Installation and Review: Mountain Performance Inc, Stage 1 & 2 Supercharger

[christopher]

Burned out my hole saw last night trying to cut the hole for the Supercharger Driveshaft through the steel plate behind the side bulkhead.

Need to go get a 2nd one this morning so I can finish that step and post the results.

 

[Turbo11T]

Burned out my hole saw last night trying to cut the hole for the Supercharger Driveshaft through the steel plate behind the side bulkhead.

Need to go get a 2nd one this morning so I can finish that step and post the results.

Get some alumatap to put on the hole saw when cutting. It will smoke like crazy but keep the hole saw from wrecking. Don't try to bore a hole dry, For that matter, don't ever drill or tap a hole dry either. Alumatap is your friend for aluminum.

 

[christopher]

Get some alumatap to put on the hole saw when cutting. It will smoke like crazy but keep the hole saw from wrecking. Don't try to bore a hole dry, For that matter, don't ever drill or tap a hole dry either. Alumatap is your friend for aluminum.

The hole saw cut right through the Aluminum like it was BUTTER.
Didn't have any trouble till I hit the steel support bar behind the Aluminum.
I think it was just the wrong choice of Hole Saws.
I got a better Bi-Metal one this morning.
Will go down and see if it cuts through it in about an hour or so.

 

[Turbo11T]

The hole saw cut right through the Aluminum like it was BUTTER.
Didn't have any trouble till I hit the steel support bar behind the Aluminum.
I think it was just the wrong choice of Hole Saws.
I got a better Bi-Metal one this morning.
Will go down and see if it cuts through it in about an hour or so.

Tap Magic is the other stuff that is heavier for steel. I think it is made by the same company. Either way keep it lubed.

 

[christopher]

New Hole saw did the trick in 2-3 seconds.
Obviously the other one was shot!

Back on track to getting this bad boy installed.!!

Oh.
And I spoke with MPI about the Spanner Wrench.
They are going to take a look at having a small tool made that they could include with the kit so that no one else runs into this problem.

Stand Up solution if you ask me.

 

[BOOSTD]

Needle nose pliers is all I have ever used for the shaft seal, never had an issue.

 

[christopher]

The only issue that the plier's raised is NOT being able to nail down the 20lb torque rating.

Now, for all I know, its a non issue.
BUT..

On the off chance that those 20lbs are important, then HOW the heck do you know if you got 17 or 20 or 25lbs if your using the pliers?

 

[justinkredible56]

The only issue that the plier's raised is NOT being able to nail down the 20lb torque rating.

Now, for all I know, its a non issue.
BUT..

On the off chance that those 20lbs are important, then HOW the heck do you know if you got 17 or 20 or 25lbs if your using the pliers?

Well I think where it says "About 20 pounds" answers your question...sounds like they use one of the above solutions on tightening it just like everybody else. Obviously it doesn't have to be exactly 20 lbs just tight...the only way you could possibly check that is with the tool Ulmer Racing rigged up and offered to let you borrow.

I wouldn't worry about it, I'm sure if MPI does include a tool for future kits it's not going to be torque wrench compatible either. So you would still have to guess.

I applaud your thoroughness though, it will certainly pay off!
-Justin

 

[christopher]

I hear ya, I promised them I would do a THOROUGH complete review of their product, so I am doing my best to follow through on that promise.

And I am absolutely not agonizing over this particular step.
I have one little tab to grind off, and the next major post will be ready to upload and share.

Lunch first, then grinding, then uploading and posting!

 

[christopher]

CHASSIS PREPARATION

34. Remove the large black starter cable from starter relay (not the red one). This cable leads down to the starter. Remove the starter relay from its mounting bracket along with the square main fuse (green). See
Figure 20.

 

[christopher]

35. Remove the relay bracket from the bulkhead by removing the 2 rivets (it helps if you use a 3/32 punch to knock out the center of the rivet 1st). See Figure 21.

 

[christopher]

36. Remount the Relay bracket to the Battery cover using 2 rivets provided. Draw a line 2-½” back from the front bend on the battery bracket. Use the relay bracket as a template to mark the holes for the rivets. The
relay bracket should be almost even with the bottom of the battery bracket. Drill two 3/16” holes.

NOTE:
THE RIVET HEADS SHOULD BE IN THE INSIDE CLOSEST TO THE BATTERY. See Figure 22& 23.


Why did I put that note in red?
Because I FAILED to pay attention to that and sure enough, I mounted the darn rivets backwards. Realized it at the end when I double checked the instructions and had to drill them out and remount it again.

Attention to details!!

 

[christopher]

37. Remove the 3 M8 flange head bolts that connect the RH side aluminum bulkhead to the black frame. See Figure 24.


This photo shows the three large bolts having been removed.
When I did this the frame moved SLIGHTLY. Nothing serious, but just enough to make it a small pain in the butt to get the bolts back in.

 

[christopher]

38. Temporarily install the provided template to the bulkhead using 3 provided M8x40 flange head bolts. Don’t over-tighten. See Figure 25.

 

[christopher]

39. Using a ¼” drill and the template as a guide, drill 3 new holes in the bulkhead.

40. Remove the template and reinstall the lower OEM M8 bolt. Don’t reinstall the 2 top bolts. See Figure 24.


These are the three holes you are drilling

And this is the result.
The upper hole that was drilled will server as the pilot hole for the Hole Saw. The two lower holes will be mounting holes.
Notice the one on the bottom right is NOT CENTERED!

 

[christopher]

41. Enlarge the 2 new lower holes along with the top 2 OEM holes with an 11/32” drill. The top 2 holes have threads. You are drilling them out.
The bottom 2 holes are not perfectly centered on purpose.
BE CAREFUL to not let the drill drift. See Figure 26.



Drilling out the two threaded bolt holes.

Both holes drilled out.

 

[christopher]

42. Using a 2-¼” hole saw with the ¼” pilot drill flipped over so that there are no flutes exposed on the center ¼” drill (this helps prevent the hole saw from drifting). Cut a hole in the aluminum bulkhead and also
through the top black steel bracket. Dress all sharp edges. See Figure 27.

Hole saw going into the new pilot hole.

Tried to cover up everything to keep the metal out.
Only had moderate success.

Start the cut

Cutting through the aluminum was a breeze.
But notice the black steel bracket. That trashed my hole saw and forced me to go buy a second one to get through it.

After cutting the black steel bar, there was still a lot left to be ground away.

Grind Grind Grind.

When I had finally cleared away enough of the steel to let the super charger fit smoothly it was time to file everything down.

 

[christopher]

43. Install the included template on the LH side of the vehicle frame. Remove the top two 10mm bolts that hold the black steel frame to the aluminum bulkhead. Temporarily install the template using longer 10mm bolts. 2 longer bolts were provided in the original supercharger kit. Tighten the bolts. See Figure 27A.


LH Side of Frame.

Upper two bolts come out.

Same Template gets reused.

 

[christopher]

44. Cover the throttle bodies with a towel to prevent chips from entering the motor and the supercharger.

45. Using a ¼” bit and the template as a guide, drill a ¼” hole in the bulkhead.


Covered up everything once again.

Main wiring harness has to be relocated

Its Dead Center where the new hole is going.

Shove it up and out of the way and drill baby drill.

And here is our new pilot hole from the inside.

And here is our new pilot hole from the outside

 

[christopher]

46. Using a 2-5/8” hold saw and the ¼” hole in the bulkhead as a guide, drill a 2-5/8” hole in the bulkhead.
It will help if you replace the ¼ center drill in the hole saw with a ¼ dowel pin (or flip the drill bit over backwards); this will prevent the hole saw from drifting.
See Figure 27B.


Exactly the same routine as on the RH side, BUT this time around I have a much better Bi-Metal hole saw that cuts right through the aluminum and the steel without any hesitation.

Almost through.

Through the Aluminum and almost through the steel on the first pass.

The view from the inside.

The large foam block has to be cut away so the rubber insulation can be installed.