Forced Induction TRD supercharger problem.

TRD supercharger problem.

I bought the ultimate 99 tacoma 2 winters ago. It is a V6, 5 speed, 4WD with electronic locker and a TRD supercharger. What more can you ask for right?

Anyways, it has recently started making noise like there is dirt/dust in the supercharger's bearings. This being my first owned supercharged vehicle, and not having put the charger on myself, I don't know, could this be caused by the KNN air filter I put in it? I generally change my oil at 3k and clean and recharge the airfilter every time, same as my smaller tacoma. I have let the oil go to 4500 miles twice in the past year as life has gone nuts, but I always put mobile synthetic 5w30 oil in my engines, and that kind of milage on synthetic isn't unheard of.

I'm sure with the noise it's making, I need to get it rebuilt asap(if that's possible). Do I need to get rid of the KNN air filter, or is this just caused by normal wear, and was bound to happen? The truck has about 130k miles on it, but I have no clue when the original owner put the supercharger on it. I've had this filter on the truck for a year, and this noise just started suddenly.

Thank you for the help!

Thanks for the reply. I thought about it when I put the filter in, and I'm pretty sure they are sealed bearings, and didn't think the minimal amount of dust that makes it thru a K&N filter would be an issue, but I have heard rumors about some type of induction that does not mix well with K&N and other oil aided filtering systems. I can't remember which it was tho, so I figured I'ld ask.

When it's cold is when it does it the most. I just went to the print shop, and it wasn't making noise, but it's been doing it daily, whenever I start it cold, and after I parked it last night I popped the hood for a listen and it was doing it then as well.

Ya, it's not the belt. The belt is worn, but it's a completely different sound, and is coming from the inside, not the outside. Listening, it's hard to tell where it comes from other than it's coming form the charger. It sounds internal, but could possibly be the loaded bearing at the front. I was offroading a few weeks ago and sucking a lot of dust as I was the follower, and not the leader, but that shouldn't have caused issues unless I had no air filter at all.

try opening up the s/c and take a look inside

Send an email to Gadget at www.urdusa.com. Gadget (I've known him for years and don't even know his real name :superconf) is God Almighty himself when it comes to supercharging Tacomas. The man's knowledge and expertise is incredible.

Awesome! I called toyota, and they told me I had to buy a whole new s/c. Ya, who has $5,000 just sitting around to do that? Well, I spoke with Gadget on the phone, yes, he goes by gadget, and he told me to go to pse.us(that's the website). Ed Martinez there rebuilds them. I'll let you know how it goes. =)

Awesome info!

Gadget set me up with one of URD's MAF calibrators on my Rolla. It is a black box that piggybacks on the ECU. It made a world of difference.

URD Mass Airflow Sensor Calibrator

I'll never win a drag race what with the slushbox tranny, but starting at about 3000rpm you can feel the difference. You have a little more ooomph at higher speeds and on the Interstates it shifts a lot smoother.

The MAF box was about $250 and they custom made me a Plug & Play wiring harness for $125. It does have to be calibrated but I know he has the mappings for the 8-gen VVTI with the 4-sp automatic, (because he set up mine) so if that is what you drive, he could probably program it ahead of time for you. If you live in the Washington DC area, he might help you set it up.

Yes, a "performance chip" that actually works! :rule: