Forced Induction Vortech Bearings!

Treachery

Founding Member
Jun 9, 2002
147
0
17
I am fustrated... No... I am MAD! MAD! MAD!

Background story: I year ago almost to the day, i send my Vortech SQ-trim head to Vortech after only 5k miles on it. Worn bearings. Vortech does a major rebuild and sends it back via Fed Express. Federal Express then loses my package and so Vortech sends me a brand spanking new V2 Si head. Nice! I mount the head and spin the Vortech pulley by hand- smooth!

It is now 1 year later (today) i put 337 miles in my '93 GT. Weekend car. Specs in my signature if it's shown. Suffice it to say- good parts. All good,

Driving home last night from Labor Day festivities. All is good- engine running strong, loud and mean... Then suddenly... an all too familiar noise gradually is being heard. Sounds like major belt slippage, at first. I make it home and i remove the supercharger belt. I then the supercharger pulley by hand... it grinds!!! It grinds as if the bearings are worn!

WTH!!!! WTF!!!! Here we go again!

The Vortech head is only 1 year old and 337 miles on it and the bearings are worn?

- I did not... repeat... did not... over-tighten the belt! I can move the belt about an inch in both directions when checking the tension.
- During the year, I never drove my Mustang hard except for the occasion flooring of the pedal. Never abused. Nothing done to it to cause premature bearing wear.
- Vortech head is mounted perfectly. Solid. Pullies aligned no belt skipping.
- i am certain oil is being sprayed in the unit. Is there a way to test?

With all this care & precaution done, how he hell can the bearings wear out so quickly???

At the point i don't care about the Vortech warranty if potato chip parts are used!

So who does the best Vortech rebuilds? I want top notch quality bearing, seals and parts. No nonsense! ....a warranty would also be nice. ;)

I am currently researching on how to do the rebuild myself but i am a long way from doing it.

Thanks for reading my rant. *sigh*
 
  • Sponsors (?)


Yes. It's engine oil fed unit. Engine oil level is OK. Unscrewed the oil feed nozzle and blew air into it- tested OK.

What can i do to test if the Vortech unit is getting enough oil? Everything else appears to be connected and OK.

I decided to send the head unit back to Vortech for servcing. It is unacceptable for a new Vortech head unit to go back for servicing after only 350 miles.. It is what it is, i guess.
 
Start the engine for a second or 2 w the end of the oil feed line in a container and see how much oil comes out. Blowing air into it dont prove oil comes out in adequate quantity/pressure.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
If it killed bearings twice it’s a belt tension issue , which you have covered or an oil flow issue to the blower . How is your return setup ?
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
I checked to see if oil was flowing into the Vortech head and yes.. oil is surely flowing. I used a small cup to catch the oil and in the time spent to start the car and go back to the engine bay, the oil quickly overflowed the cup. Hopefully only the bearings are worn and is the only problem,

So how tight is tight in regards to Vortech supercharger belt tension? When i test the tension on the long side of the belt, i can comfortably push/pull the belt about 1 or so inches in both directions. If i go any more loose, i'm sure the belt will slip.

What method is commonly used to properly tighten a Vorftech belt?
 
Last edited:
I usually just tighten by feel . I’ve never had an issue all these years and I’ve ran one since 2014 . I’ve ran them real tight at times too .
 
I was told by Vortech to tighten mine until I had 1/4" - 1/2" of play on the portion of the belt going from the tensioner to the crank pulley. Sounds like it should be plenty loose with 1" of belt play.