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Supercharger noise and questions

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DMohr87

New member
What a way to start my first post here! I have an 05 Grand Prix GTP with 3800 SC in it. About a week ago I noticed a ticking noise that I thought might be the alternator bearing. I was having trouble figuring it out. It was noticable a first only at idle and mostly when cold. But it kept getting louder. Now it sounds like a rock in a tumbler. It goes away on acceleration.
Now thanks to this forum and all the threads I have read, I believe it is the coupler so I will probably be ordering one from ZZP soon. In the mean time I think I can remove the SC belt and drive it that way. It looks like the belt only drives the SC. Will someone confirm that for me?
Is there any upgrades I might want to consider while I am in there doing this?
It also looks like on my 05 the Alternator bracket is not as much in the way as it is on older models...is that true?

Thanks,
Dwayne:
 


ya my coupler is rattling on the pegs also, i have a zzp coupler that im waiting 2 put on with a new pulley & belt!!

good luck with it!
 
coupler is worn out. it is an easy fix. all you have to do is drain the SC fluid, and remove the bolts to the snout to take it off.

the coupler should just slide right off the pins of the shaft.

and just slide the new one on. clean off the remainer of the gasket. for this you hav to make a gasket before you slide the snout back on. I use Permatex Avation sealent. It will seal anything!

YES, you can drive without your SC belt... the car will be VERY slow though... but you can do it. in fact many people do this for winter......

There really isnt an mods you can do other than a pulley.... but I have never done one with the snout off the blower... I imagine it would be a pain.... becuase it would move everywhere...
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I ordered the coupler last night. I also ordered the ZZP SC oil. Is this stuff okay or should I go with the GM oil instead?

Like I mentioned above it looks like the alternator bracket is not as much in the way on the newer 3800s like my 05. Can anyone say if that is true or am I going to have trouble with it?

Thanks again, it is nice to have a place like this to go to when you have a problem with something you have never worked on like an SC.:)
 
Okay, I took the belt off and the supercharger pulley is still turning and the rattle is only a little quieter. Does that sound right to you guys. It does quieten down a lot more when I rev the engine but comes back at idle.:th_scratchhead:
 


the blower will still turn because of the air going past the rotors. turn the motor off and turn the pulley by hand. still hear it?
 
Bio248 said:
the blower will still turn because of the air going past the rotors. turn the motor off and turn the pulley by hand. still hear it?
Click to expand...

I can't hear anything turning the pulley by hand. I have one of those stethescope things and tired it out. I really couldn't hear much a the spot where the coupler is but the noise was louder at the throttle body end and really loud next to the pulley. I am not sure but I think this is still the coupler. I have heard that vibrations and noise sometimes transmit themselves to the other end of shaft.

Is there anything else it could be? I think some of the noise was that injector cover. With it gone some of the rattle is gone.
 
it could be the needle bearings in the blower case as well. i have never heard what those sound like though.
 
The car only has 35,000 on it. Is this common for such low mileage and no I haven't really trashed it or drivien hard.
 
...neither a coupler or bearings seem likely for that low of miles..

did you open anything up to check if it was the coupler? that is your next step if not.
 


Yeah, It hought the mileage was a little low too but the only way to be sure now is to open it up...which is my next step as soon as the part gets here. I guess it will get a new coupler either way once it is open.

I wish I knew for sure that this is it. The car runs fine otherwise, it pulls fine, doesn't miss, no leaks or smoke, guages are all good. This makes my head hurt...
 
a bad PCV valve will make a terrible grinding noise coming from the blower area. run the engine and take off the oil cap and see if it stops. i had that issue on my car and i didnt find out till after swapping the tensioner, blower and water pump
 


QwikGT said:
do like i told you and open the oil cap with the engine running and see if it goes away.
Click to expand...

I did this and I wish it had worked but no joy. I spent some more time listening and looking around. I don't think it is the supercharger. I think think it is lower down. I am afraid it is rod knock or something like that.

Well it isn't a rod knocking but almost as bad. I have a cracked flexplate. I guess the end of this thread is that not all rock in a tumbler noises are from the supercharger coupler. I kinda wish that had been the problem. Anyway thanks to everyone who posted and tried to help out.
 
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