willyb

It seems that the super charger on my newly acquired 1999 4Runner is getting louder by the day. It has 62k miles on it now and the nose cone was supposedly rebuilt ~58k miles.

Based upon research I know that there is suppose to be some noise due to the straight cut gears in the nose cone of the supercharger. It just seems that it is more than I expected.

- The noise is most noticeable at idle, off idle it virtually goes away. Under load there is almost no abnormal noise.

- With the windows up the noise is present in the cabin, with the windows down it is more noticeable. When going through a drive thru the noise is very pronounced due to the echo off the building.

Just wondering if others have similar experiences.

Will

mastacox

It's impossible to tell you how loud a "normal" supercharger is supposed to be; but my nose drive is audible at idle and gets quieter off idle until I start pushing boost at which time the supercharger whine comes in.

I wouldn't worry about it too much. More important is what engine modifications do you have in addition to the supercharger? Do you have ping and/or loss of power under full throttle?

willyb

I will be checking the oil, and taking the SC belt off on thursday.

I do not have any issues with pinging or hesitation.

doubletaco

Mine clatters pretty good at idle, always has and still sounds the same since it went on new.

t4r505

My supercharger is virtually silent at idle and progressively gets louder with rpms

okie81

I don't hear mine much until it creeps into positive pressure. At idle though, the sound is comparable to a gear drive; just a little "whirrrr" to let you know it's there.

willyb

My noise is definitely more of a rattle as opposed to a 'drive' whine.

It is interesting to see that some people have different noises. I should add that this is a V1 (grey) super charger.

Jeff the marmot

It's unfortunate that it's a gray supercharger since you can't just check the oil on those. You have to remove it and turn it up-side-down to either check or change the oil since the fill plug is on the bottom. In contrast, the newer black superchargers have only a fill plug at the top fill level of the oil so it's very easy to check, although you have to suction the oil out to change it.

One thing you can do to check yours is remove the belt from the nose drive and turn it by hand. On the black superchargers if you feel even the faintest "notchy" feeling, Magnuson will recommend that it gets rebuilt or at least the nose drive replaced. It should turn silky smooth when new. I don't know if the same rule of thumb should be applied to the gray supercharger. You should check it and discuss it with Magnuson. That would suck for you since it's been so few miles since it was last maintained. Maybe check for evidence of leaks too. Do you know who did the maintenance on it? Did they use the proper supercharger oil? Did they rebuild it correctly?

rimpainter.com

Mine is quiet at idle, whistles a bit at initial tip-in, and gets progressively louder with increased pressure/rpm. Vids are in my sig if you're interested in comparing.

Bennito

My (grey) SC is noisy at idle. has been for the last 50k miles. When i run it by hand its smooth as glass. YMMV.

akaphilly

i just changed my oil and coupler thing with the kit from trdpart4u. it was like 50 bucks and definatly worth it

98runner210

I'd like to add a SC but don't have$$$ for the additional fuel mods. Apparently it's not reccomended even with normal driving without

LarsDennert

How often does the oil need changing? I may consider taping the drain with a line that would allow filling and draining.

Bennito

Gadget has a few suggestions on maintenance cycle here:

http://www.gadgetonline.com/SuperNose.htm

EDIT - having had to pull the SC a few times (injector upgrades, dynamic tensioner fix,etc) I think you'll find you can get the pull time down to <20 mins. Install time is around the same. (And i'm not a serious wrench)

LarsDennert

Thanks. I missed that on gadget's site. That's not bad at all. This weekend I hope to install mine. It was rebuilt 15K ago. I'm hoping for low/mid range torque as I tow a trailer regularly. I don't need top end speed. I have a fast car for that

LarsDennert

Hmm, interesting. I was looking at the Denso NK20 but they are tougher to find and pricey. It looks like the NGK BKR6EIX11 which is an easily found irridium has the same heat range.

Same wide gap as stock though. SC works awesome. I'll have to see if I go to colder plugs.

nuke1105

Dont know if this is the correct section to post this but i didnt want to start another thread about it. And since this is a supercharger thread i figured i would post it here. Anyhow, I have a 2002 Toyota Tacoma with a second gen (black) TRD supercharger. At idle it doesnt make any weird noises but when Im entering a freeway, driving up a hill (not an offroad hill but a regular highway hill), or pulling a trailer I get what sounds like a rattaling noise from my engine between 62mph - 70mph and between 2200rpm - 2400rpm. It really really sounds like its coming from the Supercharger but im not 100% certain. If the truck is at idle and i rev the rpm's up slowly it will not do the noise, only when I am driving. I have read several forums in which people say that the nose cone could be the problem. I also called a supercharger place in ventura california that rebuilds them and they said that a SC needs to be rebuilt ever 70,000 miles. My truck now has 120k and its never been touched, not even the 4oz of oil in the SC have been replaced (i dont think). I purchased the truck used so I dont know to much history about it other then what i have already mentioned. If anyone has had this problem could you please help! Thanks.

PS. To better describe the noise I would have to say it sounds like a coke can with a few pennys inside been tossed around. I have check the heat shields from the exhaust and they are all nice and tight. It sounds like the noise is coming from the driver side of the engine compartment, not from under the truck or from the passenger side. So I figured it could possibly be the SC. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

LarsDennert

Sounds like engine ping/detonation but I'd check the SC also and get it serviced. Gotten a tune up lately? plugs etc?

mastacox

I'm willing to bet the sound you're hearing is high gear/low rpm spark knock a.k.a. ping. You can read about issues related to the TRD 3.4l supercharger here:

TRD 3.4l Supercharger Wiki Page

nuke1105

God that is a goooood link. Sounds like that might be my problem. That was some very good information!!!! I just printed this out and will be showing this to my mechanic. Do you guys know of anyone in the Los Angeles area that can help me with this? Thank you so much for the info!!!