'03 Supercharger problem

[wardamneagle]

I recently purchased a 2003 LC with a supercharger (engine upgrade?). It had one previous owner. 3 months ago, the engine had to be replaced - the LC broke down on the interstate. My local dealer replaced the engine and then a test drive blew that engine up, and that was when they realized the problem was in the supercharger. They removed the supercharger and sent it to CA, and after 6 weeks we haven't heard anything about it from the people working on it.

Does anyone here have a supercharger? Since my local dealer doesn't seem to be familiar with them, I have basically no knowledge about it. Are they difficult to maintain? Any help or directions to information would be greatly appreciated!

[mustang67408]

Originally Posted by wardamneagle

I recently purchased a 2003 LC with a supercharger (engine upgrade?). It had one previous owner. 3 months ago, the engine had to be replaced - the LC broke down on the interstate. My local dealer replaced the engine and then a test drive blew that engine up, and that was when they realized the problem was in the supercharger. They removed the supercharger and sent it to CA, and after 6 weeks we haven't heard anything about it from the people working on it.

Does anyone here have a supercharger? Since my local dealer doesn't seem to be familiar with them, I have basically no knowledge about it. Are they difficult to maintain? Any help or directions to information would be greatly appreciated!

S/C's are pretty self sufficient. Your dealer should have had the S/C checked when the first engine blew up. You'd be surprised about the amount of shrapnel that goes thru the engine when they blow. This usually contaminates the S/C and it should be sent out to be cleaned or repaired.
The only thing to do to them is check the belt and if you know how, check the oil level. I have only ever serviced 1.
How did the engine blow on the test drive? caused by the S/C? curious about this. What did they tell you?
Anything else you have a question about S/C?

[wardamneagle]

Thanks for your reply, Mustang! All the service dept. said about the second engine blowing up was that it did it during a test drive on the interstate. They said that after that, they decided the problem was in the SC. They were also upset that I had not told them that my LC had a supercharger. That really threw me, because I would think you could see it - but again I don't know, because I didn't know anything about SCs. We purchased this LC from this dealer, used, and they didn't originally sell it to the previous owner. When I bought it, the salesman told me that the previous owner had ordered it from Toyota with the SC. Is that possible? After reading other posts, it seems to be an aftermarket thing.
What you said about the SC needing to be removed and cleaned must be what is being done right now. So far it has been "away" for 7 weeks and there is no word about it. I was told it was sent away to be fixed, maybe that means 'cleaned'. Can you shed any more light on this?

[mustang67408]

Originally Posted by wardamneagle

Thanks for your reply, Mustang! All the service dept. said about the second engine blowing up was that it did it during a test drive on the interstate.They either didnt get all of the debris from the old S/C out of it or they had the timing belt off a few teeth.The timing belt being off will create excess boost that the engine was NOT designed to handle. They said that after that, they decided the problem was in the SC. They were also upset that I had not told them that my LC had a supercharger.Why? it's not that much harder to work on, its just like a bigger intake manifold. That really threw me, because I would think you could see it ,If you dont know what your looking for, the S/C can blend in into the engine compartment- but again I don't know, because I didn't know anything about SCs. We purchased this LC from this dealer, used, and they didn't originally sell it to the previous owner. When I bought it, the salesman told me that the previous owner had ordered it from Toyota with the SC. Is that possible?Yes/No,if they ordered their cruiser w/a S/C it just means the dealership added it before they picked it up for final delivery. I basically did the same thing when I bought mine and financed the S/C into the deal. After reading other posts, it seems to be an aftermarket thing. It is aftermarket kinda, it's an EATON S/C (not made by Toyota), but was developed by TRD (Toyota Racing Development), who is now owned by Toyota Corp. So it did keep all factory warranty in place.
What you said about the SC needing to be removed and cleaned must be what is being done right now. So far it has been "away" for 7 weeks and there is no word about it. I was told it was sent away to be fixed, maybe that means 'cleaned'. Can you shed any more light on this?

They should take it apart and remove any debris from the old blown engine. Any damaged components should also be replaced too.Bearings/impellers/clearances all have to be checked. I have heard it takes a very long time to do this (dont ask me why). The guy I used to know at TRD said it was usually 6-8 week turn around. Yes that seems out of the ordinary to me too, but we are now talking CORPORATION red tape and specific rules they have to follow set by TOYOTA. I thought they had an exchange program, but can't get a straight answer from anybody.
Hope this helps

[eduarprmd]

I have a 2002 Sequoia with the TRD SC and around 80k miles with it. This truck is frequently abused and taken off roading. Zero problems. Only problem so far is with the catalytic converter melting or something or so said a tech flown here to evaluate the "mysterious" problem. It was sluggish, requiring too much throtle to move. It was a clogged exhaust, temps ran high I guess and I was tld I was lucky it didn't blow up. Warranty covered. With Msgnsflow cats nlw running solid.

[trd sc]

ya i own an 03 tundra sc and i had it for almost three months and i havent had a problem with it, i bought it off my brother and he had none either the only thing that went bad was the cats but other than that the truck is truly amazing sorry about yours

[OrangePips]

I had a used TRD SC installed on my LandCruier100. Made 6K kilometers at the moment. Everything looks fine by now.

[Charley_S]

Sounds like your dealer has a less than stellar service dept. For them to insinuate that you did something wrong by not telling them the truck had an SC is ridiculous. In order to replace the engine, the would have had to pull the SC off the old engine to put it on the new one........HELLO....

Like your screen name by the way.........'89 AU grad myself............

[JRE56]

You said a mouth full Charley_S.