I will be sending out my Vortech blower on Monday August 22nd to be rebuilt (preliminary analysis is that my bearing is blown). If this is the case they will replace the bearing and all seals for around $380. Now, I daily drive my car and need to continue driving it. I have taken the blower off before to put a new belt on. Xviper has been a big help on what I need to do.

1.) Plug oil feed line
2.) Plug oil return line
3.) Get a bigger intake tube to connect to either the aftercooler or intake manifold.

I think this is all I have to do to still drive the car whith everything else still on and the blower off. Can anyone think of anything else?

Xviper said that I can get a rubber bung to plug the oil return line since it is just a rubber hose. He said I need to plug the high pressure oil feed line.

I know this should be simple but can anyone help me or point me in a direction on exactly what I need to buy and do for both of these things? My knowledge of the kit is minimal except for taking the blower off and tightening the belt so I will need to figure out where the oil lines are, how to disconnect them, and how to plug them. I assume making a bigger intake tube is the easiest part.

Thanks for your help and sorry for my lack of knowledge.

-Anthony

 

See the steel braided line (oil feed) and the black hose (oil return) still attached to the blower?

Just make sure those hoses are still attacked to the engine. For the black return line, notice how I've got a wooden dowel stuck in the end with a clamp on it? That's what you can do, then zip tie the end to something to keep it out of the way of moving parts.
Now the oil feed. Get some sort of adaptor like this:

See the steel braided line? It's just like the one that is the oil feed for your blower. Get a fitting to go on the end that you can improvise some sort of plug that will hold pressure back. (The one that is between the end of the line and the blue one) That one has the proper bevelled end on it and you can easily do a small hose with a wooden dowel and clamp just like the return line.

For the air filter, just take the Vortech air filter and attach it to the open end of the intercooler. You may need a reducing hose.

Then you'll still have an open end on the hose to the front valve cover breather. For the time being. Take some "J-clothes" or layers of cheese cloth and wrap the end of the open hose and tie it off tightly, ziptie out of the way. This will still allow some filtered air in and out of that hose.

You should need nothing else to continue running the car. (Unless someone can point out something I've forgotten.)

 

You'll need a -3AN plug to block the oil feed hose. If you don't seal this hose, you will empty the engine of oil. The oil for the SC is taken from the main oil gallery to the cylinder head.

 

Thank you guys for your help. Where can I buy a -3AN plug? Sorry for my limited mechanical experience. All I have done is put on exhausts, change brake pads, take blower off, replace the bet etc etc. Usually all I need is good descriptions and directions. Thanks again for your help.

-Anthony

 

Most speed shops, or industrial/hydraulic supply house.

BTW, AN is also known as JIC.

 

Yeah, I am not upset at that really. I think a full rebuild would run 500ish, maybe a bit more. We will see what it is but like I said, I believe it is the bearing.

My car has been slow for too long. It's tough going from SC back to stock, and poor running stock at that due to the air restriction. I have a bad hesitation at like 2500-3500. Honda said they checked everything (spark plugs, injectors, codes, misfires, coilpacks, ect ect) and found nothing and told me that they agreed with me that it is poor air flow. The air has to go into the intake, into the blower, through the AC and then into the intake manifold......not very efficient. It is bad on hot days. It is kind of like having a $4000 inefficient intake.

After it is back on, it is also getting a AEM A/F gauge for safety and a boost gauge so I know it is at 7psi and prevent my dumb ass from overtightening the belt.

I hope to do this this weekend provided I find the parts and am able to do it.

-Anthony

 

Xviper and Slowsk2,

I removed the blower succesfully. I was going to remove it along with the bracket just like I did when I put a new belt on. The problem is, some of the bolts cannot come out all the way due to clearance problems with the blower itself. Then I remembered, when I replaced the belt, I never actually removed it, I just created just enough space to slip the belt through the plate spacer. So, I decided to take just the blower off. Without ratchetting wrenches, and with some of the bolts so close to the blower, I had to remove some parts of the bracket to take it off. But, it is off.

I used a size 4 JIC fitting for the oil feed and it worked very well. I pluged the oil return with 5/8inch dowel that I had to shave down. I unbolted the airbox, moved it closer and got a 3'' to 2'' reducing tube. Add in some duct tape and I have one weird looking intake right now. Making all that fit was a pain but the car is running good (actually, noticeably better than with the blower there and no boost).

Vortech told me today that it will take 10-15 business days to get it back to me, 8 of which I will be in St. John so that isn't too bad.

All I have to do is put it back on, and install my AEM A/F gauge and my boost gauge.

Thank you two for your help. I really really appreciate it. It twould have been stupid to take it somewhere.

Next up - '00 to '02 top conversion......gulp


-Anthony

 

This is a little off-topic, but how did you know a bearing was blown, was it not boosting properly, making weird noises or what?

 

My blower will be here on Monday. I went to a good local shop when I was having engine problems. I was having an engine problem and blower problem at the same time. While he thought my engine was wrong (he was wrong), he said my blower had a bad bearing. You can tell, apparently, by any movement horizontally of the SC pulley. Mine if you grabbed it, you should move it back and forth (towards front of car and back of car) 2-3mm. So when I sent it in, I told them that I thought it was that and they confirmed it.

 

I received the blower. It has some new bolts and pieces on the outside and it is cleaned up. They fixed it under warrenty which was awesome. I have quite a busy day tomorrow. I am cleaning my engine bay thouroughly (the blown bearing had caused a lot of excess oil to be flung around the engine bay). Also, I discovered, much to my dismay, that one of the long studs that goes through the lower plate spacer was GONE. So, I ordered one of those and will replace that as well. I will bolt the SC back onto the bracket. This will take forever because of clearance problems. I also got a new flex hose because my other one had small holes in it. I also ordered a new jam lock nut because my other one is getting stripped from all of the belt problems I had last summer. Lastly, I am taking it to FUZION Auto in Havertown PA and they are installing a AEM A/F gauge and SPA technique Boost gauge. Then he is going to look over everything and make sure it is ok. The only thing that will prevent me from doing this will be if the jam lock nut is too stripped to be loosened and/or if I can't tell when the bolt is tight enough since I have no idea where it is at this point. Oh, new IK24 spark plugs are going in as well.

-Anthony