Vortech Vibration

[djpeak10]

Hey Dave,


I have a 2001 Vortech supercharged S. I have never ridden in another S that was supercharged so I dont know any difference. My car has a vibration from 4,500 rpm to 5,000 rpm (mostly noticable in first in second gear) that just doesn't seem like it can be normal.

I know that it is hooked up right and all bolts were torqued in sequence I just can't think of anything else that it could be.


Please give me your opinion.

On a side note I just got new bulbs for my car and I just popped my hood for a sec to see and it seems that it may be harder than I thought. What is the process?


Thanks,

Jesse P

[repiv]

Firstly, let me point out that every S2000 will behave slightly differently in this regard. Our engines have fluid filled mounts. The tranny has a rubber mount and our rear diff has fluid filled mounts as well. Additionally, there are 2 main devices on the engine that was designed the way they are for a purpose. The crank pulley and the flywheel are what they are to absorb and dampen the inherent harmonic vibrations of virtually all inline 4 cyl engines. Ours is particularly prone to it due to it wide range of revs. All of these things are put there to dampen these vibrations. Anytime you alter something in the drivetrain, these vibrations are affected in some way. Where do you detect this vibration? How is it making itself known to you?
I've made this observation when I first installed the Vortech. I installed my Vortech kit in stages over several weeks. At one stage, I bolted the blower on and drove the car around for a couple of days without the belt being hooked up. I immediately noticed that there was a significant amount of vibration coming through the shifter that wasn't there before. Bolting a 40 lb weight to the front of the engine altered the way the vibration transmits through the car. Even after I hooked up the belt, the vibration didn't change. Some owners of both VT and CT kits have observed this, while others have indicated they noticed no additional vibrations.
Now, is this vibration new? Or has it been there all along? If it's new and doesn't conform to what I've just written about, then obviously, it's not right. Double check all your supercharger mounting bolts and brackets for tightness. A good indication might be to check the belt tension because if the blower is somehow not as secure as it should be, belt tension is likely one of the first things to show a sign. It may be more loose or it could even be extraordinarily tight. If all this checks out, then you might want to look at the engine mounts, all your accessories. Are the pulleys (including the crank pulley) spinning true or do you detect any wobbling? I suppose your supercharger drive pulley could be off kilter due to the bearing going bad or the main shaft having been bent. Does it make any abnormal rattly sounds? To check for bolt tightness, you'll have to examine all the mounting points - the VTEC solenoid is an attachment point, as is the bracket and bolts the attach to the VTEC solenoid. There's a bracket down low where tow rods go through and are secured by 2 small 10mm nuts. The belt goes around this bracket. Then there's the idler pulley where a new bolts was added. This supports the mid-point on the assembly. Then there's the 2 allen bolts that hold the bracket onto the head.
If it's been there all along, and you are just beginning to be concerned about it, then you shouldn't worry about it any further.

[djpeak10]

Thanks Dave,

I bought the car supercharged. When I bought it, it had this vibration. Slowly it went away, However my vtec block kept developing hairline cracks and leaking oil.

Come to find out that the support bracket under the blower was missing in turn putting excess weight on the vtec plate. So I put in the bracket tourqued everything down properly and that vibration is back.


So my guess is that it is vibrating so much that it loosend the bolts to hold that bracket there in the first place. I am just guessing, but now that I know what is going maybe I can keep a better eye on it.

Thanks again,

Jesse oh yeah what is the easiest way to access our bulbs in our headlights?

[repiv]

oh yeah what is the easiest way to access our bulbs in our headlights?

The way the service manual indicates is to remove the wheel well liner fasteners and pull the liner back enough to reach the rear of the headlight bulbs.
If you are dextrous and can work mostly blind and only by feel, you can get them out through the fender holes. The one on the right side is more or less unobstructed and the one on the left, you must lift up the coolant reservoir and lay it out of the way. No need to empty the coolant, just sit it on something out of the way. You can use a flash light to peer in to see how things are held in place, then work blind and feel your way around.

[djpeak10]

Thank you sir