Write-Up: Supercharger Coupler Replacement (Series II)

Sounds like thats the first place to start.

Well I bought the camshaft position sensor and took EGR valve off my 98 motor. I got new gasket for EGR valve and some carb cleaner to clean it. Think bearing in nose cone I just changed is bad. Guess I will switch new coupler to old nose cone and start over. I found a ignition harness on my 98 motor as well, gonna change that too. I will never get to the performance side of modifications at this rate, but the car sure does have alot of new parts this year!

I just replaced the coupler, went well but cant find answer to install question.
when removing snout the impeller gear support block slightly seperated from the impeller housing.
can anyone tell me do I pull it all apart clean & seal or ignore and just reseal snout?

pull it apart and reseal .better safe than sorry doing it twice.

1 of the 9 bolts holding the snout on is stripped. and go figure, many others had that damn grey sealant around them again! WHO THE , , WAS THE LAST OWNER OF THIS CAR. WTF. I have 7 loosened and ready to go, just stuck on this damned stripped one.

I tried a bolt remover socket thing. No luck. I am going to try to bore the sucker out after this lasagna and coffee. So fucking pissed right now.

UPDATE:
Still trying to get this damn last bolt out.
Here it is and here are the grey sealed bolts. Had to use all my man strength to break these. They were cemented to the snout!

Wow, that's nuts. Those screws were supposed to be snugged to a lowish torque spec for good reason!

I still have an extra LIM if you need it.

CRITICAL MISSION FAILURE.
I did not complete this job due to that god damn stupid bastard stripped screw. I have to take it to a pro to get it removed or just buy a Gen V blower. FUCK.

Thanks, Aaron, but I dont need a LIM, I need this screw out or a new blower.

You can't drill the head off?

My bad, I thought you were removing the entire blower for some reason. Maybe the other discussion about port and polish. So it's the snout screws you're fighting with.

Sorry, I have to ask - you did use a 6-sided socket and ratchet to break these loose, right?

You might try hammering on a 3/8" socket as a last resort. This is a slightly smaller size than a 10mm, might be snug enough to grab. An impact gun will also help you here to apply quick bursts of torque to break it loose.

Deekster is right. Last resort, if you can grind the head off, the snout will remove, then you can grab the shank with a vice grip and twist it out.

To do any real grinding and drilling, I will have to take the pulley off to get the straight angle.
Yes, I tried smaller sockets and pounding and the socket saver set with the flower shaped bit and spiral blades inside. Nothing has worked.

The plan was to take the snout over to a guy on the other side of town and he was going to swap my pulleys for me for $20.

I don't understand the need to remove the pulley. Can't you just use a die grinder or Dremel tool to cut away the head from the side?

Have you considered drilling it and using an easy out? A bit of heat from a propane torch on the sc housing in the area where the threads are should also help to break it loose. If you take a shot with a smaller socket, I would recommend a 12 point 9mm or 11/32 if 3/8 is still sloppy on it. Once a bolt head is rounded, a 12 point socket is much easier to hammer on and get a good grip. I would definitely recommend a little heat before trying to break it loose. Good luck and Merry Christmas!

It's a bit late now - but I've found that a lot of GM's "metric" bolts that have a 10mm head are a bit loose with a 10mm socket, and often times a 3/8 fits better.

Once you grind the head off, you should be able to remove the snout and grab the remaining shaft with vise grips etc to unscrew. A dremel should go through the rest quite quickly.

Thanks, guys. I tried every socket I had. Hammered it on and wrenched on it to no avail. Even the special stripped bolt extractor sockets couldn't find enough meat to grip on to. It's not just a stripped bolt, it's a strip bolt covered in that grey silicone shit that is locking it up. I used a heat gun as well thinking it would melt the silicone and be a little easier on me. Nothin'.

It really does look like the back of the bolt head is fused to the snout so grinding it off kind of concerns me. You really think after grinding the head off, the snout will pop off? Isn't there some threading inside the snout that will keep it locked up?

I will try grinding it off and ripping the snout from the blower. No way to drill it without taking the pulley off unless I use a 90 degree angle drill or some other black magic.

I am just thankful it's this bolt that is giving me problems and not one of the lower ones! YIKES!

If you remove the head of that screw, the snout will come off. There's no threading in the snout portion. This is pretty unusual. Those screws are normally quite easy to pop loose. You know from your experience the snout has been removed before by somebody. Hope everything looks good inside.

You know, I was trying to figure out why. What reason would anyone have to break the snout off unless they were replacing the coupler? I just have a very hard time believing the previous owner did that. I have to assume by the grey sealant that the same dumbass who did this did the LIM elbows too.

I will make another go at it after Christmas. GTP guy across town with the pulley tool will change my pulley for $20 if I bring him the snout so I am trying to get the dang thing off so I can get the MPS hub on there, clean up the snout, change the oil, and put the new coupler in.

I have used my sears craftsman nut-bolt-stud remover kit many times with success,
well worth the investment. another option I use is to cut a slot across the center of the bolt head to fit
my large flat head screw driver, it has a square shaft so I can use a large crescent wench on it.
if this method is used. be careful not to cut the slot to deep and screw driver head must fit very snug.
good luck!

Thanks for the writeup. I just did mine today and I forgot how bad supercharger oil smells. It goes in clear and doesn't really smell too much and then it comes out dark and smells horrible years later. I think I can still smell it.

So, i was boosting, got off the highway, smelled a relly sour smell, which i remember smelled like supercharger oil cuz i changed it recently, look under the hood. Seems to be a leak comeing from the bottom, in between the housing amd the supercharger snout, im guesing my gasket failed on the supercharger nout?

I guess i should ask what should i do riggt now, since im on.the road?

There is no gasket on the snout. It's sealed by an Anaerobic Sealant that's made for machined surfaces. Permatex #51813. I don't think there is anything you can do aside from remove the snout and re-seal it.

Are you positive that the fill hole is tightened all the way?

Yes sir, theres nothing coming out of the filler hole. Wheres the best place to by that sealant? You know whats funy is i brought it to a mechanic about ten minutes ago and he said it was my upper intake manifold gasket...i said if that were the case that wouldnt be supercharger oil leaking right there. Yes its leaking onto the gasket under the snout, but im pretty sure it isnt the gasket itself

Well i was going to ask if i can run thw car without the supercharger, but it looks like, id have tocut the belt...so i dont damage the supercharger..GAh!! Something alwaysvhappens when i buy her thibgs(just ordered interceptor gage and a back uo water pump to have just in case lol

Did you tighten the bottom bolts all of the way? And you can just tuck the belt away and zip tie it. You're fine to run without a supercharger.

I bought the sealant at AutoZone or O'Reilly's, don't remember which. That's why I put the P/N for you. It comes in a bubble-sleeve, and the tube is blue.

If you removed the snout, you should've used this stuff to put it back together...but I assume you used a vacuum pump to suck out the old oil?