well i put my s/c back on tonight after getting it back from apten.
so i start her up and now i think i have a bad bearing somewhere in there
just my friggin luck:mj:
so anyone have to replace these before and know where i can get them?
i am just about besides my self right now, this is so aggrivating
i will also search bit i figured i would get this out before i got more pissed

 

What is up with the Apten porting and problems? I'm new here, but on a number of boards I've seen Apten ported blowers have issues. Some folks love it, but there are more than a few issues.

 

that sux bro..doesn't apten go through the whole blower and R&R bearings prior to you gettin it back?

 

Pull the rotors to make sure they aren't hitting the case.

 

Nope, they don't even have the rear bearings at their shop.

 

i didnt pull them but i was spining it free hand while i had it out looking to see if it was hitting anywhere as i have read about the issues
i should have told them to put new bearings just for ****s and giggles but i thought they would be ok as i have not had any problems up till now

 

When I put mine back together, it made a noise like an old used up Ford power steering pump does. The noise was coming from the top center of the CASE, definatley not the bearings. (I used an automotive stethoscope)

I didn't feel like pulling it back apart again, so I just drove it around........ and after about a hundred miles...... the noise complely stopped.

I figured if there was a clearance problem with the rotors, they would just clearance themselves...... and hopefully the intercooler would catch any big chunks.

Maybe one of these days I will pull it back apart and clean everything up, and nib down any high spots with a stone.

 

I'm pretty sure the case is flexing under stress and contacting the rotors.

 

We got into this fairly deeply in a recent post "Eaton Carnage". The basic problem is 15 PSI under the rotors x 60 sq in = 900 pounds of force upward on the rotors. The higher the boost, the more force. Oh, and since the air pressure above them goes to about -15 absolute when the throttle is closed, there's another 900 pounds sucking upward. The torque sequence and specs are very critical. Torque the bolts to 18 ft/lb first and then to 35 ft/lb.

Porting work is just that. They remove the entire rotor pack in one piece, port the case, re-assemble and return. There is a good chance that grit will get into he rear bearings, but the usual problem is the rotors hitting the top of the case.

 

I dont know how much this matters, but, when I originally removed my Blower before sending it to get ported, I noticed that there was some slight rubbing (at one time) on the edge of the rotors. And only in certain spots. The rubbing marks matched perfectly to where the silencing holes are on the blower. So apparently there was some kind of excess flashing or what-not where those oval holes are located.
Siegemeier's didnt call me up to say "hey we noticed.......blah blah blah" so I took under the impression that it was normal for some eatons. In any case.......Didnt mean to hijack the thread.

John

 

I was at Siegemeier's shop Friday. We looked at 5 or 6 stock Lightning blowers, and each had signs of rotor/case contact.

 

well the edges were a little bit "funny" but it was like that when i pulled it off
and i dont think the case is flexing cause i have not reved the motor up yet it has just idled so far
i will not drive it
and yeah i did find the eaton carnage thread and got even more worried

 

LightninMike:
Take a look at the "siezed Eaton" thread as well. One of the big problems in these blowers may be the lack of adequate lubrication for the rear roller bearings. I'm going to take a close look at what kind of mod can be done to let us oil or lube those rear bearings without having to pull the blower. If I recall the construction correctly, the rotors have only turned aluminum ends running in a grease filled roller bearing with about 3/32" diameter rollers. A good fix might be to sleeve the end of the rotors in steel and install real bearings in the housing, since any wear at all on the aluminum ends will let the rotors hit the housing.

Again, when we're running the blowers beyond the level they were designed for we're lookng for problems. When I first looked at one, my first objection was the lack of rotor tip seals. Seals would increase the blower's efficiency by about 50%, but even in the realm of people like Blower Drive Service (BDS), the nylatron tipped rotors are a "race only application" because they'll only last about 15k miles on the street.

 

I got mine back last thursday and its fine, quiet at idle....

 

FWIW, when I got my blower back from apten it had a bearing grinding noise at idle.

the blower was an '03 with only about 12 or 13,000 miles on it at the time.

the noise got progressively louder, it was a grinding noise, sounded like a bad bearing. the noise could only be heard at idle.

I checked the oil after the blower had only been on the truck for a couple of days and the oil had metal flakes in it. they advised me to change the oil. I did this and in a matter of a day or two it was full of flakes again.

one thing to note was that they had disassembled my blower for the polish job, so maybe more work was done than on the standard port job.

I ended up having to send it back and they supposedly replaced the bearings in the snout.

on a side note, my stock blower also had some minor scratches at the rear of the case and on the edges of the rotors.

just my .02

later,
chris