Millenia S Supercharger Replacement Notes

[bayareadave@yahoo.com]

W I L D M A N ' S

M A Z D A - M I L L E N I A - S U P E R C H A R G E R - R E P L A C E M E N T - N O T E S

These are my notes from a supercharger replacement for a 1999 Millenia S. These instructions assume you have read the manual first, and have looked at the other existing technical documents on mazdaworld.org. These notes will probably help for all year models, but you should use the manual for the specific year of your car.

GENERAL NOTES and TIPS
Take your own pictures with a digital camera. Shoot all areas you are going to tear down. I found this invaluable when putting it back together. Don't rely on somebody else's, take them of your car. Print them out (use color if possible) when you are ready to put it back together

Get 30 or 40 of those key tags. They have a tag with string so you can label the parts. The best chance of staying on and not smearing. Key tags are $0.60 ea., but worth it. I saw some similar tags in a stationary store for much less. The photos and the labeled parts were the keys to getting the car back together.

I went with a used supercharger (S/C), but only because it was direct from a forum member. This is risky and I recommend only buying from a reputable S/C rebuild shop with warranty. Or new, if you are a billionaire.

Get some Hefty brand ziplock bags (1 qt. size) to put parts in. Hefty has a place to write notes. Take your nuts and bolts from each area - like the Pressure Air Assembly (also called the Charge Air Cooler, or CAC) - and put them in the bag and label it.

The best way to get gaskets would be to put all the gaskets you want to replace in a bag (labeled of course) when tearing down. First, see if you can fabricate some from gasket material. Some people reuse the metal air assy gaskets, but I'd at least put on Permatex HiTack. Take the bag down to Mazda and get the rest.

If you reuse a gasket that seals the throttle body or S/C, I'd use Permatex HiTack or something like it. Also good if you scratched the gasket surfaces.

The front of the engine is on your left as you face the car from the front. Therefore, the left hand side of the engine is at the front of the car, and the right hand side towards the back of the engine compartment.

Be very careful removing the vacuum hoses from the plastic fittings. This may take some restraint because all the vacuum hoses and tubing can make you crazy. The fittings have been made brittle by heat and time, and there is no real good way to repair them. It is best to grab them at the connection and twist to loosen it and continue twisting while pulling it off gently. It is a time trap to break them. If needed, use a knife to split the hose and cut it back or replace it if necessary. Someone recommended replacing the old tubing with neoprene hoses.

If you break a tee or a hose, you can replace it with nylon or brass splices or tees. You may want to locate some before you start. Useful sizes are 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4 inch inside diameter.

TEARDOWN - GENERAL

remove engine cover. 3 acorn nuts plus 12mm bolt. Tape bushings in cover so they don't fall out.

take some pictures here. Use plenty of light and shoot from front and sides.

remove front intercooler. 3 12mm bolds, gasket, and 2 hose clamps.

remove air filter cover. Probe type plug pulls out of side. Grey elec plug goes into box next to hose. Take pictures

Depressure the fuel system (see the manual.). If I did this again, I would skip this step, wear goggles, wrap the fuel line in a rag, and loosen it and keep heat or flame away from the fuel that escapes.

Take out the battery (see the manual - beware the radio security code).

remove plastic box between air cover and throttle body (note: mine stamped with " >PP< ". This is actually called the resonator.) 1 nut at bottom 12mm. 1 bolt 10mm goes through tran dipstick. Two hoses front. 3 hoses rear.

Take lots of pictures of the engine here from all angles. Get the hose routings, especially of the front left part (the solenoid).

Remove Right Hand (rear) air charge cooler assy. Long 10mm rear, near center, across from acorn. Short 10mm under front by hose clamp. Long 2mm rear, near center, through "EGR" bracket. Short 12mm bottom, through bracket for rear air cooler, into manifold by "arm" of air intake assby. Long 2mm below acorn nut about 8" on inside of R.

Note: air charge unit comes out together. It includes the shutter inspection cover, ABV actuator, and both font and rear pipe assemblies connected to it. I left the rear cooler itself on the assembly, but it would have been better to take this off separately.

Remove lower 12mm bolts on rear air cooler. Used mirror for lower rear nut. At this time, disconnect throttle body rear plug to make getting at the bolts easier.

Remove 6 12mm nuts holding small piping of pressure air system on.

Remove 4 bolts - 2 tall, 2 medium holding center down (where shutter inspection cover is).

Two 12mm bolts (1 long, 1 med) at ABV actuator.

Release 3 plugs from plastic assy from rear of rear (left) pressure air cooler closest to left side of car. This was hard to reach and I found it terribly frustrating. The finesse way is to look at the back of the plug stud (with a mirror) and depress it in the right spot to release it. I could not get at one and destroyed it with a screwdriver over the course of an hour. When I put it back together I didn't even use these things and I don't know why they made such a tough attachment here.

Lift the press air assy up off the bolts. If it sticks it is because there is probably a bolt you didn't get, or a hose attached. The hoses are surprisingly effective at holding down the parts. Also check the arm coming off the rear air cooler where it bolts on - it has to clear the bolts. AS YOU LIFT THE PRESS AIR ASSY, DISCONNECT THE HOSE TO THE PRESS AIR BYPASS ACTIVATOR if you haven't already. This hose routes under the assembly. Be careful - this is one of those hose fittings that can easily break.

SUPERCHARGER LAYER

Take pictures from 3 sides of all the hose connections now that you have removed the pressure air assembly.

Remove and label hoses to S/C

Remove and label connections to fuel rail

Remove 1 bolt holding fuel line to rail L side of car at the front

Remove the 2 bolts and 2 nuts for the fuel rail and flip the fuel rail up backwards and out of the way (you may have to bend the metal fuel line out of the way - carefully).

Remove the old fuel injector gaskets (dime sized, with round metal centers). Clean around there, but plug the holes so you don't get any dirt down in there. Keep the holes plugged while you work on it.

Turning the idler pulley of the S/C belt clockwise releases tension enough to (barely) remove the belt. This can be done from the top of the car. I used a screwdriver as an aid to pry the belt off the end of the pulley. If you look down at notes for putting the belt back on, you will see that it would help to now remove the obstructions to the wrench and further release tension. I think it would be best to have two people working on getting the belt off (and back on later). One to untension the pulley, one to work on the belt. Good luck.

Take a break before removing the supercharger because there are yet more hose connections that have to be labeled and carefully removed.

There are 4 main nuts that hold the S/C on. There are also three coolant hoses in the area of the throttle body. Trick to getting it off is two fold - make sure you have all the hoses off, and pry up on both ends of the thing at the same time. If it sticks, it is a hose, not those small bolts near the timing belt covers that look like they hold it down.

Tag the vacuum hose, coolant hose that attaches to the lower S/C

PREPARATION FOR REASSEMBLY

At this point you have transferred all the stuff you need from the old S/C to the new. You have cleaned all you want. You have printed out your pictures, hopefully in color.

Manual recommends a torque wrench and range of use is generally in the 5-40 ft. lb. range, usually around 10-15. These tools are expensive, and not necessarily available for rent. I bought one for about 1/4 the cost of a quality one on the internet, and it did not appear to work at all. I did it all by feel, but I have backyard mechanic experience. It is possible I didn't get some things tight enough; not too worried about it.

Are you changing the spark plugs now? If your bad super burnt oil the plugs could need changing and it is a good opportunity. Of course buy double platinum high quality plugs. I think they have a newer type of plug out now, but I didn't want to mess with it. Gap for an S model is .032 inches. It took me about 3 hours to do it using a mechanics mirror and swivel and 5" extension. You will curse yourself if you do not have a high quality spark plug socket that pulls easily off of the plug end.

This is a good time to clean the throttle body. Use carb cleaner and a soft brush or rag. Spray in the idle jet channel.

Throttle body. If you took this apart, the gasket used should be OEM. If you are going to reuse the old one, then - as in all cases where you reuse a gasket on the intake system - use an intake gasket sealer. I looked for gasgaginch (spelling?) but went with Permatex HiTack. Note about HiTack: you'd have to be a genius to not get this stuff all over yourself as well as the part.

I oriented the gasket recess over the idle jet channel, and the car runs OK so I guess I did it right.

Clean the seating surfaces and get the replacement S/C nearby. I kept plastic or rags in the openings on the S/C and all of the air intakes on the car.

REASSEMBLY-S/C

Make a last minute check for any hoses or lines in the way.

Make sure the grommets are in the two or three holes, and the o-ring is on the protrusion that goes into one of the holes.

Remove the plastic or cloth stuffed in the S/C or below where the S/C goes.

Lift the S/C in. Carefully settle it down on the bolts - keeping it level. This should keep the grommets from moving out of position. Tighten the four nuts hand tight and make sure it seats well. Make sure the 3 hoses for the throttle body can reach their receptacles. Then, tighten each nut incrementally - first one, then the one that is across and over from it, then the other one on the same side. Then the last one. Repeat until tightened completely.

Blow out the S/C to make sure all debris is out of there.

Put on the hoses to the S/C and the throttle body. There are two on the underside, and one higher up ("the three amigos"). You have them all tagged right? If you tagged and have pictures you should be in good shape.

Now for putting the S/C belt back on. Pour yourself a nice beverage and savor this moment. For me the moment lasted about 3 hours. I don't know the best way, but I can tell you how I ended up getting it on. I removed the dipstick, bolt, and bracket on top of the motor mount (L front, R side of car). I loosened a bolt that was on the motor mount to get another bracket out of the way. This allowed the 17mm wrench to travel farther without being obstructed. I put the closed end side of the (17mm) wrench on the tensioner and used a bar and hammer to get in on all the way. I pulled it to the right (clockwise) and used a woodworker bar clamp to hold it as far the the clockwise position as I could muster. I put the belt on all pulleys except the lower rear one. I lifted the car and used a screwdriver and small wrecking bar to push the belt on the pulley. It finally went when I got enough leverage to push it on. Probably best to have a 2nd person helping here.

REASSEMBLY-FUEL RAIL

Remove the plugs from the fuel injector holes.

Make sure the injector hole gaskets are in.

Carefully settle the fuel rail down on the bolts and watch that the injectors rest on the gaskets cleanly, and that the gaskets are not askew.

Put the two bolts and two nuts on and lightly tighten.

Bend the metal fuel line back so that the input head is lined up and close to the inlet. Use new copper crush washers and put the big bolt in - one washer on each side of the head. I used a length of stiff wire to line one of the washers up while I tightened down the fuel line bolt (not too tight yet). Incrementally tighten the fuel rail bolts and nuts down. Tighten the fuel line bolt up a little more. At this point, I put the battery in and turned the key on to pressure the fuel line and make sure there are no leaks. You can check the manual to jumper the diagnostic port and activate the fuel pump (see fuel pump relay section). When I did this, I could hear the fuel rushing around in there. I guess it flows in circles and goes back to the tank. When done, I removed the battery again.

Put the electrical connections on each end of the fuel rail.

Look at your pictures and double check you have all connections made under the Press Air Assy you need

REASSEMBLY-PRESSURE AIR ASSY

Make sure all of the connections not related to the Pressure Air assy are on. Lay the vacuum tubes down again across the supercharger (the ones with the check valves), and the ones to the inside of the intake manifolds. Make sure you have the tubes ready to go on the Pressure air bypass solenoid (front right of car, above the S/C pulley).

Put your gaskets on

Set the Press Air Assy on top of the bolts. Get all your lines ready.

Do a dry fit, and then put gasket sealer on if necessary.

Snake the vacuum line to the Charge Air Actuator - on the Press Air Assy - under the assy and to its fitting

Settle the assy down, making sure not to trap any hoses under it (this is easy to do). It should fit right down all the way - if not something is in the way. Put your nuts and bolts back on and lightly tighten them. Then incrementally tighten each one - starting with the four around the shutter inspection cover, followed by those at the throttle body.

Go to your pictures and use your tags to make sure all the connections are on.

CLOSING
This work was done between October 2008 and Jan 2009. It took me at least 60 hours, but I took time to clean some of the engine, make notes, tag parts, etc. Also, I am a rusty garage mechanic and was unfamiliar with the Millenia S. If you are familiar with working on your Millenia and it is clean, I think it could be done in 10-20 hours. One member said they finished in 5. (I think a prof Mazda mechanic could do it within 5, so why do they charge so much to do it?).

A little bit more on a used supercharger part. I passed on the salvage yards, who seemed to want a relatively large sum of money. They have done nothing to verify the quality of the S/C. These things can go out after as little as 80,000 miles. No doubt some will last 200,000 miles, and maybe I am a little paranoid because the only posts I read about superchargers are the ones that broke. But you put all that work into it, and they are only going to refund your money? I got lucky and found a member on the forum who convinced me his supercharger worked. If your car is in otherwise good shape and valuable, a $1700 rebuilt unit from PSE would be a good choice. My car is not in that great of shape and if I had to do it over I would have junked the car or replaced the whole engine.

Which brings me to the option to replace the engine with a low mileage unit. I know I could have had this done for just a few hundred more than the price of a rebuilt S/C, and with a 1 year warranty.

Finally, when that thing fires up and you see no smoke coming out of the exhaust, you'll feel like shouting a line from the old Toyota commercials: "Oh What a Feeling!".

ADDENDUM
From reading all the forum posts, one could easily believe the symptoms of blue smoke on startup and oil in the CAC is due to a bad supercharger. I do not believe this is the case. One overlooked component are the valve seals. I think a shop may be able to diagnose this.