Well, my big father/son weekend project was a blooper.

We cleaned up the engine, dried everything off (cold & snowy up here) and arranged plenty of light. Set up all the needed tools and the SC stuff, read through the instructions. I put him to work taking off the gravel guard while I labeled all of the hoses and cables. The testosterone was thick in the air.

One dang bolt head was stripped! All of the others came out OK.

We tried everything we could without ruining the bolt head any more than had already been done, but it wouldn't budge.

Discouraged, we put everything back together, took off all the labels and put away my tools. :mad:

So, it's off to the stealer with $350 for the installation. I guess God was protecting my truck from my ineptitude ...

Maybe I can at least install the tranny cooler, huh?

I'll keep you updated. (I coulda done it ... really ...")

 

Your intentions were in the right place. I felt the same way, and disappointment, about my shock installation.

Either way you do it, the S/C is going to be awesome! Once you hear & see that thing roar, it will make the disappointment all go away.

 

Hey at least you tried right? I am going to try and tackle my Bils and Downeys soon.. Should be interesting

 

Yeah, at least you gave it a shot. Anyone try those new Craftsman "5-piece Bolt Outs". They are advertised to remove any rounded bolts. They are on my list of stuff to get...

http://www.sears.com/sr/product/summ...id=00952160000

"Craftsman Bolt-Out™ Damaged Bolt/Nut Remover Set
5 pc. set fits many popular sizes (metric/SAE) bolt heads and nuts. Spiral flute design grabs and removes rusted, painted over and rounded off nuts/bolts (fit may vary due to corrosion/damage/paint)."

They have a 13piece set also.

 

DRAT! We went to Sears and picked up a special socket that has movable pins in it, supposedly to conform to whatever the shape of the bolt head -- it didn't work.

Had I known about these or seen them, we might have been able to complete the task. Hrrumph. Oh well ...

Thanks for the tip. I may pick up a set (if our local Sears has 'em) and give it another whack. Won't be until next week though.

 

Did I miss something in your write up? Where is the bolt? If it is in the skid plate/gravel guard you might start soaking the bolt with penetrating oil now. Sounds like salt may be used on the roads where you live, would promote corrosion. Get some anti sieze compound for the bolts when you go back in. If it is the skid plate be careful with the self tapping bolts. They sometimes like to tap a new thread when they are installed. If part of the bolt is still sticking out all is not lost. There are these things you can try.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.

 

Could you post a pic of the stripped bolt? Maybe I/We could lend a hand in getting it out. I didn't have any bolts that were even difficult to remove, all came out with ease. However, as we stated before, I'm in AZ, the land of rustfree cars

 

No can do on the photo, Ralph -- it's one of the middle ones, where you have to shove the socket through a hole in the front pan to reach the bolt.

Yeah, here in the frozen tundra of northern Indiana, they pour so much salt on the roads that, when the snow melts, they're still white!

If I get a chance next week, I may pick up a set of those sockets for stripped heads and give 'em a try. If not, it won't kill me to let someone else install the SC.

Thanks anyhow for the inspiration, guys.

 

When I did my nose drive replacement on my SC, the instructions said to use "6 point sockets". I grabbed my handy Craftsman set of sockets and after almost stripping to worst possible bolt, I noticed that I was using a socket with much more than 6 points. What do I know, the whole set of 3/8" is like that.

I then grabbed a 6 point 1/2" drive socket and realized why they offer that suggestion in the instructions. You get WAY more security and gripping power with a 6 point socket due to having more FLAT surfaces to grip the bolt head. You'll also notice that impact sockets have only 6 points due to their high torque demands.

In my 34 years (:rolleyes: ), I have worked on many things and I guess, now that I know this, it makes sense, but it never occurred to me before.

Food for thought. All sockets are not equal.

Mike

PS- I like those bolt removers!

 

Either way tomcat..your a lucky bastard

 

Just curious, what bolt was it? One on the nose drive?

 

Hey SLC,

The bolt we almost stripped was on my nose drive. It was the BOTTOM center bolt. Of course the hardest one to get to. I'm sure this contributed to the problem. I probably didn't have the socket exactly square (round?:rolleyes: ) on the bolt head.

Anyway, after it slipped twice, I stopped, stepped back and started thinking. After I got the 6 point socket, It immediately "felt" better.

You doing your nose drive?

Mike

 

No, I had a similiar problem when I was installing my belt tensioner. I need to see if I can find a 1/2 drive socket (hex), my 3/8 didn't feel quite right..

 

One more update ...

THE SUPERCHARGER IS INSTALLED!

Yes, after a long, drawn-out struggle for perfection (and an ominous stripped bolt head) the TRD supercharger is in and working fine.

I reconsidered the dealer installation option and called the other dealer in the area. His quote was $60 more, but the guy I talked to seemed much more interested in the job, had a better sense of humor and had done more of these installations.

The whir of the SC is quieter than I'd been expecting. Sounds more like the static interference whine on a radio with bad wiring (ask me how I know), which gets louder as the RPMs increase.

I'm also surprised at the smooth, even power increase throughout the power band. Unlike a turbo which has a perceptible lag, the SC just seems to set you back and hold you there. Nice.

I've noticed NO pinging at any speed. This is a good thing. Maybe running premium gas for a couple of weeks prior to the install was helpful. I dunno.

Overall, I think the extra $60 was money well spent. They didn't trash my truck, everything was put back where it belonged (except the intake manifold, of course) and they followed my instructions about NOT putting on all of the stickers (I'll do that when and where I want.)

So, if you're contemplating buying a SC and don't have the talent (or balls) to do the installation youself, I know of ONE dealership that will do it for a reasonable charge and evidently do it right.

I did manage to install the Hayden tranny cooler on my own. That was a bigger project than I'd planned. I guess that's an indicator of my mechanical ineptitude. So far my garage floor isn't sporting a puddle of ATF, so everything must be OK. Also mounted a pair of air horns to scare the bejeebers out of little old ladies going too slowly.

I promise NO MORE POSTS about my SC, guys. You've suffered enough with me through this saga. The performance is so much beyond my trusty old '95 Runner that words escape me ...


-- Don

 

Right on Don! I wish I knew what the sound of a SC was like. I have never ever heard one before. I can only imagine!

 

Come to the Christmas Dinner on Saturday in Rockville MD. You can catch a flight "Space A" to Andrews and I can pick you up and give you a ride in a supercharged truck to the event.

I assure you there will be lots of wherrrrring on the road trip to the dinner....

Gadget

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