Supercharger on 2013 ZL1

[Limelight]

Hi all. I’m going to look at a 2013 ZL1 coupe in Automatic tomorrow.

I’ve done a lot of reading on this site to prepare for my test drive and see that the supercharger rattle is a common issue. I will listen for the rattle at idle - but I see from the Carproof report that only the ignition recall was done - nothing related to the supercharger.

It’s a mint two owner car with under 13,000 miles.

My questions are:

(1) How widespread was the supercharger issue - if this car hasn’t exhibited symptoms yet, is it likely it eventually will?

(2) Are manuals or modded cars more likely to have problems? This car is auto and bone stock. The current owner is an older gentleman who has never used any of the modes and doesn’t drive aggressively.

(3) I called a Chevy dealer with the VIN and asked about the supercharger Warranty replacement and he didn’t know what I was talking about. Is the bulletin and extended 120,000 mile warranty only applicable to US cars - even though I live in Canada 10 minutes from the Oshawa plant where it was made?

Thanks to all for the valuable info on this forum!

[JB'sZL1]

The issue was hit or miss with the early model years. If the car is what you want: don't sweat it. Replace the spring isolator with a solid: done.

[Limelight]

Originally Posted by JB'sZL1

The issue was hit or miss with the early model years. If the car is what you want: don't sweat it. Replace the spring isolator with a solid: done.

Thanks! A VIN search shows the car was manufactured on April 22, 2013. The VIN is in the 7000’s so it wasn’t an early build and one of the first to roll off the line, but it’s an early model year with the potentially faulty isolator.

[JB'sZL1]

Really the only way of telling is disassembly. It doesn't go BOOM as soon as it starts to rattle...if it ever does. So if it ever does start to rattle, you have time to drive it to a shop to replace the isolator, do it yourself, or, bring it to a dealer under the sc warranty.

[DRKS1D3]

The dealer will replace the entire Eaton blower with a new one for free. It was a design flaw from Eaton. Almost all dealers are aware of this. My Dad's blower started to rattle, he took it in and they replaced it. That was 3-4 years ago. No problems.

[Limelight]

Thanks everyone.

Any advice you can give on what else to try and look for on a test drive beyond the obvious cosmetic things? I’m OCD with car detailing so I have a keen eye for that stuff.

How about the magnetic ride control - should I test on rough roads in sport and touring? I don’t know what the baseline ride should feel like so any advice would be appreciated.

[JB'sZL1]

No. When they go: they go. Some have driven 50-60k on them. You can, however, get underneath and check for leaks/oil on the mags. And replacement mags from an authorized dealer have a lifetime warranty.

[Juiced1]

Don't worry about the blower rattle. You should seriously consider getting a solid isolator in it. When GM replaces the blower they just toss on a rebuilt supercharger with the same trash isolators in them. If you plan on adding a pulley you can have the isolator changed at the same time for just the cost of the part....Which is only like $65. My advice is to make sure the shocks aren't leaking. That can be expensive.

[DRKS1D3]

Originally Posted by Juiced1

Don't worry about the blower rattle. You should seriously consider getting a solid isolator in it. When GM replaces the blower they just toss on a rebuilt supercharger with the same trash isolators in them. If you plan on adding a pulley you can have the isolator changed at the same time for just the cost of the part....Which is only like $65. My advice is to make sure the shocks aren't leaking. That can be expensive.

That's odd considering the fact that my Dad cracked his open after being replaced by GM just to make sure and found that it was in fact a brand new unit with a solid isolator.

[ZMEnow]

This has been covered so many times, so apparently people just don’t read the threads anymore. Just less than two weeks ago I re posted in detail on how GM handles the SC exchange. They replaced new units 2014 through 2016, (Some Dealers GM Regional Service Reps stopped in 2015). After that they used rebuilt Eaton’s with a Spring Isolator. The run on supply with all of the Caddy's from 2009 exhausted the supply as there were many more of them than Z's.

There are two issues that were happening during this time the well-known issue with the marble sound of the spring isolator that could be heard in some cars in as few miles as 3000. Mine was one of them. The second was a failure in the rotor bearing its self, causing a complete seizure of the SC.

If you need to know if you have a spring isolator just take a 1/2 ratchet or breaker bar and place it in the tensioner slot and pull to release the belt tension ( Best to have a second pair of hands but can do it by myself ). Just wiggle the upper pulley Left and right. (Actually had a guy a week ago push it back and forth ) If there is any slack in the rotation you have a spring isolator.

[Bigtime53]

So the 15 models are not the solid isolator? I was told the 14-15 models GM went to those because of the problems with the 12-13 models. My car is ok I think but I am checking it tomorrow to see which one is in mine.

[Juiced1]

We see so many spring isolators I just assumed Gm was still replacing them with the same junk isolator. I've heard of a lot of people on their 3rd blower.

[HDRDTD]

Again, from what I remember, The original SC had a spring loaded coupler. After many complaints about the 'rattle', Eaton (The SC OEM) changed to a solid coupler. After a while, Eaton changed BACK to the spring loaded coupler, but this time it was packed with grease to hep reduce the 'rattle'.

I have no proof of this, nor do I have any info on when each change was made.

In the beginning, Eaton explained why the need for a spring loaded coupler, and pointed out that the material the shaft was made of was intentionally made of a softer material than the spring, thus the grooves people saw in the shaft were an intentional design element.

I wish I had kept a copy of the reply from Eaton that explained the coupler design, but unfortunately I didn't.

My 2013 was delivered in late August of 2012, and had it's SC replaced when the TSB first came out. It was at the dealer for a routine oil change and it was the dealership that noticed the 'rattle' and went ahead and replaced the SC. I have no idea if I have a solid coupler or not. At 48,000 miles, it's still going strong with no issues whatsoever.

[ChuckZL1]

Originally Posted by Juiced1

We see so many spring isolators I just assumed Gm was still replacing them with the same junk isolator. I've heard of a lot of people on their 3rd blower.

My car is in the shop for the 3rd time in 6 months for the same problem.