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      06-16-2014, 05:55 PM   #1
pokeybritches
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Vortech rebuild time already??

My Vortech on my non-M has started to whine excessively loudly. It sounds like a fire truck is under the hood. I've called a few places, and no one seems interested in doing a rebuild. The blower will have to be shipped off to the tune of $400-500, along with a couple weeks of down time. Kinda disappointing considering it's only been on the car for 12k miles... and I just had gotten the car running that day after 6 weeks of down time.

Vortech said their turnaround time is 10-15 business days. 928 Motorsports seems to have a better reputation, but is about $35 more with a much quicker turnaround. I'll probably go with 928 Motorsports.

On the plus side, the new tune that VF sent me seemed perfect. I had a dyno session scheduled for next weekend that will now have to be put on hold. The car felt much faster and more responsive before the supercharger started howling.
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      06-16-2014, 06:18 PM   #2
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12k miles? Wow.
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      06-17-2014, 01:22 AM   #3
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not usual.....

but... failures happen i guess...

did you do initial break in oil change at under 2500 miles,

also checking level is a pain in the ass and its very difficult to get it right, if you look on one side of the dip stick is reads alittle lower than the other side, Very annoying, so you kinda have to wing it basically... changed mine yesterday and managed to damage the dip stick hex top, so i now need to order a new one, one more slip and it will round off, so I'm leaving it be now.

its like 50 bucks as well!! piss take!
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Last edited by Beedub; 06-17-2014 at 06:50 AM..
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      06-17-2014, 07:50 AM   #4
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Yeah I have done two oil changes- the 2500 mile and a 7500 mile change. It doesn't take a full bottle, and if you do put a full bottle in it will seep through the seals and out the bolts on top of the supercharger. You'll smell it lol. I've also damaged the hex top of the dipstick and have to order a new one.
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      06-17-2014, 09:15 AM   #5
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depressing. Selling this crap if I come across this BS
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      06-17-2014, 09:22 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pokeybritches View Post
Yeah I have done two oil changes- the 2500 mile and a 7500 mile change. It doesn't take a full bottle, and if you do put a full bottle in it will seep through the seals and out the bolts on top of the supercharger. You'll smell it lol. I've also damaged the hex top of the dipstick and have to order a new one.
yeah their was alittle left in my last bottle, only a little but however but definitely some left over enough to fill a small medicine syringe anyway so I'm Hoping i nailed it, I'm done keep checking now I've checked it a million times and got a high level on one side yet if i flip the dip stick its 1-2 hash marks down, drained and fill it twice now and this was where i got pissed off!!, if it leaks ill drain alittle out, i THINK, I've got it however... track day thursday so ill soon know...

I'm trying to work out which dip stick i need, vortech sell 3 different angle options!!

The above constant messing around caused it to chew up... its on the edge of rounding off so I'm not messing with it again unless i HAVE to.

what is supring is how LITTLE fluid is actually in the unit takes, then onto of that its not even taking a full bottle when we are changing oil... its basically 0.1 litre in re fill bottles, then the unit needs around 5ml-10ml removed/not added from the refill bottle.... it must get mighty hot with that little fluid in their, that is really tiny amount of lubricating and cooling fluid... i wonder if that in itself will mean regular rebuilds, i liked the idea of a blower that doesn't use engine oil BUT honestly, it would be fair easier for me to have a unit that uses the engine oil for its needs.
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Last edited by Beedub; 06-17-2014 at 05:31 PM..
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      06-19-2014, 02:54 PM   #7
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pleased to report no leaking supercharger after a FULL day of hard use, came second in class to !!!
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      06-21-2014, 10:11 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Beedub View Post
pleased to report no leaking supercharger after a FULL day of hard use, came second in class to !!!
Right on!
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      09-06-2014, 11:12 AM   #9
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Update: The Vortech definitely needed a rebuild. I shipped it off to 928 Motorsports and have since reinstalled it in the car. I chose 928 Motorsports for a few reasons:

1. Vortech's turnaround time is 10-15 buisness days. So, the car would be down for a month or more since I'd be shipping from DC to California. 928 Motorsports received the blower on a Tuesday, and it was back at my door the following Tuesday.

2. When I called, the lady on the phone answered all of my questions very thoroughly. It was clear they regularly rebuild Vortechs.

3. I've read stories of Vortech telling customers their blowers can't be rebuilt, and then offering them a discount on new blowers. While these complaints were from Mustang/Camaro owners that can't write in complete sentences, they did bring up a good point- Vortech would benefit from selling me a new blower, while a third party's only interest is in the rebuild itself. It's not that I doubt Vortech's integrity, but if I have the option of going with a company whose sole interest is in providing me a rebuild, why not do it?

Post-rebuild, the blower is as quiet as it was when I first fitted it. I suspect it ingested some grime from a loose intake pipe. I lived on the beach for a couple of years, and the car was subject to a lot of sand. It's fixed now, and 928 Motorsports treated me very well.
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      09-07-2014, 12:30 AM   #10
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Quote:
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...While these complaints were from Mustang/Camaro owners that can't write in complete sentences, they did bring up a good point-...


Glad everything's running well bud! I can only cross my fingers that I don't need to do anything major in the near future =/
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