I have a 99 Park Ave Ultra, I have owned this car for three months now, I have just noticed a strange, gurggleing, grinding sound that appears to be coming from the supercharger area.It is not very loud, you have to listen for it.I just had the oil changed, (Not at Dealer) I was told that the supercharger has it's own oil supply, and that also must be changed, is that true ? Other than that the car runs fine. When I purchased the car the " ABS & TRAC OFF" lights where on. Are these two conected. I would like to get some ideal about this before going to the dealer. Thank You[img]smileys/smiley5.gif[/img]

The Supercharger does have its own oil supply. I don't believe it needs to be changed as a regular maintenance item, but the level should be checked. There is a plug in the neck of the supercharger. You should use synthetic oil.


Yes, the ABS and traction control are related. And, unfortunately they can be very expensive to fix. Although they may not do anything at this point, I would try to go back to the place of purchase and complain.


There was a recall which could affect this on your vehicle. Also, for what it's worth, my '97 Ultra had those lights come on and the Buick dealer replaced the rear wiring harness at a cost of about $300. Seems like too much to replace some wires, but at the time, Iwanted to get it fixed quickly. Apparently this car sometimes has some rubbing between the wires and suspension.Edited by: MrBSS

Thank You, [img]smileys/smiley1.gif[/img]Would you happen to have the information regarding the recall ??.. Did you have that sound coming from the super charger ??

Look up any recalls involving your cars at www.nhtsa.dot.gov


Have your VIN available.


No, I don't have that noise. Are you sure it's not the water pump?

When GM went to the series II 3800 they stopped using it own oil supply
and went to using the oil from the motor. There are 2 oil lines in the
back of the supercharger (They look like brake lines) Until then they
used there own sump. Don't use regular oil even synthetic unless you
want to change it every time you change the oil. Supercharger oil is
available at the Buick Dealer and is made of fatty acids. (Animal fat)
and lasts about 50,000 miles. That's why it smells so bad when you take off the cap.



Does the Supercharger make a light "Knocking" noise?



If it does the Supercharger Coupler needs replaced.


Edited by: firefighter0029

I am interested in your post because I need to change the supercharger oil on my '97 Ultra (3800 Series II). I also own a '92 Ultra, which I have rebuilt the supercharger on. I am not as familiar with the '97, because I just recently bought it.


It sounds like you are saying the series II uses engine oil. Maybe later ones do, but mine seems to have its own supply. It does recommend the oil you mentioned.


Do you know how to get the old oil out?

I used a turkey baster. Or you can tear apart a spray bottle and spray
the oil out of the superchager. Watch out!!! That sh*t really stinks.
The supercharger oil is.....GM Vehicle Care SuperCharger Oil 12345982.
GM kinda screws you on this one because they don't quite give you
enough in one bottle to fill it. So you'll have 3/4 of a bottle left
over when you buy 2. At the Buick Garage here I think it it was around
$8.50 a bottle.

www.gmpartsdirect has it too for $3.95 a bottle but the shipping sucks.



Thats weird because my buddy has a 97 or 98 Regal and the supercharger uses the oil from the motor on his.


Edited by: firefighter0029

Thanks for the reply. I was planning on using the spray bottle, but I thought there might be a little more "elegant" way.


I guess the turkey baster would be easiest. Did it get down fully, or does it leave some in the bottom?

perhaps check around online for an off brand oil, or on ebay for the GM stuff?

Well I'm reluctant to put anything but the GM stuff in, since I don't know exactly what's in it. Maybe I can save $10 or so, but if I have to rebuild my supercharger prematurely, it certainly won't be worth it.


An eBay or Google search is worth a try. Also, I think GMpartsdirect may be worthwhile if I need to buy some other parts at the same time (or do they still charge a fixed "shipping cost" on each item?).

To Firefighter: I have a parts list summary, so I looked up my "Supercharger Assy". For 1997, they list part #12538410 @ $2362.86! For 98-03, they list #12371986 @ $1595.00.


So apparently some substantial changes were made for 1998, even though they are both "Series II".

Ooh OK that was my bad It was so close though. I thought they must have changed them in 97.

No big deal. Did the turkey baster get most of the old oil out, or would you recommend the spray bottle innards?

The spray bottle gets in there better than the turkey baster did but it takes longer.

what about a salvage yard?

[img]smileys/smiley5.gif[/img] What about a junkyard?

because for those prices, it may be cheaper to buy an aftermarket unit!

Well, I was just quoting the prices to show that substantial changes were made between 1997 and 1998. If anyone does have a problem, rebuilding kits are apparently available now.

The weird thing is you can get a rebuild kit at the ford garage for
a thunderbird supercoupe but you couldn't get them from the Gm
Garage. The Supercoupe had the same M90 Supercharger as the GMs did. If
I were you I'd do the same thing I did. You can get a much better built
one off of Ebay by looking up Eaton Supercharger Coupler and get gasket
material from a parts store with all that and the oil you'll have about
$60 in it.[img]uploads/firefighter0029/ZBAZZ_Supercharger_Coupler.JPG[/img]

Yes. As I mentioned previously, I got a rebuild kit from Eaton through a Diesel service shop. That was about 4 years ago for my '92 Ultra. Nowadays the Internet makes things more available.


Incidentally, do you think that the noise is the only problem or would it soon cause operational difficulties?Edited by: MrBSS

What is it doing wrong?



When my coupler went bad the knock sensor picked it up and kept retarding the timing and made mine lose quite a bit of power.

Interesting!


Actually my "new" one (1997) isn't doing anything wrong yet. I did rebuild my old one (1992), and was curious as to your experience.

My 1998 Buick Park Avenur Ultra has the 3800 series II supercharged V6, and it has it's own oil supply for the blower! Man, oh man does it smell like, like .... YUCK!

[img]smileys/smiley11.gif[/img]Like Poo? LOL


It's made from fatty acids from Pig Fat. Read the Bottle.


I smell dead people......LOL

hahaha...are you serious?

It's pretty nasty. I need to replace it. I'm guessing it has never been replaced, and the car has 74,800 MI on it. Still quiet, and smooth though.

Yes I'm serious the bottle even says fatty acid. AKA: Pig fat. That's why it smells so bad.


Change it now before the coupler goes.Edited by: firefighter0029

All the buick superchargers have their own oil and it is seprate from the engine. There are no lines going up to it with engine oil. They never have used engine oil to lube the 3.8 supercharger. I've worked at a Buick dealer for 10 years and I've never changed the oil in a superchargerl. I'm not saying that you shouldn't do it but I don't think that you would need to. I have seen a few with the loose rattling noise but I've never had one apart to know what is in there. We just sell cusomers a new one or maybe rebuilt. I always kind of wanted to take one apart to see what was wrong inside of the ones that were replaced but I never got a chance to. That would be cool if all they needed was a little plastic piece. When your working on customers cars you can't really risk spending money on parts inside a supercharger and then a month later having somthing else go wrong with it and then they need a whole new charger. They don't like that and expect us to fix it all for free.Edited by: Toadster25

FYI: In my experience, the drive side bearings/ couplertend to go. I replaced them in my '92, through a Diesel service shop who got the parts from Eaton. I was never sure the actuator was set right; the gauge was discontinued and nobody seemed to have one!


My '97 (purchased used) has a fill plug and looked low. I added some Mobil 1, but I do intend to suck out the old and replace it with the GM stuff.


Other than noise, is there an easy way to tell how effective the supercharger is?Edited by: MrBSS

I have a Boost Vacuum guage. Reads around 6-8 with wide open throttle.

There's nothing to a Supercharger. A case, 2 Rotors, 2 End Bearings, A coupler, A Nose Cone Case, A Pulley and a Bearing behind the pulley. Everything is pretty much rock solid in it exept for the front bearing and coupler. Thats all that ever needs replaced and all that comes in a rebuild kit (Which GM rips people off and doesn't sell) Is a snap ring, front bearing, and coupler. But it's expensive around $300 through a ford garage. It's much cheaper to find the parts yourself. I get my couplers from ebay (around $35 Shipped) and get the bearings from either a bearing catalog from work. or from Erie Bearing.

I do think you have to change your SC Oil and it is very important so that you never have to replace any of these things and it is cheaper than the parts to fix it. I belive my GM Service Manual says to replace it every 35,000 miles.

Good info. Thank you.


The Boost/Vacuum gauge is an obvious answer; duh, why didn't I think of that! I guess I can find a good source for manifold vacuum, but where did you connect it?


I've never seen the recommendation to replace the SC oil that frequently. Although I've read the Owners' and Shop Manuals for both of my Ultras pretty thoroughly, I haven't looked for that specifically. I would appreciate it if you could confirm that.


Otherwise, I would think that a closed system using synthetic oil would be good for at least 100,000 miles, particularly since it is engaged intermitantly. But, for those of us who know that the life of these cars is well over twice that interval, it might be wise to err on the short side!


PS: Do any of you have any experience or opinion on the "Snow Boost Cooler", whichuses an injection of water and methanol to function as a chemical intercooler? It's on p36 of my Summit catalog andSnow's internet site.Edited by: MrBSS

No I'm gonna look into that though. I thought Magna Charger was the only ones to make an intercooler for an eaton.

supercharger
 

hey ..please forgive the ignorance of a novice ..i just got the1998 buick pk.av.ultra,supercharged.167k..mi..was my pops last new car ..it has what i perceive to be a couple of issues,the knock at the supercharger...what is the general price range and diffuculty for a mech idiot like me to do the job?also what is the coolant system quirks ..cuz like isaid i just got the car it has not run hot yet..readout says temp normal,ystrdy i noticed water dripping from what area ,i suspect water pump ..it stopped leaking ..never runs hot,how do i determine cause ?is it a hard fix ? what is y-allz impression of this buick ..i have never owned a buick before this ..im 70 ..thanks for lisinin to my ****..lookin forward to some astute answers thx again imcmzan from la jolla ,ca ..and all corners of the state ..much respect..