Remove supercharger 2010 XF - Tip

So the supercharger in my XF started making a noise at idle that went away under load. I concluded that it was a bad coupler. Based on best advice on all the forums the s/c needed to come out or at least the front end lifted enough to allow access to the 8 bolts holding the snout on.

I spent days taking off everything the manuals said needed to come off (I broke a few plastic connectors) until I was ready to lift the s/c out - well, it would not budge and many have had trouble getting it loose. Suggestions include hitting it with a rubber mallet - using pry bars and crowbars all the way to an elaborate frame across the engine bay and two strong guys to lift it out.

Well I did none of that I went on to Amazon and bought one of these…

Anytime Tools Machinist Jack Screw Set 8 pc 1-1/2" - 3-3/4": Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific

At its lowest setting its 1.5 inches tall and just fits under the snout of the s/c close to the pulley. I easily raised the snout about half an inch using this jack after which a gentle prod with a crowbar and the s/c came off the block. 20 mins start to finish including thinking time.

By raising the front of the s/c I was able to get at the 8 bolts holding the snout on. Needless to say removing the bolts made no difference - the snout is firmly attached to the body of the s/c and once again suggestions include hitting it with a mallet or using a cold chisel neither of which appeals.

If anyone has a tip for getting the snout off I would love to hear it. Hope this helps someone.
James.

That’s a nice looking bit of kit.

Nice work. Fortunately, I have not had to do this job yet. Not looking forward to it when the time comes. Good luck, and please let us know if you find a solution.

Your post got me curious and I started looking at pictures of the assembly. Could you not just place a piece of wood on the snout and hit the wood carefully with a hammer or mallet? If I’m understanding correctly, there shouldn’t be anything beyond the snout seal holding it to the supercharger body.

Hi Brett - you are correct - once the 8 bolts are removed (one of them can’t be removed without taking off the side box) there is nothing holding the snout on except what ever gasket goo was used to attach it. A firm blow on a bit of wood might work - I got lucky some relatively gentle action with a crowbar at a pry point on top of the snout and it came away.

Now to get the coupler out which in fact looks in bad shape. The spring inside either broke or comes in two parts either way its not just sliding off. The new one is solid, has no spring and is supposedly oil filled so once I get the old one off the joy of putting all this back together begins.

I think my main problem will be getting parts for all the broken connectors and plastic pipes that were brittle with age that disintegrated during removal. I will update as I make progress.
James

I’ll certainly be following your progress on this project. Looking forward to your updates.

So some progress to report. To get at the oil bung which is at the back of the s/c I had to remove some brackets and pipes from the rear of the s/c. It then came out far enough to get an allen key and remove the bung. I then used the spray bottle technique to draw some oil out of the tank and found it was in pristine condition after 75K miles. A bit odd - I thought it would be due for a change. At the other end the new solid coupler is on (USD $25) and the snout is back on with silicone gasket maker. Everything feels smooth and no play or bad sounds or grinding from bearings or pulley. Fingers crossed. Once I get everything back on the back I will reseat the s/c and bolt it down. I have many broken plastic connectors to order and replace so my next update might be awhile. James

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Well the s/c is back on the car - lessons learned - Range Rover parts for the 5l V8 are the same and way cheaper - in particular the gasket that goes between the s/c cover and the body of the s/c was half the price from Range Rover - that was true of other gaskets and bits. Second putting the s/c back on you need guide pins - you can buy them from Jaguar for about US$70 each - the mind boggles - you need 4 of them. I went to Lowe’s hardware and bought some bolts - there is a tip on a Jag forum about size and how to make them - they worked perfectly for about $5 - I also used them to get the s/c cover on. Finally I have fired up the car and driven it a few times - no warning lights - a slight s/c whistle I had not noticed before - I am using the solid coupler - no leaks - I am using the new style upper radiator hose - Parts Geek had them for a fraction of the cost the dealer wanted. My indie wanted US$5,000 to do all this I think all in it cost me about $400 a good portion of which was stuff I broke getting it out and had to replace - still way ahead of $5K. I will be happy to share with anyone attempting this.

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Sounds like the old–may no longer be true–case of the difference between parts for a VW Typ 3 and Porsche 914 engines.

Put the “P” word on the box? Tripled its price.

Same damn parts.

So glad to hear you successfully completed the job. I’m sure I won’t be the only person who would appreciate the info on which bolts to buy and how to modify them into guide pins, or at least a link to the forum with the info.

The tip I found for home made guide pins - was at this excellent link for supercharger work…

*OFF TOPIC! Jaguar F-Type Supercharger Removal, Coolant Pipe Replacement and Supercharger Coupler Replacement – GFP Motorrad (classicairheads.com)

If you don’t want to read through that posting the bolts are - The manual calls for “special tool” guide pins to be inserted into the cylinder head to guide the SC down into place on the gasket- these are just 50mmx M8x 1.25 headless bolts. I made some by cutting the heads of some headful ones.

I also cut some groves at the non-threaded end so I could use a screwdriver to get them out after the s/c went on. Hope this helps.
James

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Thanks James. Whoever did that how-to writeup did a fantastic job! Its a complicated enough procedure that it makes the writeups I’ve done here on JL look like Childs play. Reading through all the parts that needed replacement or renewal makes me think there’s probably a lot more that needs done on my car than I thought.