My mechanic tells my a bearing in the supercharger is making noise. Replacing the supercharger, he says, is about $2200. Anyone dealt with this already? Aftermarket possibilities? Can I just disconnect the supercharger?
I found this on a Mini-Cooper foum. You might want to read it. It seems there is more than one problem with the supercharger “death rattle”. http://www.minicooperforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1860
Ouch. Have you tried an internet search for aftermarket suppliers? Rebuilt superchargers? Have you tried the boneyards?
You could disconnect it, but your Mini will perform more like a 1960s Beetle than a Mini. Its compression ratio is designed to use the boost. Without it it’ll be a low compression engine. The first time you try to accelerate onto the highway you’ll get squashed.
When you buy a supercharged car, you can expect high maintenance and high repair costs. That comes with the territory…While the cars performance might be acceptable without the blower, removing it might not be as easy as it sounds…The ECM might absolutely forbid doing that, warning lights everywhere…
If you disconnect the super charger you will get very odd and poor performance along with a check engine light. Your MPG will suffer also as the engine is designed to have boost at certain RPMS.
Or possibly you can pay a tuner to reprogram your ECU(computer) so that it can operate with a supercharger.
You might be right. It’s an 8.3:1 compression ratio, so it might run without tripping lights, it sure won’t win any races.
I’ve seen half a dozen forced induction vehicles in which the super or turbo was inoperative and they were all garden slugs without those units operating.
It’s best to replace or repair the supercharger.
You might do a net search because there are several companies that specialize in repairing superchargers (they’re really not difficult to rebuild at all) and odds are this could be done for much less than the cost of a new supercharger.
Regarding high maintenance and costs for a supercharged car, the car has 94,500 miles, and this is the first significant problem I’ve had. It’s been a fabulous car. I’ll start searching the aftermarket and see what turns up. Thanks for all the input!