had caused my CEL...)

The ABS/TC light went out...then came back on. I'm thinking hub...that's next..

So for now, the RIv is back on the road...cleaned, clay barred, and waxed...

I can't get rid of her...she's too much comfort/fun


Marked the spark plugs this time...no more wondering which is which!

The oil is dark, but still "oily"

Sorry for crappy pic...here's how the impellers pop out.. I think to remove the inards, I'll have to remove the waterpump as it has that bracket for the alternator built into it.

Gooped the heck out of the snout

there's the washer.. see it on the flat surface? It's about the same thickness as the gasket


So for now I'll drive it another week, make sure the ABS/TC light stays on, and see if my noise gets worse...for now I'll live with it.

I do agree though, it's gonna be cheaper to get a whole new s/c I think than to get the bearings replaced.

glad to hear it was an easy fix!

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Nate,
How about stopping over here and detailing the paint on my car including clay bar.
You don't know how much I would appreciate it.

If I had a spare supercharger I'd give it to you. That's how much I would appreciate it.

Good luck with your car and it looks great and I'm glad to hear that your frustration level went down several notches to where your not getting rid of it. This week anyway.

LOL... actually i keep her clean so the claybar didn't stick too much...

she looks new now, but damn I need a painted hood! that's next. But waxing her again was fun...it's pretty humid here, but it's worth it...she shines!

The CEL light went on again, but this is after I put the engine cover back on. After I had replaced the vacuum hose fittings awhile back, the cover is tighter...so I may be crimping a hose or something... I'll take the cover off and see if it goes away.

this is my girlfriends GS she just bought, does this sound like a bad coupler or possibly a rotor pack?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO5-AG-LTdo

the reason i say rotor pack, is the guy she bought it from supposedly changed the coupler recently. when she gets off work ill pull the s/c belt and see what i can come up with.

It sounds louder when you move the camera closer to the snout. But you already knew that.
Until you pull the belt and feel for play, you won't really know if it's the coupling or the snout bearings. Is there any fluid in it.

Whenever someone mentions that the PO did some work, the first thing I question is did he do it correctly.
Check the SC fluid level also.

Just my $0.02

Rickw wrote:

It sounds louder when you move the camera closer to the snout. But you already knew that.
Until you pull the belt and feel for play, you won't really know if it's the coupling or the snout bearings. Is there any fluid in it.

Whenever someone mentions that the PO did some work, the first thing I question is did he do it correctly.
Check the SC fluid level also.

Just my $0.02

thanks for the response rick, it definitely sounds in the snout area to me. it sounds all over the place on the top of the engine and its hard to pinpoint but i grabbed a long screwdriver and put it on the snout and listened and thats where it was loudest. she gets off at 3 and im pullin the belt right away and probably even starting it to see if the noise is gone.
i would normally agree with you on wondering if something was put in right, but can you necessarily put a coupler in wrong? i didnt think you could. it wouldnt surprise me though, the guy replaced the BBV im guessing to try and fix the noise , but now the regal shows 0.0psi on the DIC boost gauge. if im thinking correctly a vac line comes from somewhere around the BBV and to that gauge. im guessing that vac line is laying there somewhere cause the display works but it shows nothing while driving.
either way im pullin the plug and the belt today to check everything out, hopefully its just the coupler.
im leaning more towards the videos posted by nate a couple of pages back with the loose rotor pack because of the supposedly just recently replaced coupler. that and it sounds like the regals noise.
thanks again ill post back with what i find.

I wasn't suggesting that the PO could put the Coupler in incorrectly, as I don't think you can do that either. I was merely saying the only thing he could have messed up while doing that job was to not put in any fluid at all or possibly not knowing what kind of fluid to use. That opens up another can of worms. What if he put in regular motor oil.??????
Just curious. I would think that would break down real quick due to the RPM's that the SC turns at.

I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud, that's all.

Regarding the BBV, it has 2 vacuum ports - one on each side of the diaphragm. Could be that he switched positions inadvertently. If he used new vacuum hose that could easily have happened, but if you re-use the old hose, it has already taken on the shape and position of where it belongs. Just another thing to consider.

Either that coupler is TERRIBLY worn to a point I've never seen or heard, or there is another problem. That sound it's making sounds more like a metal/metal noise. Even a severely worn coupler (like mine was) makes more of a random dead thump noise. Your noise sounds too uniform to be a coupler IMO.

I've got one other question: You said your GF just bought this car. Did she get a very good discount on it because of the noises or did she get screwed.???? What year is it and how many miles on it.?

what kind of intake is on the car? FWI?

Rickw wrote:

I wasn't suggesting that the PO could put the Coupler in incorrectly, as I don't think you can do that either. I was merely saying the only thing he could have messed up while doing that job was to not put in any fluid at all or possibly not knowing what kind of fluid to use. That opens up another can of worms. What if he put in regular motor oil.??????
Just curious. I would think that would break down real quick due to the RPM's that the SC turns at.

I don't know, I'm just thinking out loud, that's all.

Regarding the BBV, it has 2 vacuum ports - one on each side of the diaphragm. Could be that he switched positions inadvertently. If he used new vacuum hose that could easily have happened, but if you re-use the old hose, it has already taken on the shape and position of where it belongs. Just another thing to consider.

i know that he put the right fluid in it cause he was bitching about the amount it was from zzp. does the vac line for the gauge go to the BBV?

Abaddon wrote:

Either that coupler is TERRIBLY worn to a point I've never seen or heard, or there is another problem. That sound it's making sounds more like a metal/metal noise. Even a severely worn coupler (like mine was) makes more of a random dead thump noise. Your noise sounds too uniform to be a coupler IMO.

i took the belt off and wiggled the pulley, there is a bit of play. im really starting to think its the rotor pack cause i started it up without the s/c belt and the noise was still there. i didnt think the rotors moved without the belt but when i revved it the pulley spun slowly. i really need to figure this out before thursday cause if its internal the guy might be getting his car back.

Rickw wrote:

I've got one other question: You said your GF just bought this car. Did she get a very good discount on it because of the noises or did she get screwed.???? What year is it and how many miles on it.?

he originally wanted $4000 because thats what he put into it, he went to $3500 right away without me haggling him down. after hearing this noise that i thought was the balancer because he already replaced the coupler, he went down to $3200. right now she payed $2900 and still owes $300 to get the title. if it ends up being more than a balancer or something with the blower he might be getting his car back. it is a 98 with 159K from california.
it has:
new radiator with upper/lower hoses
somewhat new water pump
4 new tires
new supercharger with coupler
3 new window regulators
rebuilt bottom end
new BBV
new alternator
and i know theres more i cant think of right now.

AA wrote:

what kind of intake is on the car? FWI?

it was stock air box, i put a temporary CAI on it right before the video posted above.


another question i have that i might try to see if its the rotor pack, can i re-use the supercharger oil since its not that old? i have 2 spare blowers right now, one has a bad coupler and one is all ok but that one is for my park ave. im thinking of either putting my blower on the regal, or putting the regals old blower on and swapping the couplers. either way i dont want to spend money on the s/c oil just to have it not be the coupler or rotor pack, i already have to buy a gasket to take the blower off. so can i dump the oil from the blower currently on the car into one of the other blowers just for a quick test?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqjlIJUany4&feature=related

this seems to be the only other video i can find with a noise like the one i posted, this one is louder but it goes away with RPMs like the regal. the only thing that scares me about this is the engine in this video is not supercharged, meaning the sound is most likely something internal, meaning that the regals sound might be internal too .

im really stumped guys, it cant be a rocker/lifter/piston/rod because the noise would always be there and get faster with the RPMs. could the balance shaft make a noise like that? what about bad main or rod bearings?
this car is taking me for a loop

have you checked the crank pulley? mine was making that same sound when the rubber tore up a little bit and caused the pulley to rock around.
(but i havent read this whole thread so maybe that was ruled out already. i was just going by the video)

Mr.Riviera wrote:

have you checked the crank pulley? mine was making that same sound when the rubber tore up a little bit and caused the pulley to rock around.
(but i havent read this whole thread so maybe that was ruled out already. i was just going by the video)

that was originally what i thought it was, but since it sounded like it was coming from the supercharger i didnt pay much attention to it. i tried turning the belt and there was no slop but maybe i should take both belts off and spin the pulley itself? is there any way i can feel behind the pulley to see if the rubber is loose? or just see if the balancer moves and ill know?
im trying to get a list of things to check out before she gets off again today because i work all week and she has to give the guy the other $300 on thursday, which isnt happening if this noise is anything outside of the balancer or supercharger.

My bad coupler noise was only at idle. The noise in the video seems to continue once the engine in revving which would indicate something besides the coupler.

sburch23 wrote:

My bad coupler noise was only at idle. The noise in the video seems to continue once the engine in revving which would indicate something besides the coupler.

its at idle and when barely on the throttle. for example if the idle was at 700rpm it would make the noise to about 800-850rpm and then it goes away and is nice and clean until it comes back down. it has to be a pulley or something in the supercharger.

But, didn't you say that you removed the SC belt and the noise was still there.?
How can it be the SC if it makes the noise with it disconnected. I'm curious and confused.?
It's hard to impossible to pinpoint the noise over the internet though.

Rickw wrote:

But, didn't you say that you removed the SC belt and the noise was still there.?
How can it be the SC if it makes the noise with it disconnected. I'm curious and confused.?
It's hard to impossible to pinpoint the noise over the internet though.

yea the noise was still there with the belt off, its hard to diagnose standing right there i would imagine its even harder over the internet. im going to pull both belts off after work and see if it still makes the noise. people on other forums are thinking it might be the accesory belt tensioner otherwise the HB like i originally thought.

Sounds like its your Harmomic Balancer pulley. When mine went I first thought it was something in the SC too. But it turned out to just be the HB pulley. Apparently the HB's are quite a common replacement for the 3800's.

Hometown Hero wrote:

Sounds like its your Harmomic Balancer pulley. When mine went I first thought it was something in the SC too. But it turned out to just be the HB pulley. Apparently the HB's are quite a common replacement for the 3800's.

i hope thats all it is, im gonna go to her work now and check it out.