Sent My Vortech in for the second time for bearing failure. They said the oil in the SC overheated causing the bearings to fail. They said it was probably not returning oil properly.

1. My return line is tapped to the upper pan per vortech specs (no spacer)
2. No kinks were in the return line
3. I have an 06 revup so I don't think there was too much oil blocking the return...lol damn oil consumption issue.

So, I don't think it was a problem with the return.

Would an oil cooler help prevent this from happening again? This is the second time my bearings failed shortly after a tuning session.

 

I would probably install an oil temperature gauge to see what temps you are seeing. The next step would probably be to inspect the feed line and return lines for obstructions. Its also always good to check the oil feed fitting in the supercharger. It has a very small orifice that sprays oil onto the charger. If debris blocks/clogs this orifice it may starve oil to the s/c causing a failure. The following excerpt is from the Vortech paperwork.

"When changing your oil, remove and clean the oil inlet fitting and strainer. For severe duty or racing, it is suggested that you install an oil cooler and filter."

Just a couple things to check. A kinked return line would cause the oil not to drain back fast enough overheating the gears and bearings inside the s/c.

 

I have a temp gauge, but not inline with the SC. From what I have noticed the oil temps did not go above 185 - is that high?

I know there were no kinks.

Question was would the installation of an oil cooler help keep the SC temp levels down so that it does not overheat causing bearing failure.

 

you might want to consider having them replace it with one of their v-3 models which has an Internal Oil Reservoir.

 

I went through 2 bowers with failed bearings and seals in less than an oil change......It took me 2 weeks of phone complaints and a thread I started on a forum "why I will never buy Vortech again" (I sent them a copy of the 300 hits in 3 days) and they sent me my money back. Granted, I has less than 3,000 miles on the kit, but I got my money back. If you're in the waranty period.....get your cash back. This is crap IMO. I took my cash and went STS turbo and I could not be happier. Good Luck- Jim
PS. I originally bought the unit through superchargers4less and they really stepped up to get me my money back. Ask your vendor to help you out.

 

WTF? i beat the living F out of my vortech setup and have never had a problem! 14psi at that!!! i am starting to wonder if some of these problems are installation error and not the unit itself.BTW i have two oil coolers, one for the main oil supply for the engine and a in line one just before the oil enters the s/c "custom fabbed by myself".

 

No intstall error...just bad bearings. Vortech later admitted to having a bad batch of bearings in a bunch of units and mine was one of them. Problem is, I spent big $$$$ on labor and other parts in the process of getting the thing to work and it never panned out. Even though I got my purchase $$$ back I lost another grand in the end. The worst part??? my car was down so much I missed 1/2 my race season and just had to spectate

 

I like the inline cooler idea for the s/c

btw my s/c was included in serial number range of bad bearings, but doesn't explain why it failed again shortly after it was repaired by Vortech. I only have around 2-3k miles on the kit.

 

here is a pic. that small silver cooler with the two steel braided lines you see on the left hand side of the grill area is the s/c cooler i put together.

 

Jet- That extra metal in the front is too heavy. Useless in my opinion.

 

What? you hitting the crack pipe again.... i warned you about that stuff!

 

What temp is considered too high for oil?

 

I had the SAME problem....I believe that the casting around the seals and bearings gets too hot warps.....or the shaft on the fan. Get pissed and get your money back...or a whole new unit.

 

I guess it depends on what kind of oil is being subjected to the heat.

I thought in general the limit was:

Dino = 220F
Synth = 240F

Or something like that.

My oil temps never get above 210-ish in the hot Georgia summer. I usually average around 180-ish. But I'm NA and oil cooled.

 

nice jet thanks for the pic your car is sweeeeet!!!

what is the make/model for the inline cooler?

 

I'm always at 220 or just below it without an oil cooler. The other day I opened it up on the highway with a viper and it got up to 240. It came back down to 220 shortly after.I think I'm going to add an oil cooler anyways being in South Florida, maybe I'll add a second one just for the supercharger.

 

i will pm you later with the info on the parts you will need to put it together.

 

Not trying to be a pri*k but you are missing the point. An oil cooler won't help a defective bearing, bent shaft or warped casting. Start with the problem by getting a whole new blower or get your money back and choose another form of FI......then look into cool and useful gadgets like oil coolers.

 

I need a oil cooler also. When I was at ZdayZ, my temp was at 240 almost the whole day!

 

hmm let me see... back out of all the work I put into this to spend more money on a different FI solution I will have different problems with...I don't think so.

If the problem is oil heating up and breaking down causing the bearings to fail, don't you think an oil cooler would be helpful, not just a gadget?