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Which Supercharger Coupler should I get?

I

iseektruth

New member
So, my supercharger is rattling, and I've been told that it may be the rotors in the blower part of the supercharger because it appears that the nose has already been replaced in the past. However, I know that the couplers are known to go out more than once, and it is a lot cheaper to replace the coupler than the whole thing, so I want to try to do that first. My options are a Dorman brand from Amazon for $12, a Eaton Brand for $15, or a ZZP Performance for $30. The ZZP Performance is apparently designed to be stronger, but I was wondering if anyone knew if it is worth the extra money. Does anyone have experience with this? It may also be helpful to know that I'm pretty sure it has the stock pulley and no engine mods that I know of, so I'm not sure if it would need the stronger coupler. I just don't want to replace it with a cheaper one and have it go out again if putting in a stronger one would prevent it from going out again. Also, does anyone have any tips for this job? I'm at school in Arkansas and there aren't as many supercharged cars here as there are in Minnesota, so I'm not sure anyone around here would have the experience to help me. So I want to be as knowlegeable as possible even though I will have to have someone at least help me lift stuff since I'm a girl with weak arms. Thanks for any tips you can give me! :)
 


Iirc you can search and will find a write-up. Looks easy and doesn't require a pair of balls to complete.
 
Do yourself a favor and get the couple install kit too. Use the siring to get out 90% of the sc oil from the snout. Put a rag under the snout to catch the rest of the oil. Unbolt the about an brake it free from the rotor pack. You will see the couple starring at you on the snout. Make sure to seal the snout and rotor pack side. Refill with oil. The oil will smell really bad, that's normal.

But before you do all that, take your supercharger belt off and turn the pulley back and forth by hand. If there is play then it's likely the coupler. If there's no play it could be you sc bearings. There's a write up for that too by billboost.
 
I just put one in mine and it was really easy took like 30 mins. I used the dorman one on mine and it works fine just make sure you order new oil with it cause it's kinda hard to find anywhere but online.
 


The sell it at the dealership. You could use for supercharger oil from the ford dealership if you had to.

And you only need to use a bottle and a half.
 
hey bili any chance you have a link to the belt removal and tools needed someone had said the tensioner requires a funny allan or tx bit just wanted to make sure I had everything off and ready to go when the part comes in and in all the coupler replacement guides nobody gives a how to on the belt/alternator removal I'd assume its pretty straight forward undo tensioner remove belt undo tensioner remove belt remove alternator remove nose cone replace coupler reseal rebolt rebelt ready to roll
 
15 mm bolt on the tensioner. You'll need a 10 mm deep well socket and a 15 mm deep well socket and some anerobic sealer for the snout and at least 8 oz of supercharger oil.
 
i have the ZZP one but i dont think the stock ones that bad either if it lasted 100+k miles well atleast mine did
 


You'd probably be fine with a stock replacement, but for cheap you can upgrade and not worry about it ever again. That's what I did. It's very easy to swap out too - Take off both belts, remove alternator (3 bolts) and take out the SC snout bolts. Should take about an hour to do everything,.
 
ok awesome guys thanx for the help
anyone curious to the mileage it died at 146k and literally sounds like your supercharger converted to a rock tumbler but is incredible prominent while idling and unmistakable with the hood up and car running
 
What exactly is the rattling? Like what metal hitting off of what other metal? Is running it like that with a bad coupler ruining the parts in the snout or elsewhere? Or is it just the coupler itself banging around?
 
FriboRage said:
What exactly is the rattling? Like what metal hitting off of what other metal? Is running it like that with a bad coupler ruining the parts in the snout or elsewhere? Or is it just the coupler itself banging around?
Click to expand...

P1010465.jpg

Green thingy is the coupler, its a plastic/rubber/compound piece that takes the torque from the motor so its not metal on metal. Simple fix vs replacing the gears or the shaft in the snout. 3 holes for the gear, the other 3 are for the shaft in the snout. It is the middleman that takes all the abuse every-time you start, stop, WOT, or just goose the engine.
What happens is the tight fitting holes wallow out and become egg shaped and it causes slack, and while idling the slack causes a rattle. When your on the throttle it goes away, but back at idle, slacks up and wobble wobble wobble wobble.
 
dsmuts said:
15 mm bolt on the tensioner. You'll need a 10 mm deep well socket and a 15 mm deep well socket and some anerobic sealer for the snout and at least 8 oz of supercharger oil.
Click to expand...

I have a 97 so do I have to mess with the elbow near the alt, or do I just move the alt to reach the bolts ?
Can I get the anearobic sealer seperately ?
 


GTP in RTP said:
I have a 97 so do I have to mess with the elbow near the alt, or do I just move the alt to reach the bolts ?
Can I get the anearobic sealer seperately ?
Click to expand...

I don't like doing more work than necessary. I never touched the Alt in either coupler change I have done.

IMAG0061.jpg


Remove all bolts needed, loosen last bolt to alt, put down rags to catch leftover oil, pull and rotate like so^^^, clean inside snout, change coupler (REMEMBER GLOVES FOR THIS) clean around gears, apply sealant, rotate back and push back in place, tighten bolts back and refill.

Done... LIKE A BOSS!
 
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