I've wrote up a bit on my poor installation experience with the KB2.6H for my 03 cobra. So far I've been emailing them for over a week constantly attaching my word.docx, .doc, PDF and they keep telling me that their email/virus protection won't allow them to open up the attachment. This seems a bit phony, what kind of legitimate company can't open up attached documents in emails?! Any suggestions? I think I will try faxing it to them Monday and may even send a copy or two via snail mail with delivery confirmation. I'll put the text below from my document.....
I purchased the 2.6H kit on 7/5/11 for my Cobra and had several fitment/quality issues I’d like addressed and resolved. Particular problems I had that I will go into detail further on are: directions were inconsistent, black and white photographs were hard to see, bolt holes were not tapped completely, incomplete machined surfaces and improper brackets. I also was under the impression that when I ordered the kit and the sales rep asked me how much boost I was going to run, 14 or 15 lbs I told him, that it was going to come with the respective pulley and not the 3.75” 11lb pulley.
Overall the product supplied is good and has excellent drivability. To go into the particulars of my issues I’ll start methodically as they arose through the supplied directions. I understand that the kit is an aftermarket product and would require minor tweaking to each vehicle application but these are beyond that.
Beginning with step 21 – Remove (4) 10 mm bolts, the bolts here on the supercharger intake plenum were 13 mm.
Step 29 – Remove (2) 8 mm bolts on the fuel rail on each side of the supercharger, they are 10 mm bolts.
Step 32 – Remove bolts in lower manifold to head using 8 mm socket, these bolts were 10 mm.
Step 35 – Remove (4) bolts in intercooler water adapter, (3) 8 mm and (1) 10 mm, there were (3) 10 mm and (1) 8 mm.
Step 48 – Apply thin bead of supplied 518 gasket maker (not too thick). Install intercooler to Kenne Bell discharge using factory bolts. Here is one of the more significant issues; when putting the factory bolts back in, the two forward most bolt holes were not tapped all the way through. I had to cut a few threads off of these bolts so they screwed all the way in. After bolting up the intercooler to the supercharger I noticed a bag of small 3/8” long bolts that were the same diameter and pitch as the bolts I just put in and once I completed the entire installation, these bolts were still unused and never mentioned in the installation instructions. I believe that they were intended for this step but cannot confirm and it bothers me that something so integral to the assembly of the kit has been left out. Taking a photograph was difficult but you can see at the bottom of the hole that there are no threads here.
Step 49 – Clean lower manifold again with carb cleaner. It is a good idea to apply 518 to both sides of gasket. Install gasket.
Step 50 – Position lower correctly. Recheck lower PCV hose to be sure it hasn’t slipped off of rear. These two steps (49 and 50) need to be switched, the instructions show step 49 as putting the gasket between the lower manifold and the supercharger in. Then step 50 shows the lower manifold being put in and doesn’t even mention the intake gasket between the cylinder head and lower manifold.
Step 62 – Install throttle body using new gasket and 8 mm socket wrench and OEM bolts. Torque to 7 ft/lbs. All four bolt holes were not tapped properly; I had to cut several threads off of these bolts as well.
Step 76 – Install engine solenoid cluster using 5 mm hex key and (2) M6x8 socket head cap screw (SHCS). The supplied bracket that is bolted onto the supercharger was about an inch too low to fit the engine solenoid cluster. Please see the photos below as a comparison to the original height of the cluster from the bottom of the stock eaton to the Kenne Bell. The eaton is almost 5.5” high and the Kenne Bell is closer to 4.5”.
There was one spot on the front of the blower where is says ‘Kenne Bell’ that was not completely machined off. Please see the photo below.
Lastly to note, the idle air control vale sits too high and when the hood is closed it makes contact with the hood liner and has damaged it as you can see in the photo below. There was nothing noted about hood clearance modifications or issues in the instructions so I don’t know what to think about this problem, too!
None of these issues were deal breakers for me otherwise I would have mailed it back but I honestly expected better from an expensive supercharger kit from a high profile name like Kenne Bell. I still need to purchase a boost-a-pump, would like the blower pulley that I had believed I was getting to make 15 lbs of boost with tool and would like the appropriate bracket that holds the engine solenoid cluster at the correct height. I hope that the installation instructions can be neatened up for others who purchase the kit to avoid the issues I ran into. I have faith that these issues will be resolved in a timely manner and allow me to put the finish touches to my Kenne Bell set up.
I purchased the 2.6H kit on 7/5/11 for my Cobra and had several fitment/quality issues I’d like addressed and resolved. Particular problems I had that I will go into detail further on are: directions were inconsistent, black and white photographs were hard to see, bolt holes were not tapped completely, incomplete machined surfaces and improper brackets. I also was under the impression that when I ordered the kit and the sales rep asked me how much boost I was going to run, 14 or 15 lbs I told him, that it was going to come with the respective pulley and not the 3.75” 11lb pulley.
Overall the product supplied is good and has excellent drivability. To go into the particulars of my issues I’ll start methodically as they arose through the supplied directions. I understand that the kit is an aftermarket product and would require minor tweaking to each vehicle application but these are beyond that.
Beginning with step 21 – Remove (4) 10 mm bolts, the bolts here on the supercharger intake plenum were 13 mm.
Step 29 – Remove (2) 8 mm bolts on the fuel rail on each side of the supercharger, they are 10 mm bolts.
Step 32 – Remove bolts in lower manifold to head using 8 mm socket, these bolts were 10 mm.
Step 35 – Remove (4) bolts in intercooler water adapter, (3) 8 mm and (1) 10 mm, there were (3) 10 mm and (1) 8 mm.
Step 48 – Apply thin bead of supplied 518 gasket maker (not too thick). Install intercooler to Kenne Bell discharge using factory bolts. Here is one of the more significant issues; when putting the factory bolts back in, the two forward most bolt holes were not tapped all the way through. I had to cut a few threads off of these bolts so they screwed all the way in. After bolting up the intercooler to the supercharger I noticed a bag of small 3/8” long bolts that were the same diameter and pitch as the bolts I just put in and once I completed the entire installation, these bolts were still unused and never mentioned in the installation instructions. I believe that they were intended for this step but cannot confirm and it bothers me that something so integral to the assembly of the kit has been left out. Taking a photograph was difficult but you can see at the bottom of the hole that there are no threads here.
Step 49 – Clean lower manifold again with carb cleaner. It is a good idea to apply 518 to both sides of gasket. Install gasket.
Step 50 – Position lower correctly. Recheck lower PCV hose to be sure it hasn’t slipped off of rear. These two steps (49 and 50) need to be switched, the instructions show step 49 as putting the gasket between the lower manifold and the supercharger in. Then step 50 shows the lower manifold being put in and doesn’t even mention the intake gasket between the cylinder head and lower manifold.
Step 62 – Install throttle body using new gasket and 8 mm socket wrench and OEM bolts. Torque to 7 ft/lbs. All four bolt holes were not tapped properly; I had to cut several threads off of these bolts as well.
Step 76 – Install engine solenoid cluster using 5 mm hex key and (2) M6x8 socket head cap screw (SHCS). The supplied bracket that is bolted onto the supercharger was about an inch too low to fit the engine solenoid cluster. Please see the photos below as a comparison to the original height of the cluster from the bottom of the stock eaton to the Kenne Bell. The eaton is almost 5.5” high and the Kenne Bell is closer to 4.5”.
There was one spot on the front of the blower where is says ‘Kenne Bell’ that was not completely machined off. Please see the photo below.
Lastly to note, the idle air control vale sits too high and when the hood is closed it makes contact with the hood liner and has damaged it as you can see in the photo below. There was nothing noted about hood clearance modifications or issues in the instructions so I don’t know what to think about this problem, too!
None of these issues were deal breakers for me otherwise I would have mailed it back but I honestly expected better from an expensive supercharger kit from a high profile name like Kenne Bell. I still need to purchase a boost-a-pump, would like the blower pulley that I had believed I was getting to make 15 lbs of boost with tool and would like the appropriate bracket that holds the engine solenoid cluster at the correct height. I hope that the installation instructions can be neatened up for others who purchase the kit to avoid the issues I ran into. I have faith that these issues will be resolved in a timely manner and allow me to put the finish touches to my Kenne Bell set up.
