Paxton Novi 2000, dead bearings? video in here....

Guys,

I have a Novi 2000 on my 96 Saleen and it's making what sounds a lot like the grinding you'd get from a dead bearing. I'm hoping it's not a bearing gone or I'll have to send the blower back to paxton.

I've taken a short video and posted it here ( http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=3060312304818613143 )

I'd really appreciate it if you guys could check it out and see what you think. The high pitch whine from the gears is fine, its the rythmic grinding noise that makes me think something isnt right...

thanks

EDGE

the alternator was 100% before the paxton went on... it shouldnt have just died unless its sheer coincidence

thanks for the heads up though, i will check it tonight....

hmmmmm...

the guy at paxton wants me to send it back to them !!!!

problem is dude, the blower is on the serp. belt along with all the accessories...

the car has 0 miles on it. The blower was fitted these past few months and that was pretty much the 1st fire up. The car isn't even inspected yet so it can't be driven on the road anyway!

Im going to try replacing the idler pulleys first as it looks ike it's going to cost over $200 for me to send the blower back to paxton

I'll update this tread as i find out more....

bump for Joe 5.0

well... i'm ordering a new idler pulley first... it seems like the bearing in it might have gone out, it sounds rough....

Dudes... mega sorry for not keeping this updated.... we've bught a house and right now all the time (read that as money) has been going there... either way, here is the update so far.

I replaced the idler pulley with a new ford part, seemed to turn smoother than the one i took off so i was sure that when i fired it up it would run perfectly.... yeah... well... not so much. It was EXACTLY the same as before.

I checked the oil was getting to the blower and that all looks fine. Obviously you cant pull the oil feed off when the car is running but when i removed it just after shutting the motor down the pipe was full of oil and the return seemed to be feeding oit back in to the sump ok. Oil pressure seems ok.

I put a few miles on the car but I have not yet got on the boost. I think i did about 20 miles to get it inspected and did most of that at idle because i was worried about the blower.

When you're sat at a set of lights with the windows down you can hear that faint grinding sound from the blower. Not the fast high pitched gear lash but that rythmic griiiiin griiiiind griiind that comes from inside the casing. Its very hard to explain. Once you pull away though you cant hear it at all. I have no idea what noise it'll make on boost though, could be a bad sound, could be a broken sound but as of yet im not planning on taking it there.

I've had the screwdriver-ear trick on all the parts i can get too and it sure sounds like its coming from the blower caseing, on the pulley side more that the air inlet. When te revs pick up you cant hear it, you hear it increasing in tempo but then it becomes continuos and blends in with the rest of the car's noises. When you let off the throtle, you hear the tempo of the grind slow back down until you're back where you started.

UKBullit said his quietened down after a few miles, maybe I'll try that. The guys at Paxton even said the bearings may take a few mile to break in?

I bought the blower back in December so my years warrenty is almost out.. Im going to try and put 3 hundred miles on it and assess the noise again afterwards. If its gotten quieter I guess I'll know its ok and keep it. If the noise is the same or worse I'll send it back to Paxton for them to look at it and replace any bits that need replacing.

The HUGE problem over here is that i dont even know anyone else with a novi2000.... let alone where to find them and listen to their car !!!!!!!

I'll subscribe to this thread so I can see the updates in the future,... thanks again for all your advice and tips guys, it is hugely appreciated

EDGE

see.. this guys blower sounds normall to me, http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-3035534990234198377

compare that with the noise mine is making in the clip in my first post..

put a few more miles on it, still sounds rough to me