T-bird S/C Supercharger... Eaton?

[Anonymous]

I just ran accross a S/C supercharger, is this an Eaton?

I was also curious to know if the vanes are supposed to have any play, and when I spin it by hand it makes a little bit of noise... is this normal or is it shot?

Pardon my ignorance, I'm not too familiar with supers or turbos...

 

[66Sprint6]

Im thinkin it is an Eaton M90. I was lookin to get one of those for mine a while back. Not sure about the other stuff tho, sorry!
Matt

 

[CobraSix]

It shouldn't be making much noise when turning by hand, and there should be little to no play when you try pushing the pulley in and out.

I think it may be shot.

Slade

 

[rickwrench]

It's an M90. The part that starts making noise 99% of the time is the drive coupler. It's made out of what looks like phenolic plastic and eventually (after 80 - 100,000 miles or an overheat) wears out of shape. New, and made of better material than OEM, they are about $25-35 bucks. There are a couple on ebay now for $40+, but you can get the couplers a lot cheaper if you look around.
I've picked up a few M90s that were "shot" for practically nothing (I have a two in the garage right now). Spend a few hours and maybe 50-60 bucks and you get an essentially a new M90.
You can rebuild an Eaton M90 VERY cheap. It's less than a $100 to replace every bearing, the coupler, seal, and oil. There aren't really that many parts. An eight year old could rebuild one. Here's a link to a guy that sells everything to rebuild:
http://www.texasthunderbirds.com/
Eaton's are tough buggers, they should last well past 100,000 miles with proper use. I. e., don't set it up to spin faster than 15,000 rpms.
Rick(wrench)

 

[Anonymous]

Ahh, it is an M90... after some lookin around I found that out too.. I came here first to ask (you guys are a great source of info)..

As far as the play, I was more worried about the rotor to rotor play, I don't think it has any end play, but now that you mention it I'm gonna check...


Thanks for the info too Rick, I don't think the thing was over-revved.. It was on a stock S/C (it still has the stock pulley on it)...Although I think it has close to 200k miles on it...

What concerned me a bit too was there was some oil on the floor of this inlet (looks like engine oil to me) and a bit in the intercooler... is it from blow-by or what?


I was thinking of adapting this thing to my 250 somehow... but it seems like quite a bit of work, or a turbo would be quite a bit easier to do..

I was wondering too... does it have to be in it's original orientation (can it be mounted sideways?) or is that a no-no due to the lube inside of it?

 

[Anonymous]

Now being enlightened... I took another look at it... it has no end play, and the rotor to rotor play I thought it had is probably the coupler (moving the pulley back and forth feels kinda like pulling a rubber band)...

I held one rotor, and tried to turn the other, couldn't feel any play..

So I'm assuming the coupler should allow no play, correct?

And to replace the coupler does anything have to be pressed off or on? Or is it just as simple as opening the snout and changing it?

 

[rickwrench]

Replacing the coupler is very straight forward. Drain the oil out, unbolt the snout, and remove the coupler. It's just sitting on a couple of drive pins, it will lift right out. Swap in a new coupler, run a bead of sealer around the snout housing mating suface and bolt it back together. Use GM supercharger oil, it's exactly the same a Ford SC oil, but less expensive.
Rick(wrench)

 

[MLINE]

Ya, ditto on the GM supercharger oil. It's about half the pice of Ford's.