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

[christopher]

Now your ready to do your first test alignment.
The very nature of the Taper Lock system they use ensures that you will NOT be able to get a perfect alignment of the sprocket on the shaft.

IT AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN.
So don't kill yourself trying like I did!
There is going to be some tiny about of wobble of the sprocket on the shaft as the shaft rotates no matter how many times you mount and remount this thing. I spent DAYS trying to figure out what I was doing wrong that I could NAIL it before I understood that this is just the nature of the beast and let it go.

this is where you refer back to steps D-H before step 120.

Test fitting and setting the correct TORQUE.

NOTE.
This is where that special APEX bit comes in really handy!
I had no problem at all getting 80 and 100 Inch Pounds of Torque

 

[christopher]

120. Install Drive (lower) Sprocket.

C. The outside (facing you) on both the sprocket and the bushing will have 3 semi-circular holes. DO NOT lubricate the sprockets or the bushings.

D. Heat the sprocket as described above. Position the sprocket to you prior identified test location.


NOTE.
Having a small handheld infrared thermometer would have been nice at this point to KNOW what the real temp was...

Sprocket and Taper Lock go onto the Hot Plate

NOTE.
If you see SMOKE coming off of the sprocket chances are you failed to clean it in the prior step sufficiently

Yes, the sprocket is HOT HOT HOT.
Have a good set of gloves handy.
And yes, it COOLS VERY QUICKLY so I understand why they want you to complete this in just a couple minutes time from start to finish.

Slide the Sprocket onto the PTO shaft.
In my case, that meant ALL the way to the rear.

Quickly Tighten the set screws by hand to begin with.

E. CAUTION: USE INCH POUND TORQUE WRENCH. WRONG TORQUE WILL CAUSE DAMAGE.
Alternately torque the setscrews to 60 in-lbs. Repeat process until neither setscrew will move. See Figure 69. Note: as you tighten the setscrews the sprocket will move out. You must account for this movement so that the face of the sprocket is at the correct measurement after the sprocket has been torqued into place

Then with the Torque Wrench
40 inch pounds left, then Right
60 inch pound Left then Right.
80 inch pounds Left then Right
100 inch pounds Left then Right.

And once everything looks PERFECT, back out the first set screw

Apply a generous amount of RED LOCKTIGHT and torque that sucker back into place.

Repeat and do the same with the 2nd set screw.

The Lower Sprocket is Now Installed!

F. NOTE: RECHECK SET SCREW TORQUE and BELT TENSION AFTER FIRST 5 miles OF RIDING!

 

[christopher]

This next step is not really part of the sequence in the manual, but has to be done.

When you test mount the Upper Sprocket you will quickly notice that it does NOT FIT without rubbing on the Oil Tank Mount.

This means some GRINDING has to be done to make sure there is plenty of clearnece for the Sprocket and the Belt.

CLEARLY TOUCHING

Hello Mr. Grinder!

After Grinding off a bit the Upper Sprocket slides into place without any chance of interfearence.

NOTE:
In the end this may NOT have been needed at all.
But I wouldn't find that out till I was ready to do the alignment.
As it was, the Upper Sprocket had to be mounted FAR OUT on the end of the Input shaft to get it to align properly with the lower sprocket shaft so the belt would be straight.

So.
Spend some time once the lower sprocket is mounted doing a test alignment with the Upper Sprocket. Chances are pretty good you won't need to bother doing any grinding at all as the sprocket is pulled SO FAR forward as to not touch the Oil Tank Mount.

 

[TRUEBLUEMAX]

I don't understand why this pulley can't be bolted on with the bolt on the end of the shaft? Seems like it would be a lot easier and more secure.

Help my ignorance please.

 

[Thistledoo]

Chris you must have a solid 20 hrs into this build by now hey? If I send one down will you do a install for me??

 

[christopher]

ONLY 20 HOURS?

I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY!

Ya, I could do this again in a day, start to finish, no doubt in my mind.
I have learned SO MUCH I never knew before, and just as much I never wanted to know!!

 

[christopher]

I don't understand why this pulley can't be bolted on with the bolt on the end of the shaft? Seems like it would be a lot easier and more secure.

Help my ignorance please.

Not sure I follow your question?

 

[christopher]

This next step is where I had all the problem and concerns.
Getting the lower pulley into more or less correct position wasn't very hard when it was cold. And getting the upper pulley onto the shaft when it was cold was just as easy.

BUT.

I quickly found out that the BELT is a BIG problem (as mentioned in detail a few posts back when I was pulling my hair out trying to reconcile reality with the manual)

The upper pulley and the belt MUST go on at the same time.
There is just no alternative when using the two pulleys that came with my specific kit. MPI does tell me that any combination of pulleys with a tooth count of LESS than 56 will NOT run into this problem.

That being said, this is how "I" was finally able to solve this problem......

====

121. Verify that the woodruff key is installed into the supercharger input shaft.

Follow the exact same sequence of events for the upper pulley preparation as you did for the lower one.

Test Fit, Remove, Adjust, Test Fit again and again, ect..


122. Heat the drive (upper) sprocket as described above. Position the sprocket to you prior identified test location. Verify bushing clearance to the woodruff key exactly as you did with the PTO.

This is where I left the reservation and went Lone Wofl on the manual.
As you will see in the following photos, I simply could NOT get the HOT Pulley/Tapper Lock with the belt on it to slide onto the Input shaft of the Supercharger, and after much trying, I simply gave up on that idea, and PUNTED.


TEST ALIGNMENT
Make sure you have a really good straight edge to test the alignment with.

Since I could NOT get both the Sprocket and the Tapper Lock to fit onto the input shaft of the Supercharger when HOT with the Belt on it, I separated them. I ONLY heated the tapper lock! I betted on the high thermal transfer rate of the Steel Core to the Aluminum Sprocket that they would balance in Temp VERY QUICKLY once put together.

While the Steel Taper Lock was cooking I prepared the Pulley and Belt on the input shaft.

Placed a wrench on the center nut protruding from the lower Sprocket so I could rotate the belt quickly IF needed.

Taking the HOT steel Taper Lock we slid it smoothly into the Sprocket.
This actually worked very nicely, better than expected.
And the aluminum Sprocket warmed up right away!

Pressed the Taper Lock into the Sprocket and adjusted it to our PER-DETERMINED location on the input shaft.

NOTE.
This REALLY WORKS best with TWO PEOPLE to be absolutely certain you lock it into position exactly where you want it. Ryan worked from the front, while I had a marker on the rear of the shaft. He focused on where the taper lock should be on the shaft, I focused on where the sprocket should be. Between the two of us we got it exactly where we wanted it.

Just as soon as it was in place, we threaded in the set screws and began the identical torquing procedure as used on the lower pulley.

on MY NYTRO, this is where the upper sprocket sat on the input shaft.
The WoodRuff Key is perfectly event with the rear rim of the sprocket.
To me that seemed WAY FAR forward on the shaft, but that is what it took to get the proper alignment with the lower sprocket.

 

[christopher]

123. Align the outside edges of the two sprocket faces. See Figure 70.

124. Using the same torque sequence, tighten the drive sprocket into place. Noting alignment. Note: as you tighten the setscrews the sprocket will move out. You must account for this movement so that the faces of
the sprockets are aligned after both sprockets have been torqued into place.
NOTE: RECHECK SET SCREW TORQUE and BELT TENSION AFTER FIRST 5 miles OF RIDING!


Alignment, Alignment, Alignment.
I spent a LOT of time on this.

THIS IS WHAT YOUR WORKING FOR.
LESS THAN 1/8th of an inch between the Straight Edge and the Sprocket!!

Properly Aligned Sprocket.

Notice in this photo how clearly you can see the exposed woodruff key protruding from the rear of the Tapperlock.

This bothers me ALOT.

But I can see NO other possible way of getting the proper belt alignment!

If I push the Taper Lock further back on the Woodruff Key, then the two sprockets go WAY OUT of alignment. So all I can do is HOPE there is sufficient key in the tapper lock to work.

Perhaps MPI will have some comments when they see this photo?

FINISHED!

 

[merlin2569]

Great Job!!! You will love riding that thing this year.

 

[christopher]

I SURE HOPE SO.

I have certainly EARNED it this summer!

 

[mountainhorse]

Not at all my friend... not many know about these. I learned about them in the yacht world on the big 6,000 HP MTU diesel engines for everything .... Those suckers will take about 3 times the torque as the typical perforated worm drive... same concept...just a better design.

Plus the smooth bore and rounded edges will not cut into hoses... especially the soft silicone turbo hoses.

Showing my ignorance again here...

Do these have as much BITE as a worm gear?
Meaning, will they hold as much load?

You seem to be really into the cool stuff...Heres another one for your Christopher.

Whenever I use worm drive hose clamps.. I cant really use the perforated types anymore...

The Mercedes of hose clamps...AWAB smooth bore.

.

 

[kinger9]

They definitly need a more simple pulley system, I am scared to mess with mine because its been perfect for 3 years but took FOREVER to get set up. You can easily double or triple your install time on this step alone.

 

[christopher]

They definitly need a more simple pulley system, I am scared to mess with mine because its been perfect for 3 years but took FOREVER to get set up. You can easily double or triple your install time on this step alone.

Yup.
Hands Down, this was the most delicate step of the entire installation.

BUT.
I am DELIGHTED to hear your's has been TROUBLE FREE for 3 years now!
That is Major Good news!!

 

[irondave86]

A better pulley system would be nice, you think its a tough instal in the garage, I had a taper lock break in half on the last ride of last year, causing the pulley to slide out of alignment. So i had to re-align them on the trail. (no fun) I love the way my S/C makes power, but at the end of the day the turbo's I ride with are way more trouble free. I just hope the broken taper lock was an isolated incident. Now that im done with my horror story, i will say when it does run, its a blast!

 

[christopher]

HOW the heck do you replace a BROKEN TAPERLOCK on the trail???

 

[irondave86]

The hard part was doing it without totally removing the oil tank (I didn't have enough extra oil to loose any from the tank) and I didn't have a spare taper lock, SO I had to re align it three times before I was able to get the sled to a spot where I didn't need the power of the s/c to get back to the truck, by that time the belt and pulley were trashed so I just removed the pulley and belt and un hooked the gems box and rode it home. Not a fun day, but I found out it IS possible to do a pulley change on the trail! im pretty much an expert on the pulley process now...

 

[Turbo11T]

The hard part was doing it without totally removing the oil tank (I didn't have enough extra oil to loose any from the tank) and I didn't have a spare taper lock, SO I had to re align it three times before I was able to get the sled to a spot where I didn't need the power of the s/c to get back to the truck, by that time the belt and pulley were trashed so I just removed the pulley and belt and un hooked the gems box and rode it home. Not a fun day, but I found out it IS possible to do a pulley change on the trail! im pretty much an expert on the pulley process now...

Ok this may make one of us feel dumb. . . but why not just pull the intake hose off the intercooler and pull the belt off the supercharger and ride it home. I am sure that the performance would not be great but it would get you home wouldn't it?

 

[irondave86]

Ok this may make one of us feel dumb. . . but why not just pull the intake hose off the inter cooler and pull the belt off the supercharger and ride it home. I am sure that the performance would not be great but it would get you home wouldn't it?

It happened at the bottom of a vally and there was no way to get out with out the power of the s/c. I did remove the belt and pulley once i got over the ridge line, but the belt and pulley were already trashed.

 

[Turbo11T]

It happened at the bottom of a vally and there was no way to get out with out the power of the s/c. I did remove the belt and pulley once i got over the ridge line, but the belt and pulley were already trashed.

Ah ha gottcha!