Supercharger

[eternal21]

my question from day one: can this engine even handle being supercharged? (i obviously know it has been done...) it seems to have enough problems as is - is there really that much to gain without compromising what little integrity these engines have in the first place?

Newthings had his VX s/c'ed @ 23k miles. For the time being, I own it, and it is sitting @ 98k miles. It was driven 39 hours straight from Oregon to Tx via I-5 to IH-10, towing a small U-Haul trailer full of stuff, and it never batted an eye. Normally that trip only takes 33ish or so hours, but in Cali, all vehicles towing a trailer have a speed limit of 55mph. Also encountered very inclement weather in AZ (pouring rain the entire way), NM (high winds/dust storms/icy conditions) and TX (ice and snow flurries). Night and day difference between my N/A VX and the S/C'ed VX.

[Buffy]

Jerry Lemond has a supercharged Trooper that never gives him a minute of trouble. Been on there for years trouble free. I know it isn't a VX but it is a 3.5.

[hughesdt]

I have to agree with Eternal21. Have had my super-charger on since 70k, have over 150k now. Did have an engine failure at 124k, but that had nothing to do with the supercharger, typical oil problem and spun #1 connecting rod bearing.

Should mention that putting the super-charger on the motor in the VX caused several ODBII codes till the engine failure, lean on accel, mass air flow low voltage, bank ?? lean... Swapped out intake gaskets, injector o-rings... Problem persisted so I blamed the super-charger.

While rebuilding the motor contemplated not re-installing the super-charger, kept the original manifold just incase. Did re-install the super-charger while the engine was on the engine stand and was very careful with the gaskets and o-rings, 26k and not a single CEL.

Recently broke the serpentine belt, the idle pulley bearing froze. Noticed that I wasn't accelerating like before and was surprised to see the belt missing. The VX ran just fine till I replaced the bearing and belt. WOW what a difference the super-charger makes!

Dan