Zl1 Supercharger rattle

[DrkPhx]

I'm surprised they wouldn't cover it considering it's a well documented issue to the point GM issued a notice to Z and V owners. I would try a different dealer or contact GM directly. I did the replacement on mine and was reimbursed by GM. Personally, I prefer the solid version much better. 2 years and no issues. The noise on mine was unbearable to the point I didn't want to drive the car. It was completely cracked and didn't have that many miles on it which surprised me.

[247EVL]

Originally Posted by DrkPhx

I'm surprised they wouldn't cover it considering it's a well documented issue to the point GM issued a notice to Z and V owners. I would try a different dealer or contact GM directly. I did the replacement on mine and was reimbursed by GM. Personally, I prefer the solid version much better. 2 years and no issues. The noise on mine was unbearable to the point I didn't want to drive the car. It was completely cracked and didn't have that many miles on it which surprised me.

The warranty covered the initial supercharger replacement. The car had only about 9000 kms or about 5500 miles. Since the new supercharger was also noisy, GM customer service suggested that I take it to another dealership. I did, and the second dealership stated that they are only changing the snout, as GM already paid to replace the supercharger. I was satisfied that doing only the snout should take care of the noise. However it is just as noisy as before. The second dealership had the area representative for GM check out my car. That individual decided that the noise is "normal" and at this time they will do nothing more for me.

At that point, I was stone walled. It is a take it or leave it situation. Even GM Canada customercare reiterated the message that there is no solution to the issue beyond what has already been done.

I was not satisfied with the answers that the area representative or customercare provided. The decision I had was to either keep the car and either drive it as is, or change out the isolator to fix the issue. Then while researching the issue, I read some conflicting opinions. Likely for the time being, I won't risk voiding my warranty and leave the car as it is.

Where I live we have only 3 Chevrolet dealerships near by. I've been to one, the second dealer owns the other two stores and I've already dealt with one of theirs. I don't expect a different answer from the third store since all of the dealerships are in the same zone.

I am encouraged that your car is performing better with the solid isolator than it was the spring loaded isolator. For now, mine is still rattling away....It's "normal"

[ZLJuanita]

Does anyone that is having this isolator replaced have any mods done?

I had mine at the tuner and he told me that mine had a slight rattle and didn't want to complete the tune until the isolator was replaced.

So I called my local dealer, and they said that if I had a mod (headers,CAI etc) that GM probably wouldn't honor the warranty.

IS HE CRAZY????????

Any input if the people that had the isolator replaced had mods, please let me know.

[Mikamaro]

Question: doesn't the rattling only appears at low idling speed like under 800rpm? Would tuning the idle rpms higher cancel the noise?

[C10_ustacould]

Quick question. From what I can tell the majority of folks posting in this thread are 2013 ZL1 owners, is this issue isolated to 2013 ZL1s?

[Candr3535]

I had mine changed all good. C10_ustacould, you should be fine. It's a rattle sound from the supercharger. You probably don't have this issue. Carl

[Candr3535]

Lol you are addicted!!! As I am too

[C10_ustacould]

Originally Posted by Candr3535

I had mine changed all good. C10_ustacould, you should be fine. It's a rattle sound from the supercharger. You probably don't have this issue. Carl

Originally Posted by Candr3535

Lol you are addicted!!! As I am too

I just like to immerse myself in my hobbies. Thanks for the info on the rattle, the more you know...

[Candr3535]

Let us know how you make out with the touring/sport switch issue

[2013ZL1FUN]

At this point it is fairly obvious that a small rattle at idle is normal operation for this mechanical piece of hardware. The isolator is just that, a device to prevent direct vibration of other mechanical parts. What issues will crop up after continued long term use of a solid isolator? Surely direct vibrations will cause other issues. I realize that eventually the spring loaded isolator will quit working and will prohibit your car from being driven, but what issues would a solid isolator contribute to? I do realize that some people on the forum have experianced extreme vibrations/noise levels with the factory piece. I wouldn't blame anyone in that situation from seeking a remedy to this. But minor rattle (noise) seems to go with the territory of a supercharger. It is what you put up with for the temporary increase of power when you want it, as opposed to putting up with the large expense of fueling up a very large cubic inch engine (> 454 ci) to get similar power levels. Maybe the whole rattle issue is a break in issue. Some (like many of you on this forum) have had the misfourtune of experiencing the issue. Others such as myself have not yet had to deal with this issue ( I am at 7400 mi on my car). I can't help but think that because of so much talk of this "rattle" issue that it has gotten some people with minor ( to virtually nil) issue to falsely believe that they better get this repaired. After the miracle repair, they are in the same place ( or worse) with the rattle sound. Yeah, I know, that if the car sounds like marbles in a can from the moment you start the car, going from 800 rpm through 6000 rpm as you drive around, an issue needs addressed. Everyone else is just jumping ( prematurely) on the band wagon. Remember, we have what 10 years and 120k miles to address this, if it ever needs addressed. Too bad a catch can cannot fix this, as it does everthing else!

[KaBoom1701]

Originally Posted by 2013ZL1FUN

At this point it is fairly obvious that a small rattle at idle is normal operation for this mechanical piece of hardware. The isolator is just that, a device to prevent direct vibration of other mechanical parts. What issues will crop up after continued long term use of a solid isolator? Surely direct vibrations will cause other issues. I realize that eventually the spring loaded isolator will quit working and will prohibit your car from being driven, but what issues would a solid isolator contribute to? I do realize that some people on the forum have experianced extreme vibrations/noise levels with the factory piece. I wouldn't blame anyone in that situation from seeking a remedy to this. But minor rattle (noise) seems to go with the territory of a supercharger. It is what you put up with for the temporary increase of power when you want it, as opposed to putting up with the large expense of fueling up a very large cubic inch engine (> 454 ci) to get similar power levels. Maybe the whole rattle issue is a break in issue. Some (like many of you on this forum) have had the misfourtune of experiencing the issue. Others such as myself have not yet had to deal with this issue ( I am at 7400 mi on my car). I can't help but think that because of so much talk of this "rattle" issue that it has gotten some people with minor ( to virtually nil) issue to falsely believe that they better get this repaired. After the miracle repair, they are in the same place ( or worse) with the rattle sound. Yeah, I know, that if the car sounds like marbles in a can from the moment you start the car, going from 800 rpm through 6000 rpm as you drive around, an issue needs addressed. Everyone else is just jumping ( prematurely) on the band wagon. Remember, we have what 10 years and 120k miles to address this, if it ever needs addressed. Too bad a catch can cannot fix this, as it does everthing else!

Well said.

I to have though about doing this solid isolator repair but I just can't seem to justify it yet. The car sounds ok to me. No major rattle or noise as of yet.I have around 12k on her and with about 7-10 track days to boot.

Guess I'll just address it when it gets to the point where it effects performance of the car....

[ZMEnow]

Originally Posted by 2013ZL1FUN

At this point it is fairly obvious that a small rattle at idle is normal operation for this mechanical piece of hardware. The isolator is just that, a device to prevent direct vibration of other mechanical parts. What issues will crop up after continued long term use of a solid isolator? Surely direct vibrations will cause other issues. I realize that eventually the spring loaded isolator will quit working and will prohibit your car from being driven, but what issues would a solid isolator contribute to? I do realize that some people on the forum have experianced extreme vibrations/noise levels with the factory piece. I wouldn't blame anyone in that situation from seeking a remedy to this. But minor rattle (noise) seems to go with the territory of a supercharger. It is what you put up with for the temporary increase of power when you want it, as opposed to putting up with the large expense of fueling up a very large cubic inch engine (> 454 ci) to get similar power levels. Maybe the whole rattle issue is a break in issue. Some (like many of you on this forum) have had the misfourtune of experiencing the issue. Others such as myself have not yet had to deal with this issue ( I am at 7400 mi on my car). I can't help but think that because of so much talk of this "rattle" issue that it has gotten some people with minor ( to virtually nil) issue to falsely believe that they better get this repaired. After the miracle repair, they are in the same place ( or worse) with the rattle sound. Yeah, I know, that if the car sounds like marbles in a can from the moment you start the car, going from 800 rpm through 6000 rpm as you drive around, an issue needs addressed. Everyone else is just jumping ( prematurely) on the band wagon. Remember, we have what 10 years and 120k miles to address this, if it ever needs addressed. Too bad a catch can cannot fix this, as it does everthing else!

You shouldn't have to put up with any rattles with a well-built SC, just ask any one running a Magnuson, or Kenne Bell SC. Mine rattled from day one and at the dealer the Regional GM rep wrote it up as something definitely not right. I drove it for a year and 1/2 until GM put out the TSB that said they were having bearing failures and seizing due to some of the metal filings passing through and requested that if you were experiencing the rattle have the SC replaced immediately. They even went as far as to include a reimbursement document for those that had paid to have a solid aftermarket Isolator put on. So for many of my close friends who own this car, we acted as soon as we could identify a competent dealer that could do the change without causing other issues.

None of the 3 cars in my circle have ever experienced the noted slight rumble or vibration described with the solid isolator just as some have not experienced the spring isolated eating through the shaft. But by design the spring isolator will eat through the shaft over time. It's just unfortunate that GM realized how expensive it was to replace all of the SC's so they have backed off the robust campaign they initially launched. But this clearly isn’t some perceived phobia, it is clearly some bad tolerances on both the spring isolator, and direct isolator that you can thank Eaton corporation for.

[2013ZL1FUN]

ZMEnow, I am trying to deal with the reality of "our" (the ZL1 community, if you will) owning these cars. Apparently Chevrolet hired a contractor (Eaton Corp.), whom they were counting on to make consistently reliable parts, ones that functioned better than they have proven TO function. Yes, not a single ZL1 owner should have to put up with what many of us have had to put up with. By that I mean the sub par repairs that many have recieved as a result of having the replacement performed. Surprise, not ALL of the repairs resulted in an appropriate end results, that being zero noise. That is my point. Maybe we are alerting to a non-existent issue (other than noise). Yes, I know that eventually these spring loaded isolators will fail (as will everything else on our cars, and all other cars ever built). How many people on here actually had a catasropic failure on said isolator and it caused major other damage? Low mileage failure, not 100k and ran it like I stole it failure? Yes bad tolerances are most likely to blame. Maybe GM should cut Eaton loose and find another supercharger builder to do business with. Because they cannot afford to do business like this.

[247EVL]

Originally Posted by 2013ZL1FUN

ZMEnow, I am trying to deal with the reality of "our" (the ZL1 community, if you will) owning these cars. Apparently Chevrolet hired a contractor (Eaton Corp.), whom they were counting on to make consistently reliable parts, ones that functioned better than they have proven TO function. Yes, not a single ZL1 owner should have to put up with what many of us have had to put up with. By that I mean the sub par repairs that many have recieved as a result of having the replacement performed. Surprise, not ALL of the repairs resulted in an appropriate end results, that being zero noise. That is my point. Maybe we are alerting to a non-existent issue (other than noise). Yes, I know that eventually these spring loaded isolators will fail (as will everything else on our cars, and all other cars ever built). How many people on here actually had a catasropic failure on said isolator and it caused major other damage? Low mileage failure, not 100k and ran it like I stole it failure? Yes bad tolerances are most likely to blame. Maybe GM should cut Eaton loose and find another supercharger builder to do business with. Because they cannot afford to do business like this.

This is why I am not going to swap out the spring loaded isolator for a solid one just yet. Sure, there is a rattle coming from the snout area, but once I shut the hood, and sit behind the wheel, I can't hear it. Also, GM has repeatedly informed me that there is no resolution to the supercharger noise. If I install any aftermarket parts, my car will have it's warranty blocked. Seeing as there is still a lot of warranty and time left, I will leave it untouched. If there is a catastrophic failure of my supercharger/engine, then GM will have to address the situation.