Life of the Supercharger Unit [Archive]

Makelo

10-21-2014, 03:37 PM

cvtroger

10-21-2014, 04:28 PM

Just wondering, that is the average lifespan of the supercharger unit in our Previas? 60k 120k 200k miles? I recently had my supercharger belt changed, and now I feel less boost and was advised by the mechanic that my SC is on its way out / that I should look into rebuilding the unit. Called my local dealer for fun and I was quoted $4,800 for a new SC unit. Have any of you guys rebuilt your SC unit? How much can I drive the van with a weak supercharger?

I actually wondered this too, but I have found a few at the junkyards or on craigslist for good price. I believe it is a roots type supercharger. I was thinking of picking up one and messing with it, but I would think you would need a rebuild kit.

TheMAN

10-23-2014, 08:03 AM

as long as you keep the oil changed, it should last
the S/C unit is a larger version of what's in the MR-2, so I bet there's tons of info on that one

terbennett

11-02-2014, 07:20 PM

as long as you keep the oil changed, it should last
the S/C unit is a larger version of what's in the MR-2, so I bet there's tons of info on that one

Agreed. In fact, one popular option on the MR2 S/C is swapping to from the SC12 unit in the MR2 to the SC14 from the Previa. I'm sure you'll find info on MR2 forums on the SC14 supercharger on them.

Makelo

11-04-2014, 05:09 PM

Agreed. In fact, one popular option on the MR2 S/C is swapping to from the SC12 unit in the MR2 to the SC14 from the Previa. I'm sure you'll find info on MR2 forums on the SC14 supercharger on them.

Well that sucks, gotta go to the MR2 forum to find out about the Previa SC unit. But even when changing the oil, there's no guarantee on the SC unit lasting. I mean, turbo's don't last as long as the engines. For example, the Supra's 2JZGTE engine has two turbos and often need to be rebuilt around 80k miles / specially when the turbo seals are gone and the engine starts to blue smoke. That's why I was asking about the life expectancy on the SC unit / I have not own my Previa since new, but for the last 5 years, I have checked and changed the oil once a year. There is no oil consumption from the supercharger but I can tell it does not kicks in as it used to.

Makelo

11-04-2014, 05:11 PM

as long as you keep the oil changed, it should last
the S/C unit is a larger version of what's in the MR-2, so I bet there's tons of info on that one

Which MR2 forum do you recommend? I have access to the MR2OC.com but not much info on the SC Unit besides the update from the SC12 to the SC14 and obtaining a smaller pulley for increase in boost from the unit

llamavan

11-04-2014, 09:05 PM

Try http://www.mr2.com/

Gwen

The Tub Guy

12-05-2014, 06:58 PM

terbennett

12-06-2014, 10:22 AM

Hi all. I'm brand new to the forum. I wondered about this as well and I'll say that I have never changed the oil in the SC of mine. I have had this van for over 10 years and put over 216,000 miles on it. It has 320,000 now and just blew the head gasket the other day. I hope I don't jinx it now...

This is the reason my Previas are N/A models. When I started searching for my first Prev, I wanted the S/C. However, whenever I asked an owner how often they changed the oil in the supercharger, the usual reply would be, " I change the oil every 3,000 miles." When I asked again spcifically about the supercharger, they were baffled. This must be one hell of a supercharger to be able to survive that kind of neglect. I would bet that if these were serviced regularly, they'd last darn near forever.

Makelo

12-10-2014, 11:37 AM

This is the reason my Previas are N/A models. When I started searching for my first Prev, I wanted the S/C. However, whenever I asked an owner how often they changed the oil in the supercharger, the usual reply would be, " I change the oil every 3,000 miles." When I asked again spcifically about the supercharger, they were baffled. This must be one hell of a supercharger to be able to survive that kind of neglect. I would bet that if these were serviced regularly, they'd last darn near forever.

Interesting, I had the exact opposite reason, the supercharger was the #1 requirement I looked into owning a Previa. I owned forced induction Toyotas before and I swore never to buy the N/A version of anything that had a Turbo or Supercharger (MR2 & Supra were my previous cars) I think in all three cases (AW11 MR2 SC / Supra Turbo and Previa SC are better made cars than their N/A brothers. Take for example the SC Previa engine, it has a lower compression and oil cooled pistons for longetivity while the NA engine does not, even the differentials have lower gearing so the engine does not stress during highway speeds. Shoot, my SC Previa even with a bad supercharger unit still running with no issues. Is pretty amazing to think how well Toyota made the SC Previa, imagine that at least half of the SC Previas around the country are running with abused or failed superchargers and their owners don't know it :LOL2:

cvtroger

04-29-2015, 01:40 AM

I have been procrastinating on doing the S/C oil change. today after a long few days, I decided to get it out of the way. When I checked the S/C dipstick, it was low. Did a quick search for references and went to the GM stealership and bought 2 4oz bottles.

Got underneath,
17 mm to open the drain plug and drained what was left in there. It was low, but the fluid smelt burnt!
Tighten the drain plug back up and snaked a hose in the dipstick hole and filled until fluid overflowed.

The previous owner did a great job of keeping every receipt for the previa, but nothing on servicing the S/C unit. It makes me wonder when this thing was ever serviced. I'm just glad there was fluid in there and I plan to do this flush maybe every year.

The GM brand supercharger oil is what was recommended on zenseeker.net. This was a spur of the moment "let me do this now before I forget". The total for the 2 bottles came to $19.31, I think he gave me a discount.

I had a 60ml syringe from work and extra vacuum hoses from changing out as many hoses I found near the intake.

If it wasn't for the past few days (http://reactionprevia.blogspot.com/2015/04/424-282015-days-and-nights-i-completed.html), I would have not done this sooner. But since I have been "on one" with my previa, it got done as needed.

timsrv

04-29-2015, 04:10 AM

For anybody wanting to stick with the original "approved" SC oil at an affordable price, here's more info:

There's a guy on-line who sells Klubersynth oil for Ogura TX superchargers @ $36 per liter (that's 20 x the volume of a 50 milliliter bottle). If purchased in the 50 milliliter bottles (that Toyota sells for $50 each), this same volume would be $1,000.00. I believe this is the same stuff sold by Toyota. Here's a quote from his website:

"Ogura Clutch is the manufacturer for the Toyota SC12 and SC14 superchargers.
Aside from the housing casting the SC12 and SC14 are virtually identical to the TX12 and TX15

This is the reccomended oil for the Ogura TX series chargers.

In conversations with Ogura clutch it was brought to my attention that the type of oil you use is very important. Using the wrong oil can shorten life due to added gear and bearing wear. The wrong oil can react with various metals in the gear box and cause rapid erosion. It can also react with the seals and cause them to break down and fail much more quickly."

Here's a link: http://www.matrixgarage.com/products/klubersynth-oil-ogura-tx-superchargers-1-liter

cvtroger

04-29-2015, 11:04 AM

For anybody wanting to stick with the original "approved" SC oil at an affordable price, here's more info:

I was procrastinating on changing the S/C oil and I remember some posted they were out of stock... but I never followed up on it. I will probably use that next time. I just spontaneously decided to do the S/C while I was underneath my van and glad I did. It needed it.

timsrv

04-29-2015, 01:35 PM

BTW, I just noticed something on that website that makes me wonder about actual volume. He claims he's selling it in 1 liter bottles, but if you scroll down, next to the picture it states: Dimensions: 3 in x 2 in x 2 in. Even if these dimensions are the interior of the bottle, not accounting for losses due to shape, that only works out to 12 cubic inches. Assuming I'm doing the math correctly, you can only fit 200 ml (.2 liters) in this space. I think there may be an error in his listing (regarding volume) :confused:. I'm going to contact him asking for clarification & I'll post his reply here. Tim

timsrv

04-29-2015, 02:26 PM

The guy replied within minutes:

The UPS calculator uses the package size to calculate shipping and it calculates so high that I changed the size and weight just to try to reduce shipping charges.
I actually generally ship USPS for this but haven't bothered to setup USPS shipping options.

Definitely let me know if you have any other questions.

SamPrevia

04-29-2015, 08:37 PM

Mine only has 108K on it and still performing as expected. I just drain and refill the oil a few weeks ago. I plan to drain and refill every 30,000 miles. I hope it will last another 100Kmiles.

Hi all. I'm brand new to the forum. I wondered about this as well and I'll say that I have never changed the oil in the SC of mine. I have had this van for over 10 years and put over 216,000 miles on it. It has 320,000 now and just blew the head gasket the other day. I hope I don't jinx it now...
I hope your S/C is still working, but I seriously doubt it. The probability of having any oil (even a single drop) left after 10 years and 216Kmiles is practically nil.

HotRodPrevia

05-05-2015, 10:59 PM

Mine only has 108K on it and still performing as expected. I just drain and refill the oil a few weeks ago. I plan to drain and refill every 30,000 miles. I hope it will last another 100Kmiles.

I hope your S/C is still working, but I seriously doubt it. The probability of having any oil (even a single drop) left after 10 years and 216Kmiles is practically nil.

I would like to add one more data point. We purchased our previa in 2002 with 80K, one of the first things I checked the SC oil, the dipstick came out dry with a small amount of black powder on the end...added the Toyota SC oil and 240k SC was still working fine, we removed it to replace with junkyard ( slight port cleanup ) and the original units spins easy and still has a small amount of oil left. Pretty robust!

SamPrevia

05-06-2015, 09:41 PM

I would like to add one more data point. We purchased our previa in 2002 with 80K, one of the first things I checked the SC oil, the dipstick came out dry with a small amount of black powder on the end...added the Toyota SC oil and 240k SC was still working fine, we removed it to replace with junkyard ( slight port cleanup ) and the original units spins easy and still has a small amount of oil left. Pretty robust!

I'm confused. I read it 3 times but still has no idea what you're saying.

HotRodPrevia

05-07-2015, 08:38 AM

I'm confused. I read it 3 times but still has no idea what you're saying.
This is why the interweb blows....
The original post ask about life span of the Supercharger (SC), correct?
I will simplify my post...even with questionable maintenance, our SC lasted 240k and runs fine.

Tjsprevia

05-13-2015, 01:24 AM

I finally got the dip stick out of my s/c tonight ... Wholly roflroflroflrofl ... It turned out easy ...

All I had to remove wa the speedo cable bracket ...and learned ---thanks to this forum --- that the dip stick threads in ...

I removed the dip stick and I had oil !! Although it was low low , and the magnet on the dip stick end was black , this oil that was in there was clean ....

i put royal purple 75-90w back in 130mLs. .

the ban had 219,000 on her hope to put a couple hundred more on it , s/c sounds great now

timsrv

05-13-2015, 02:10 AM

Those of you using random oil for this application surprise me. Considering the PITA it is to add oil and considering the cost of replacing the SC, I certainly wouldn't chance using anything other than the approved oil here (although I admit any oil is better than none). With the klubersynth oil available for such a reasonable price, why chance it? Tim

SamPrevia

05-13-2015, 06:46 AM

i put royal purple 75-90w back in 130mLs. .

the ban had 219,000 on her hope to put a couple hundred more on it , s/c sounds great now

What did it sound like before you added oil? BTW, 75-90W is very heavy (high viscosity). Roots-type superchargers use light oil.

Tjsprevia

05-13-2015, 12:05 PM

Not sure why I didn't want to spend a hundred bucks on oil ? Anyway , I have read in a couple foums that the purple stuff was good for this application ...

After removing the 2 12mm bolts that hold the speedo cable harness ( which I didn't put back on ) it was really easy to change and drain the oil ...

i will ill drain and change again if you think I should use a different oil ! Always open to input , I a. Very new to previa... Also how important is that speedo bracket

thanks tj

timsrv

05-13-2015, 12:25 PM

Not sure why I didn't want to spend a hundred bucks on oil ? ........................

Try $36 per liter (as per the info provided on post #12 of this thread). No skin of my back either way (it's your equipment). To me $36 seems like a small investment as opposed to the possible consequence of a failed super charger. They do seem rather tough though, so I'm guessing you're probably okay. Just seems odd (to me) not putting in what the manufacturer recommends. :cnfsd: Tim

SamPrevia

05-13-2015, 12:45 PM

Just seems odd (to me) not putting in what the manufacturer recommends. :cnfsd: Tim

Very odd.

Tjsprevia

05-13-2015, 01:20 PM

Okay okay I will switch to the proper oil thanks. I called my Toyota dealer, 53 okay okay I will switch to the proper oil thanks. I called my Toyota dealer, 53.50 for 50 ml ..I would say that's well over $100 just for the oil.

timsrv

05-13-2015, 01:40 PM

Read post #12 in this thread. There is a link in that post (last line) to the proper oil @ $36 per liter. That's an entire liter...........(20 times the volume of a 50 ml bottle). Unless you have a leak, that's likely the last bottle of SC oil you'll ever need to buy. Tim

PS: Not trying to twist your arm or anything, the purpose of the forum is to help each other. I actually find experiments like this interesting, but in this case it could be potentially expensive. Just trying to help you avoid the expense of a failed super charger. Of course it could be fine with whatever oil you run (it's not like we know for sure it will fail), it's just IMHO an unnecessary risk (that's all we're trying to say). Tim

Tjsprevia

05-13-2015, 05:12 PM

Thanks Tim . I just ordered a bottle of the stuff recommended , 52 bucks shipped .... Thanks for the advice I would rather do it right the first time... But normally I do it right the second...

anywho... How important is that speedo cable holder deally? Is seems important as it had two oversized bolts in it..

thanks for the input ..

Tjsprevia

05-13-2015, 05:14 PM

The post I made earlier is what happens when you talk to you phone and it types for you :(

timsrv

05-13-2015, 10:07 PM

I don't have a supercharger, so I can't run out and look. Typically things like that are to keep things from rubbing/chaffing on each other. If the cable is pushed up against something else......especially a moving part, then yeah, very important. If not, then it might not matter. Tim

SamPrevia

05-13-2015, 10:19 PM

Most wheels are attached with 5 bolts. But I'm quite certain 3 or 4 would also hold the wheel just fine until the wheel detaches itself at the most unfortunate time.

I seriously doubt engineers/designers would arbitrarily add a completely useless bolt, let alone two "just" to hold a cable in place.

Tjsprevia

05-13-2015, 11:45 PM

Thanks Tim , Sam , that's what I was thinking , but then I thought, would engineers make it so freeking hard to change the oil in a supercharger(apparently supposta change every 30k).. I just can't see how this cable holder is so important . But I'm not an engineer ...

tim , I haven't drove my previa with the purple stuff I put in the system.. I do however feel the oil industry IMHO tends to scare people into products they don't need , hi mileage oils , super anti run bad oils , oils that make your car new .. roflroflroflrofl just look at the shelfs at any auto parts store , it enough to make your head spin ...

i dont know crap about a superchargrs oil , so I'm going to take your advice ... But in all my year of cars with over 350k on them , I still use the cheapest off brand oil every 10k I change it ...

I've got a 92 Corolla I roll to Alaska every year 400k still don't burn a drop of oil ...

i will try to get that cable harness on after this s/c oil change , but dam it's going to be a nightmare

HotRodPrevia

05-17-2015, 10:29 AM