I finally got around to changing the oil. I have been putting it off because the plug was stripping. I finally got it removed(T-30 torx bit). I tried using a windex pump but it was too rigid and skinny. The best thing I found was to use a plastic syringe and Aquarium air pump hosing. About 6 or 7 inches should do. Attach to the syringe and work it around in there and suck out as much as you can. The tubing is just the right size and is flexible. It takes a while because the "rotory impellar thingy" is in the way so you have to work the tubing under and around it. I got a little under 2 oz. out and it was brown. I was definately runnung low because I filled it w/ a full 4oz. bottle of GM supercharger oil and was able to fill about 1/8th of a second bottle. It ended up being filled slightly below the drain plug hole. So if you're gonna get the GM stuff, get at least two bottles. -hope this helps for anyone that is thinking about changing their oil.

Thanks for finding out about the T-30 torx bit. And the aquarium tube is a great idea.

So how many miles did you have on the charger?

I'd like to know as well. I thought these things were permanantly sealed and did not need to have the SC nose-gear oil changed. I did know about changing out the nose-gear after about 60K but other than that this is the first I have heard about changing the oil out. I have about 28K on mine so far so it would be nice to know if there is a change interval what would it be.

Thanks for posting on this.

Ricochet

They're not permanently sealed. But to keep your supercharger properly within the Toyota/TRD drivetrain warranty you can't break the seal to even check the supercharger oil level until after it's out of warranty at 60K miles. By that time it's about 30K overdue for the oil being at least checked.

There's a thorough post about it here:
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB13&Number=315143

And anthraciterunner had a clarification that the proper tool to use is a T-27 Torx bit in this post:
http://www.4x4wire.com/forums/showflat.php?Cat=&Board=UBB13&Number=357281
Um, do the T-27 and T-30 both fit due to their taper?

I talked with Kevin Gunn at Magnuson. He told me that it is not a good idea to change and refill the SC while it is still on the engine. You cannot remove all the oil and therefore you don't know how much oil to add. The proper level is not just below the fill hole.

He recommended to not mess with it until 100,000 miles. If it needs servicing before then, then remove it from the engine and send it in to Magnuson if it is not performing or making noise.

..... I'm just sayin' that's what he said <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" /> .....

I need a little education here. What is a torx bit? How is it different from allen wrenches? Oh, and just to make sure, allen wrenches and hex keys are the same thing, by two different names, right?

Thanks!

-S

Jeff,
Thanks for the info. I guess it is probably a fairly common mis-conception about the change interval because of the warranty issue which is what I am trying not to mess up. But if the SC needs oil in the nose-gear then I would rather mess up the warranty than blow the whole SC nose gear out due to lack of oil and potentially ruin my SC and the engine if parts of the SC internals come apart from lack of lubrication and enter the cylinders. That would be a major SNAFU for sure. Guess I'll just have to play it by ear (literally) and if the SC makes alot more noise (over the normal gear rattle at idle) then its time to check into it.

Ricochet

My super charger only had a year warantee so I checked the level and found it took 4oz to bring it up to the bottom of the fill plug . After reading some posts about very dirty oil and noisey nose drives I decided to fill it up .Has any one seen any thing in writing from magnuson or trd reguarding the correct fill/level amount <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

I had about 40,000 miles...maybe a little more. The only reason I changed it was because there was residue on the outside. I am pretty sure I got more than 95% of the oil out. The air pump tubing was flexible enough to work its way between the front of the charger and the impellar thing down to the bottom.

A torx bit is different than an allen wrench because an allen head is flat on the sides/edges. A torx bit is kinda star shaped. Don''t use an allen wrench or it'll strip.(that's what I tried at first) There seems to be some confusion about this at magnuson too. A t-30 fits perfectly. I probably filled it about a quarter of an inch below the drain hole. Now that I know how much oil is in there, i can check it periodically for color and to see if it is leaking still. I know everyone says you can wait 100,000 miles but I would at least check to see what color it is. If you get a flash light, you can see how much oil is in there too. If you can't see any, you're probably low. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />