Have to remove my supercharger

[H W Bush]

I need to send it out to get rebuilt by Vortech. It's a Vortech v1. I took a look at it and it doesn't look too complicated, but it is kinda tight in there so I wanted to ask what's involved. Is it hard to get the belt off?
If I decide to replace the belt at the same time what's the part number?

 

[ZeroDCX]

It's not difficult at all...

- Unbolt the power pipe/intake tubes and set it aside.
- Unbolt passenger side coil pack from the supercharger bracket and set aside. (ignore if you're running COPs)
- Relieve belt tension, take the belt off.
- Unbolt the oil feed and drain lines. (Be prepared for possible oil spill)
- Unbolt the supercharger bracket and SAI air diverter bracket (if you have one) and lift it out.
- Unbolt the supercharger from the bracket.

~Fin


What size supercharger pulley? 3.6''? If so you're running a 113'' Belt assuming you're running the stock 6.5'' crank pulley/balancer. Don't waste your money on the Vortech specific belt. It's just a re-branded Gates belt anyway and costs $90 plus shipping. I've been using these two belts with no issues.
Gates P/N: K061130 | GoodYear P/N: 4061130 (The Continental Brand is just a re-branded GoodYear belt). They are ~$23.79 at Rockauto.com.

Good luck

 

[H W Bush]

thanks for the reply. another question i have is, where it the tensioner? I had a hard time looking for it when getting an overview on this job...
according to the papers it has a 3.0" reverse rotation vortech. so what would it be then?

 

[ZeroDCX]

I'm not sure as to your belt size with that pulley. You can look up its part number for a replacement or maybe someone else will reply with the correct size.

The tensioner sticks out near the bottom right of the bracket when facing the vehicle. Its the only pulley that has a 1/2 drive slot in the center (not the pulley, but the tensioner really). Its best accessed from the bottom.

This is not the stock tensioner, so it's appearance might differ but the location remains the same.

 

[H W Bush]

thanks for the reply. it helps. thank God I have the spec sheets for this car and I found it in there. I didn't have time to look this morning. 25061110 if anyone's wondering
question though. it says on the papers i got with the car it was done in april of 2013 at 14071 miles. car is nearing 72k. wise decision to replace correct? and where can i get a belt diagram if i replace it?
also this is the only website to ever change my username. that's a little silly.

 

[03cobra#694]

Because Hairy Bush doesn't fly here.

 

[ZeroDCX]

By that part number you're running a 6 rib, 111 inch belt. You can also search for P/N(s): K061110 or 4061110. Rockauto has both for less than $26.

Vortech Installation Manual PDF Download - Belt diagram is on page 13:
http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/download.php?dir=pdf/manuals&file=4FK218im.pdf

If you're sending out the unit to be repaired, then it would be wise to replace the belt with that many miles on it. Keep the old one as a spare if there's nothing significantly wrong with it.

 

[H W Bush]

By that part number you're running a 6 rib, 111 inch belt. You can also search for P/N(s): K061110 or 4061110. Rockauto has both for less than $26.

Vortech Installation Manual PDF Download - Belt diagram is on page 13:
http://www.vortechsuperchargers.com/download.php?dir=pdf/manuals&file=4FK218im.pdf

If you're sending out the unit to be repaired, then it would be wise to replace the belt with that many miles on it. Keep the old one as a spare if there's nothing significantly wrong with it.

just what i needed!
ok i looked at those 2 part numbers and they are slightly different in length. but the part # i provided is an alternative to the first one that you provided so I will go with that one.

 

[H W Bush]

Alright I have this thing 95% off. i have all the tubing off, 4 mounting bolts + a little bracket bolt off, coil pack off, belt pretty much off of the supercharger pulley, and yet it still will not budge like there's another bolt. All I can see is what I am showing you guys in this picture.

it almost looks like I'd have to undo it as i pull it off??

 

[ZeroDCX]

That is the Vortech Idler Shaft Nut. It needs to come off in order to remove the bracket. After removing this, take note of the idler pulley's orientation and there is a spacer that must be placed back in the correct order when re-installing.

Also if you have the earlier idler pulley, inspect it for bearing failure. They've been known to fail due to using under-rated bearings. The updated design does not have this issue.

 

[H W Bush]

How do I get this off?

 

[ZeroDCX]

13mm wrench I believe. The nut comes off of the shaft along with the washer behind it. After that its self-explanatory.

 

[H W Bush]

well that surely was not an easy job. i got it off this morning. not only did i have little access to that nut, but i had to remove the radiator hose just to get it to come forward enough so it wasn't hung on that idler bolt.
now this belt, do i have to remove the tensioner to get it off?

 

[ZeroDCX]

The amount of work to remove it is relative to experience, I guess.

I didn't need to remove any coolant hoses, but push them out of the way a little.

Relieve belt tension and slip it off of the water pump pulley. From there its self explanatory as far as removal. You will have the pull the supercharger bracket forward enough to slip it through the supercharger pulley, idler and alternator pulley. The tensioner does not have to be removed. But this should've been done prior to bracket removal.

 

[SNAKEYE]

Be prepared to replace the "high heat" rubber hose between the diverter valve and the right side exhaust manifold, Vortec part number 7S050-600, as, with heat and age, the rubber hose becomes brittle, and any movement of the diverter valve (which is unbolted to remove the S/C mounting bracket ) will break the hose and you will have an annoying exhaust leak.

Replacement is EXTREMELY NASTY!

 

[SNAKEYE]

Or maybe Herbert Walker!?

 

[H W Bush]

The amount of work to remove it is relative to experience, I guess.

I didn't need to remove any coolant hoses, but push them out of the way a little.

Relieve belt tension and slip it off of the water pump pulley. From there its self explanatory as far as removal. You will have the pull the supercharger bracket forward enough to slip it through the supercharger pulley, idler and alternator pulley. The tensioner does not have to be removed. But this should've been done prior to bracket removal.

I had it somewhat off but the supercharger pulley was too close to the alternator to get it all the way off. still not sure how it comes off since the tensioner is basically in front of the belt but I'll try and figure it out.
edit: it's off... tight getting out though

Be prepared to replace the "high heat" rubber hose between the diverter valve and the right side exhaust manifold, Vortec part number 7S050-600, as, with heat and age, the rubber hose becomes brittle, and any movement of the diverter valve (which is unbolted to remove the S/C mounting bracket ) will break the hose and you will have an annoying exhaust leak.

Replacement is EXTREMELY NASTY!

pictures of this?

 

[SNAKEYE]

I had it somewhat off but the supercharger pulley was too close to the alternator to get it all the way off. still not sure how it comes off since the tensioner is basically in front of the belt but I'll try and figure it out.
edit: it's off... tight getting out though


pictures of this?

Well, FWIW here's a picture. The problem is the broken end of the hose is connected to the front end of the exhaust manifold and the head and valve cover preclude getting a camera in there. The screwdriver is stuck into the broken end of the hose, the other end is still connected to the diverter valve below (at the right edge of the picture).

Here's a picture of the broken hose pieces and the replacement hose forshortened about an inch from its original length to get a good approximation of the old hose. I picked it up at Auto Zone by asking them to find a close match. The green cylinder is an LED flashlight to provide light. The broken end of the hose is bent up with the screwdriver inserted in the broken end to hold it in place for the picture. It normally lies straight back toward front end of the exhaust manifold.

If you have the Vortec installation manual you can see that the curved end of the hose goes to the diverter valve and the straight end of the hose goes onto the pipe stub sticking forward off of the manifold. I did not try unscrewing the pipe fitting from the manifold figuring it would be rusted fast and impossible to move the fitting, let alone gain access to it with a wrench. Gaining access to the hose clamps was bad enough! I lubricated the inside of the hose with WD40 to aid with slipping it onto the pipes. Had to use a couple of screwdrivers to push the hose onto to the pipes.

Good luck, you're going to need it if you have to replace this little hose!

 

[H W Bush]

I checked all the hoses and they are all good.
Vortech called me back monday. this supercharger is 17 years old! anyway besides the bearings and seals, the unit needs a new bearing case. the replacement is an upgrade from the original. but this is costly as hell. they are supposed to ship this out this week.

 

[SNAKEYE]

I got SNAKEYE from my son, who bought it new in the Spring of '97 and installed the Vortech (amongst other things) shortly thereafter, in July of 2001. At 28K miles the S/C's bearings sounded a bit off of their usual rattle so I had it rebuilt. Rolling at 78K now. Just replaced the serpentine belt ( second replacement) last Fall when the air injection hose broke. The serpentine belt setup is a bear! I popped the alternator loose to get pulley clearance.