Death of a TVS - pics a plenty!

[UnleashedBeast]

Another member here at SVTP and I helped out another Shelby owner today. His polished TVS had a massive bearing failure. The rotors were rubbing the walls and eating each other up. It made terrible noises at idle.

First opening of the hood....getting prepped.

Wasting no time to remove the culprit.

Looking at the bottom of the supercharger, you can see where the rotors were making contact. Sorry for the blurry shots, but you can see the coating is worn away at the contact points.

What I discovered underneath wasn't an attractive sight. Massive sludge buildup on top of the intercooler. It's a good thing too...it prevented most of the metal shavings to enter the lower intake manifold. Can you say sparkle?

After the cleanup....and it wasn't easy. Took at least an hour.

The owner had already bought a new blower...the VMP TVS.

Getting it put back together again with the new TVS.

and Mark (RedLineHP) helping me tag team the swap. I was nice and gave him the hard part....the bottom right elbow allen hex screw tightening. (I'm so mean)

and the finished install. The car sounds 10 times better, and with a lot more whine.

During the process, we decided it would be a good idea to replace the plugs to ensure they were gapped properly. After 6,000 miles of use...and a damaged blower, they look decent.

 

[MattR]

So no metal can enter the engine with a failure like this?

 

[UnleashedBeast]

So no metal can enter the engine with a failure like this?

I didn't say that....

The owner was lucky that there was a lot of sludge buildup covering the intercooler. The sludge caught most of the shavings.

Sludge is the side effect of using lubricants for longer than recommended (internal engine crankcase and oil passages). Also due to lubricants with high NOACK Volatility. More evaporation means more oil is sucked into the intake...and this is what you get.

 

[Seahorse]

How many miles were on the origional TVS?

 

[UnleashedBeast]

How many miles were on the origional TVS?

Unknown really, since the owner of this car bought it used and had it installed 6,000 miles ago. I don't recall how many miles the previous owner used it for.

 

[stkjock]

I hoped you checked and cleaned the lower manifold area (not mentioned in your posts Troy)

 

[UnleashedBeast]

The intercooler was almost plugged with sludge, very little could get through. I didn't pull the lower manifold.

 

[Nathan'sTsi]

That sucks to hear. Was it an upper only car or did it have the lower as well? I wonder why it took a shit.

 

[UnleashedBeast]

Yes, it was an upper pulley only car, and I have no idea why this happened. Maybe it was assembled with faulty bearing, or improperly lubed.

 

[Tob]

Was the blower one of the polished units that FRPP offered for a short time or was it done by a 3rd party (eBay sale polished by God knows who)?

Any pictures of the bearings that failed?

 

[UnleashedBeast]

Tob,

Sorry, no internal pictures, never disassembled it (beyond my calling today). It is a Ford Racing polished blower.

 

[Tob]

Just wondering if the pulley was installed improperly, ultimately leading to the bearing failure.

 

[CPRsm]

REALLY need to replace the IC on failures like this. IC's are cheaper than engines. You just can't clean them completely.

 

[UnleashedBeast]

I think that if the worst case scenario happens.....he will just build it bigger and better. He works in the middle east.

 

[rdsnk46]

REALLY need to replace the IC on failures like this. IC's are cheaper than engines. You just can't clean them completely.

Huh? You can if you pull the in take off and remove the intercooler from the intake. I know because when my 3.4 failed I had to do this exact process that I'm speaking of. I ended up degreasing the intercooler core when I separated it, thank god that when my blower failed it did it as I was pulling into my driveway and I only ran the car for about 20 seconds. I can tell you that I didnt have any where near that much debris on my core......

I would 100% for sure have pulled it apart and cleaned though.....the force on the vaccum and any boost would push shavings right into the core, also into the motor.

 

[UnleashedBeast]

Then I guess I need to give you this tidbit of information as to not make me look like a slacker after this cleanup.

The blower failed 600 miles away from his home, he chose to drive it home instead of towing it. If there was going to be an engine failure...it may have already happened. So far, the engine runs flawless. Extra wear in the piston areas....I wouldn't doubt it.

 

[Van@RevanRacing]

I think that if the worst case scenario happens.....he will just build it bigger and better. He works in the middle east.

Deep down the customer wants a built L&M Engine so he can completely kick Troy's ass! Times 2! :beer:

 

[UnleashedBeast]

Deep down the customer wants a built L&M Engine so he can completely kick Troy's ass! Times 2! :beer:

HAHA! No doubt!

I would steal it from him, then donate my stock block in guilt. lol

 

[rdsnk46]

Then I guess I need to give you this tidbit of information as to not make me look like a slacker after this cleanup.

The blower failed 600 miles away from his home, he chose to drive it home instead of towing it. If there was going to be an engine failure...it may have already happened. So far, the engine runs flawless. Extra wear in the piston areas....I wouldn't doubt it.

No biggie, let that shit ride man! LOL! I have done worse.....burn some plugs, make changes, burn a piston! Won the race though! LMAO!

 

[rdsnk46]

Home Depot Ridgid shop vac FTW! LOL!