[Bangkok_ZL1]

OK, So the extraction is done. I was lucky. I have many things to report. 1st I had about 4000 miles on the car when I finally decided to install my MM Wild CC. Everything was going smooth on the install, even though I haven't really picked up a wrench in about 11 years (I'm 59), and then disaster. The torque wrench I bought did not do it's job properly and click on 10 Newton Meters of Torque. And there are reasons I kept on tightening. Nevertheless, I should have backed it out and started over, cause I had a hunch something was amiss. Maybe because of the lack of wrenching in recent years it just didn't come to mind. So current situation was. Broken bolt in the number 10 hole.
I must put that when the bolt broke, I didn't thoroughly finish the reassembly. Parts were just in place, Like the airbox to TB tube, so they could be easily yanked off when it was time. And the time was this weekend.
Removal of the Supercharger

Yesterday I started on the preliminary stuff. And I must also note. I didn't know the position of the broken bolt, was it above the head or below. So I was a bit scared. Because if it was above, how was I going to slide the supercharger under the wiring harness like everybody else did on youtube?? So I Pulled the belt, took off the air box tube, yanked off all the PCV hoses, unhooked the electrical connectors on the right side of the supercharger. And started looking for wiring harness slack. I undid the Airbox (I just wanted to, exploring!), I also yanked the plastic Coil pack cover on the RHS (exploring) and unhooked all of the wiring to the coils. I also unhooked the other side as it seemed to give me a little harness movement. I also unhooked the clip behind the supercharger. I need to note once the bolt broke a few weeks ago that I did not re-anchor the wiring harness to the supercharger, but slack was still an almost nonexistent precious commodity. I also yanked the upper exhaust manifold heat shield (exploring). Also, while I say exploring, you all must understand once again that there is NO SLACK on this RHD Camaro wiring harness. It is very tight against the supercharger. And I see people sliding the Supercharger under the wiring harness and I'm wondering how I'm going to be able to get enough slack just to get the guiding pin out. So I was undoing many of the parts exploring ways to make slack or get better visibility on how I would make slack. At the end of the day, I was still wondering how I was going to slide the supercharger under the harness. But before I turned in, I decided to pull the Snow Blocker.... This is Thailand, It's never snowed here ever since man has been on this planet in our current form. So I pulled the top front cover and yanked the damn thing out.
Day 2:
I'm getting more desperate and serious now. I noticed the tie downs on the left side of the supercharger. I pulled the one mounted to the valve cover, but not nicely, I need a new one. and I cut a tie down next to the fuse box, I need another new one. This made a huge difference. Also, I made sure all electrical connectors on the right hand side of the supercharger were unhooked (I had left one). Then after wrestling with the wiring harness, I'm noticing some decent slack. Then I think maybe I can pull this wiring harness over the snout of the supercharger. This would be too good to be true. So I unbolt the vacuum that opens the supercharger valve (also remove the tubes so they wouldn't be damaged), more on this later because it applies to another thread, so I could flip it to the other side (3 o'clock position). With all that done, I'm confident I can go over the snout. I removed the dexcool hoses. I put a cut off finger from a latex glove to seal each one (rubber band to secure it, saw this tip on youtube). Then lastly I pulled all the bolts on the cover and then the supercharger except number 7. Number 7 bolt I taped about 2 inches out so it wouldn't slide back down and interfere with the removal process. I then lifted the front of the supercharger and I noticed the bolt broke above the head by a 1/4 inch (Thank You Jesus!! No drilling and easyout required, just careful use of vise grips). So I then began to summon enough slack to slide the wiring harness over and under the thottlebody and the pulley. It was tight, but not dangerously tight; It worked!!!. So now I could lift the supercharger straight up an inch then move slightly forward then up and off. And it worked perfect. Once off, with the help of my wife, I taped up the intake ports on the side I was pulling the broken bolt out of and I put a plastic bag over the other side. Then I removed the broken bolt with vise grips very carefully, and there was a lot of metal slivers. So after the removal, I got some tape and patted down the entire area to pick up all slivers. Then I pulled the tape and carefully cleaned up the ports which were loaded with oil. Also inside the ports are brown with oil. You definitely want a CC immediately. I actually am going to ask some professionals what I can do to clean all this up if it's possible. Then without thinking my wife and I put the supercharger back on with the old number 7 bolt still taped half way in. I can't believe I did this. I said I would concentrate... But she was in a hurry to leave and she was like, lets put it back on so I can go... And I said, "UHHHH OK." Damn I'm pissed, Idiot. I haven't bolted it down as I don't have the new bolts yet. It's just sitting in the correct position waiting for the new bolts with a plastic bag on top of the supercharger to keep dust and stuff out. I should get the new bolts tomorrow. But because I didn't order the gaskets, I think I'll leave the old number 7 bolt in there and be very careful tightening it down, unless some professional tells me I must take it back off. I don't want to chance messing up the seals. This is my current position. As soon as the bolts arrive I will bolt it down and finish the install of the MM CC. One thing for sure. I will put much more concentration into reassembly. This actually could have been a total disaster if it would have broken down a quarter inch and stripped the first few rows of threads.

[Bangkok_ZL1]

A few more pics of how bad the oil was.... and a torque wrench that I do NOT recommend.

[EvilZL]

Wow! glad you got the broken bolt out! Thanks for the pic's and info on your removal of the stock LT4 Super Charger

[7LitreC5]

You really lucked out on the broken bolt!

That's cool that your wife helps out. My wife also helped me out when I pulled the stock SC and put on the Magnuson.

Time for a new torque wrench for sure...

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by 7LitreC5

You really lucked out on the broken bolt!

That's cool that your wife helps out. My wife also helped me out when I pulled the stock SC and put on the Magnuson.

Time for a new torque wrench for sure...

it sure turned out lucky..... If I wouldn't have been able to get the slack, then I would have rather dealt with the drill and easyout. Cause I didn't want to chance scratching the face of the blower or ruin the gasket. Cause no slack and 1/2 inch up or inch or two inches up. Then I would have to go under the car to disconnect everything on the wiring line. That would have been worse than the drill and easyout.... Best case scenario happened, Thank You Jesus!! serious.

Actually, when I told my wife that if the supercharger gets scratched badly, I'll have to buy a maggie. She was like, you're telling me this to prepare me for the purchase, LOL

And got a new inch pounds wrench ne the way. Hopefully made in the USA. I'm not using this for anything else if at all possible, except on my gate, or fence. This was brand new actually. That's what pisses me off. I bought this wrench just for this job. It only goes from 5Nm to 25Nm that's like 4 foot pounds to 21 foot pounds. It's supposed to be more sensitive..... it's garbage.

[EvilZL]

Originally Posted by Bangkok_ZL1

Actually, when I told my wife that if the supercharger gets scratched badly, I'll have to buy a maggie. She was like, you're telling me this to prepare me for the purchase, LOL

[Alain]

Thank you for taking the time to take pictures and write this !! I’m glad to hear it is not a big nightmare to take the supercharger off.

Just so you know, I did not replace that last bolt when I installed my catch can because I couldn’t get it out. Many of us did not replace it. Just be very careful to not over tighten it.

I bought new supercharger bolts from GM to replace the bolts that were accessible and they came with brand new gaskets. It’s all part of the kit so if you want to replace the rubber seals between the supercharger and the engine intake ports you can.

One question I have for ya....... are there dowel pins on the bottom of the supercharger ??


The Hellcat had two dowel pins on the bottom of the blower used to line up the supercharger with the top of the motor. I believe they are also there to keep the supercharger in position and prevent it from shifting from side to side while under load.

Any amount of shift between the supercharger and the motor might cause the belt to get chewed up..

[ZX-10R]

I didn't remove the supercharger when I installed my Elite cc, just propped it up - this is a pretty good video, it's a similar process for MM

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by Alain

Thank you for taking the time to take pictures and write this !! I’m glad to hear it is not a big nightmare to take the supercharger off.

Just so you know, I did not replace that last bolt when I installed my catch can because I couldn’t get it out. Many of us did not replace it. Just be very careful to not over tighten it.

I bought new supercharger bolts from GM to replace the bolts that were accessible and they came with brand new gaskets. It’s all part of the kit so if you want to replace the rubber seals between the supercharger and the engine intake ports you can.

One question I have for ya....... are there dowel pins on the bottom of the supercharger ??


The Hellcat had two dowel pins on the bottom of the blower used to line up the supercharger with the top of the motor. I believe they are also there to keep the supercharger in position and prevent it from shifting from side to side while under load.

Any amount of shift between the supercharger and the motor might cause the belt to get chewed up..

Well, you're not going to get any movement cause it's bolted to the head. And yes there is a guide pin on your left hand side, in fact you should see the hole for it. Yes, it was a snap. I'm thinking of yanking the supercharger back off. It's just sitting on the heads unbolted. I got the bolts but am waiting on the torque wrench. So I might pull it back off and pull the bolt and then change the bolt (tape it half way in) then drop the supercharger back on and bolt it down. Best advise I can give is use 2 people when taking it off.

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Bangkok_ZL1

OK, So the extraction is done.

How many total hours do you have invested in your blower removal so far?

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by JSH

How many total hours do you have invested in your blower removal so far?

Well, It's hard to say. Because I was thinking a lot about how to get by the wiring harness and many other what if's. Now that I know what I'm doing this is a 1/2 hour to take this off. Obviously on will be different as I will be assembling with much more deliberate actions. In this "learning" stage, This took me a few hours. But once again, I removed the valve cover plastic cover, upper exhaust manifold heat shield the air box all of it, The front cover for the snow guard. I'm just getting to know my new ride.

Right now I'm building a new garage. Some petty thieves are trying to case my car for the wheels.... Freak'in lousy criminals, they left floor jack marks where they were sizing it up. The garage will house Miss America Tomorrow.

[Alain]

Originally Posted by Bangkok_ZL1

Well, you're not going to get any movement cause it's bolted to the head. And yes there is a guide pin on your left hand side, in fact you should see the hole for it. Yes, it was a snap. I'm thinking of yanking the supercharger back off. It's just sitting on the heads unbolted. I got the bolts but am waiting on the torque wrench. So I might pull it back off and pull the bolt and then change the bolt (tape it half way in) then drop the supercharger back on and bolt it down. Best advise I can give is use 2 people when taking it off.

I think the supercharger still may shift from side to side or front to back due to the force the belt exerts on the pulley when you put your foot into the gas pedal.

I had the same opinion as you, I didn’t think the supercharger would shift since it is bolted to the motor. But those bolts are not fastened with high torque values so they don’t really do much to “clamp down” on the supercharger to keep it from moving.

Remember that pulley is exerting a high amount of force on the front of the supercharger, pulling it forward/lifting the back of it off the motor.......and that is just at idle. When you get on the gas and the belt/pulley starts spinning faster, that force gets multiplied.
Someone with a lot more knowledge than me on the Hellcat forum pointed that out and it makes sense to me.

There’s only one guide pin on the bottom of the supercharger?

[Bangkok_ZL1]

Originally Posted by Alain

I think the supercharger still may shift from side to side or front to back due to the force the belt exerts on the pulley when you put your foot into the gas pedal.

I had the same opinion as you, I didn’t think the supercharger would shift since it is bolted to the motor. But those bolts are not fastened with high torque values so they don’t really do much to “clamp down” on the supercharger to keep it from moving.

Remember that pulley is exerting a high amount of force on the front of the supercharger, pulling it forward/lifting the back of it off the motor.......and that is just at idle. When you get on the gas and the belt/pulley starts spinning faster, that force gets multiplied.
Someone with a lot more knowledge than me on the Hellcat forum pointed that out and it makes sense to me.

There’s only one guide pin on the bottom of the supercharger?

Yes, and if you look at my pics, you'll see where it goes....

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Bangkok_ZL1

that I know what I'm doing this is a 1/2 hour to take this off.

So you're saying that, if you walked up to my car today, you would have the blower off in 1/2 hour? and 1/2 hour to reinstall it?