Superchargers

[UKG grant]

I'm thinking of going to go look at a corrado g60 (1.8 supercharged) is there a way of telling if a supercharger is on its way out? as corrado g60's are apparently know for blowing superchargers but i feel thats about as much accurate as Renault 5 and head gaskets.

but is there any noticeable signs of a supercharger opn its way out? and finally when one goes is it a issue to the engine? or is it just going smoke allot like a turbo?

cheers!
Grant

[Sparkie]

i dont know how to tell if its about to fail....but i do know that they are uber expensive to replace and they do seem to fail fairly regularly.

[Big Jim]

They've got two big rotors that are only kept apart by a small timing belt. When it fails the rotors smash together and bits of ally go everywhere (including through the engine). It's a reasonably efficient design of blower but needs regular rebuilds to keep that belt in perfect condition.

[Billy-G]

The G in the designation comes from the shape of the blower rotors.

Efficient design, but as Jim says, when it all lets go, fluck me, it doesn't half go!

You will then be poor.

[stuTHC]

Corrados are an awesome car, but leave the g60 well alone. Poor engine.Go for the VR6, lot more fun, then turbo it :D

But back on subject, all chargers need a rebuild every 10k or so, less when driven hard. I know a few lads with G40's running small pulleys that insist on a rebuild every 3000 miles.
Rough cost on a rebuild £400-£600, a lot more if you need a new rotor or housing. On the G40's the charger tends to leak oil externally when they are on the way out, rather than internally, altou any smoke on idle or as boost comes on is not a good sign.
When they do eventually fail it tends to be oil seals rarther than the rotor smashing (althou an oil failiure at full boost will almost certainly damage the rotor). Ive been in a G40 when the charger let go, it flooded the engine bay with oil but hardly any was in the pipework and intercooler. Fortunatly we'd just set off from cold so nothing had got hot under the bonnet for the oil to catch on, it'd have been a huge fire if it had.