Hi Folks,
I am new to this Forum and may need some direction from time to time when navigating to the correct information. My apologies in advance for any boo boos I make along the way. I am assuming my vehicle information (from my profile) will be visible as part of this post but in case it is not; 2005 Jaguar XJ8 Super V8 4.2 L - black with tan interior - 113000 miles.

I have viewed numerous pieces of information through google over the past years that have helped me on several occasions. I thank all for their contributions, its been great!!

I am in the process of replacing both belts, pulleys, tensioners, thermostat, plugs and coil-on-plug units. I purchased all of the parts from Rock Auto. However the part I thought was for the supercharger pulley, is not correct. In my research I have read that the "supercharger pulley" part has been upgraded. Apparently the actual pulley can no longer be purchased without the attached housing. Does anyone know if this is still the case.....that both the pulley and housing are required because of the new design? And if so, is the supercharger tensioner a new design/part and therefore also required? I was bee-boppin along quite nicely with my repair/maintenance - well, I did have my challenges - until I came to this pulley.

The Jaguar dealer here has not been kind to me in the past and I am hesitant to accept his offerings at face value without some due diligence. I am in Newfoundland - the far reaches of eastern Canada. If these parts are needed, is there any aftermarket parts available worth buying?

Thanks,
Lundi

 

By supercharger pulley, I presume you mean the idler pulley for the supercharger and NOT the supercharger tensioner with pulley? For the idler pulley, a year ago I was unable to find any new replacement pulley of the same design and the 'new design' idler pulley did not fit the application (IIRC it was grooved whereas the supercharger idler pulley is smooth). There is, however, a fix. Once you get the idler pulley off the car, you will note that it has an accessible bearing. Just swap out the bearing. There are a bunch of threads on this forum with the replacement bearing size. I believe (but please search for the other threads because it's been a year) .

Note that the supercharger tensioner with pulley is hard to find as well but that part a year ago was still obtainable, the issue is you need to make sure you're not being sold the accessory tensioner. One trick to know the difference, the accessory tensioner uses a 3/8" drive for applying tension, while the supercharger tensioner uses a 1/2" drive. Regarding design changes, the new supercharger tensioner I installed was identical to the old one I had taken off.

 

Good morning Scooterforever,
Yes, that is the one I meant....the "idler pulley for the supercharger". And thank you for the info on the bearing replacement as per your reasons.

I did locate other posts indicating the problem but could not find that post with the actual bearing specs of all four bearings. I had come across the post some time ago but could not locate it until last night just before bed. So, I now have those specs along with the one your link me to.

I have also just sourced those bearings here in St. John's NL, at a company called Wajax. I am surprised but obviously happy about that. Although the chap I spoke with suggested I bring along the pullies for certainty sake. Maybe they are easily sourced but I thought I would have a lot of trouble finding them, especially here. We are an island and somewhat off the beaten path.

I replaced the serpentine belt tensioner unit but was not fussy about the replacement unit compared to the original....seems lesser quality. It came as a package deal - the Dayco Drive Kit from Rockauto: KIT573BCK (I though I had a better chance of getting the correct size belt that way). I also replaced the serpentine belt pulley which is a "made in China" part.

If this Wajax company do indeed have the bearings, I think I will be better off changing out the bearings on all of the pullies and reinstalling the old units.

Thanks very much for your input and advice.

 

Hi Lundi
I used the information posted by user Sean B on 12-20-2011 on the X308 forum, about the bearings for the idlers and tensioners. All credit to him and many thanks from me.
To summarise: To replace all 4 pulleys order 1xSKF 6303-2RSH/C3 and 3xFAG 6203.2RSR.
I don't think the bearing manufacturer is too relevant, but the 6303-2RSH/C3 is a slightly looser preload and is for the supercharger idler.
I bought the bearings, pressed them in and out with some large sockets. It is definitely the cheapest way of sorting the issue.

Get 3 of these

Get one of these
Hope this helps.
Pete M

 

Hi Pete M,
Thanks for your input on the pulley issue! I was finally able to acquire all the bearings as per your provided product numbers and all are SKF ($48.+ Can) - excellent cost for replacing all four - pulleys/tensioners. Pressing in and out was a breeze.....the sockets worked well to do the job - (with my shop vice). All up and running again!

While replacing the above, I checked the supercharger pulley and found that it has about an 1/8 of an inch play in it. I will check here but wondering if you have any info on whether that is in need of repair?

Thanks!

 

Hi Lundi,
Great that you managed to repair the pulleys economically. As far as the supercharger pulley goes, it depends which direction the play is.
If you stand facing the engine and grasp the pulley, try to pull it vertically up and down and left and right. There should not be any discernable play in those axes.
Then try to pull the pulley shaft towards the front of the car and push towards the back, again there shouldn't be any play.
If you grasp the pulley (with the belt removed) and try and rotate the supercharger shaft you should feel a small amount of play in each direction, and a torsion spring feeling which is more pronounced in the supercharger driving direction. This is only the case if the original torsion coupling is still fitted. If it has been replaced by a plastic composition coupling, then you will not feel the torsion spring effect. The rotational play with the original torsion coupling is normal, and reduces the shock loading on the supercharger drive gears. Some say replacement of the torsion coupling is necessary as they wear out. On our model superchargers (Eaton M112 Gen V) the coupling is immersed in the drive gear oil, so is quite long lasting. On later versions such as in the F-Type and X351, the coupling is dry, and there is evidence that this accelerates the wear on it. The down side of the plastic coupling is that there is more noise from the supercharger drive gears at idle.
I had to replace my supercharger as the noise I heard at idle, which was an intermittent high-pitched bearing screech, was most likely worn rear needle bearings. The play at the rear of the impellers was noticeably more than on the good used spare I replaced it with. This play was also heard at the front pulley (with a plastic coupling fitted) as a click when oscillating the pulley from drive to overrun, and feeling the movement at the rear of the impeller. This was really only obvious once I had removed the supercharger from the engine. My car has done about 200,000 Km. Straight after I replaced the supercharger, I went on a 2000 mile trip, and the car performed perfectly, so repair is possible, even for an amateur like me.
I hope this helps you track down your problems.
Kind regards
Pete M

 

Good morning Pete M,
Thanks a bunch for the info on the "supercharger pulley analysis" regarding the "play" factor. It is the play in the rotation of the pulley (which is the only play the pulley has) that I was concerned with and your description tells me mine is fine.

Regards,
Lundi