So I'm getting ready to attack the rear coolant crossover pipe, front coolant Y-pipe and water pump pipe that connects below the supercharger. Car only has about 40k miles on it but I want to stay in front of the dreaded coolant catastrophe people talk about. So here's my question, since I will have the supercharger off the car, does it make sense to change the isolator and go solid?? I hear no rattles at this point but that doesn't mean that the factory isolator isn't beating the heck out of the shaft it sits on. I did it on my 2012 CTS-V but that one was rattling like crazy. Just curious what everyone's thoughts are and if so, do you recommend a brand for it?

Thanks

 

I think it's worth replacing the coupler while you're in there, and it's a great time to change the supercharger oil too.

Note that some folks have reported more rattles at idle with a solid coupler and some have opted for a new OEM coupler instead. In my vehicle, there's definitely a little bit of a rattle at idle with a solid coupler (a genuine Eaton part from SCOL) when I listen to it closely enough, but it goes away with revs and I can't hear it at all with the hood closed. YMMV, but at least a solid coupler won't be eating into the supercharger shaft over time!

 

So that's interesting. In my CTS-V it totally fixed the Supercharger rattle by going to a solid coupler, but you're saying in the F-Type it might create the rattle. How odd. I"m hoping to get some more feedback from people who have dealt with this so far. Interesting. Thanks for your thoughts.

 

I recently removed the supercharger on my 29,500 mile 2016 F-Type (3.0L) to replace the coolant pipes, heater manifold, water pump, and thermostat. The OEM supercharger coupler wasn't making any noise, but I decided to replace it with an Eaton solid coupler while the supercharger was off of the engine. I purchased the Eaton solid coupler from SCOL.

The shaft that runs through the supercharger snout had some minor scoring from the OEM coupler. All of the bearings rotated smoothly and none exhibited any excessive play. The old supercharger oil was light brown in color. The Eaton solid coupler was easy to install. The servicing of the supercharger went as expected.

What I didn't expect was the new rattling noise coming from the supercharger after I installed the solid coupler. The car runs fine, and the noise diminishes as the the RPMs climb above idle. However, it's more than I want to live with. So, I'll be pulling the supercharger off (and apart) next month to see if I can fix the rattle. I ordered a ZZP solid coupler and will see if it has a tighter (and quieter) fit than the Eaton solid coupler. I'll do my best to post an update when I can.

 

Thanks for your thoughts Waldo. Much appreciated. It's an odd turn of events that people are finding literally the opposite affect of the solid coupler on this car/supercharger than with the CTSVs. I'll be very curious what comes of your future attempt to make changes. Also, what's involved in changing the Supercharger oil? And was it really needed at such a low of a mileage?

 

Yes go to the solid coupler BUT use the proper OEM Eaton one! We have page after page of people installing after market ones but don't do it!
Here is the thread with a VERY good video from Eaton themselves describing the problems and failures of the after market solid couplers.
Eaton Solid Coupler Video

Again I want to thank GaiaXF-V8S for his in depth research on this.
Here is the REAL Eaton solid coupler - Yes there are tons of counterfeit couplers out there! Note these have a serial number and are traceable back to Eaton.
Eaton Solid Coupler
.
.
.

 

Thanks for the videos, Waldo. That's exactly the noise people have reported. Mine is similar, but fortunately nowhere near that loud. Based on what I've read, it seems to be a matter of luck whether your supercharger has this issue with a solid coupler.

Folks have also seen this with the older supercharged Jags and the theory seems to be that the noise isn't really caused by play in the coupler itself, it's just supercharger gear rattle that the coupler enhances ("it is inherent of the solid coupler to accentuate the sound of any backlash in the gears through the blower housing"):

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...r-dont-240328/
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ads-up-176686/

What comes to the oil change, that's just another maintenance item that's easier to do when the supercharger is out. You can flip over the SC and easily drain all of the old oil. A lot of people have also reported that their supercharger was underfilled from the factory, so it's a good opportunity to ensure you have the correct amount of oil in there. Here's a helpful thread:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...-guide-241373/

 

That's exactly the part I purchased from SCOL and installed. It's possible I have bearing issues which only became apparent after I installed the Eaton solid coupler. Maybe I got a bad coupler from Eaton/SCOL. Who knows? I'll post a follow up once I've torn things apart again.

I changed the oil because it was easy to do with the supercharger out of the car. At less then 30,000 miles, it most likely didn't need it, but I as "in there" already. On the Eaton 1320, you can unbolt the black cover on the rear of the supercharger to completely drain all of the oil. It does make it a bit more difficult to capture and measure how much old oil was in the supercharger if you don't have a drain pan situated to capture all of the oil.

 

The aftermarket solid coupler I received as part of the Euro-AMP aluminum pipe kit last year is quiet. It eliminated the cold running noises we had, that many folks described.

 

I finally found some time to investigate the coupler noise. I started by removing the supercharger belt and starting the engine. The "normal" AJ126 injector and valve train noise was there, but the rattling noise that seemed to be coming from the supercharger was gone. I rotated the supercharger pulley back and forth and could feel a very slight amount of play when reversing direction.

I removed the supercharger and separated the front snout from the rotor case. The Eaton coupler was loose and slid off of the mounting dowls with no effort. Here's a short video that shows how loose the Eaton coupler was: Eaton Coupler

I installed a ZZP coupler, and it had a much tighter fit than the Eaton coupler. I had to tap the ZZP coupler in order to seat it completely on the front snout. I reinstalled everything, and the rattling noise was gone.



For those who are interested, the OEM coupler caused this scoring after 29,500 miles.

 

Now that's interesting. Thank you for posting this!

How many miles do you have on the Eaton solid coupler? Do you remember if it was this loose when you installed it or do you think it got looser over time?

If I end up pulling out my supercharger again at some point, I'm definitely going to give the ZZP coupler a try. Is this the correct part?

https://zzperformance.com/products/z...harger-coupler

 

I installed the Eaton coupler and took the car on a short test drive (~15 miles). I don’t remember if it was that loose when I installed it, but I do remember that it didn’t take any effort to slide it on the mounting dowels.

In fairness to Eaton and the vendor, I haven’t yet discussed the looseness of the Eaton part with the vendor. They may very well have a solution. I just wanted to share what I discovered, so that others who have a similar rattle would be aware.

That is the ZZP coupler I purchased and installed.

 

Thanks everyone for all of the added feedback. This is a great topic and good info to share. I haven't taken mine apart yet as I haven't had time and don't daily drive my Type R. I also want to make sure I have all the parts ready to go when I do. So I'm curious what more info people have on the solid coupler. Are we better off leaving the original even though it beats the heck out of the coupler shaft?

Separate question, when you have changed your water pipes out and maybe the oil cooler etc.. Did you drain and flush the coolant? If so, does anyone know what the drain/flush/fill/burp etc process is?

Thanks folks

 

Waldo, you said you purchased the exact part in this link? If so, that is probably why it didn't fit properly. The one that was linked is for the 5.0, I believe that SCOL does sell one for the 3.0L so I imagine that is why you had fitment issues. I know when I installed the Eaton OEM solid on my 11 XF 5.0, I thought it was wrong because the fitment was crazy tight. It's good to hear that the solid ended up working out for you cause the OEM is quite a bit more expensive. I also did not have any noise whatsoever when installing the Eaton OEM solid, but if the ZZP one works well then I may go with that one when it inevitably pops up on my 13 XF 5.0S. Thanks for the information!

Just watched your video too, the part number on the coupler is SN228D, when I looked it up it looks like your part number should be SN105A for the 3.0L unless SCOL updated their parts numbers or something. That's weird.

 

The link points to a 49mm EAT-361506 solid coupler, which I've been told is the correct one for the 3.0L, and also for the newer (~2015+) 5.0L engines. Early 5.0L had a 47mm coupler, which isn't compatible with the 49mm one and there should be no way you could accidentally install the wrong size. When I bought a 47mm coupler for my 5.0L and my replacement supercharger turned out to have a 49mm coupler, the holes for the pins were not even close to being aligned. I don't think I could have even hammered it in without breaking the whole thing.

So I now have that exact Eaton coupler in my 5.0L and while I didn't notice any play when installing it, I don't remember having any difficulties sliding it over the pins either, so I guess that doesn't qualify for crazy tight. Perhaps the tolerances in these parts changed at some point, or there are differences between the production batches?

I'm not sure what the SN number signifies, but underneath that you should see the EAT part number. In this photo I copied from that link to the SCOL website, the SN number is 1305 (not 105A), but the part number underneath is EAT-361506 as expected:

 

SN22BD is the serial number of the coupler. The Eaton part number is EAT-361506.



It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve ordered the wrong part, but I referenced these two threads (and called SOL) when I ordered EAT-361506. SOL lists EAT-361506 as a factory Eaton coupler for the LSA and LS9 on their website.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...-guide-241373/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...pn-v6s-267962/

From what I’ve gathered, the larger (49 or 50mm) coupler will fit all AJ126 V6s and 2017+ AJ133 V8s. The ZZP LSA coupler I ordered and installed is listed as also fitting “… 3.0 Jaguar/Land Rover & 2017 + 5.0 Jaguar/Land Rover”.

From those threads, the pre-2017 V8s would need EAT-85914. That’s a 47.5mm coupler designed for the Eaton M-90 and M-112 superchargers. ZZP offers a solid coupler for the Eaton M-90 and M-112 that “…Also fits 5.0L Jaguar/Land Rover.”

SOL called me a short while ago and stated after watching the video I emailed them, they will send me a new EAT-361506 coupler. They’re not sure what this issue is, but the coupler shouldn’t be anywhere near being that loose. So a big shout out to them for their customer service. I think the big takeaway from this is that a solid coupler should fit tight enough that it requires some effort to fully seat it. If it slides on too easily, there is a good chance you will have an issue.

edit: I think the serial numbers were added by Eaton for quality control and to combat counterfeiting.

 

Now I'm wondering what part number from them I was given all those years ago. I wish I still had it because I'm all manner of confused haha. Anyways it looks like we have the exact part number that we need to cover all 3.0s and 5.0s going forward. I had to align the pins to the isolator and then tap it on slightly with a rubber mallet and then rock it back and forth on the pins after that it slid on with minimal force but at first it was very very tight, perhaps a machining issue? Never heard a peep out of the supercharger again after it was installed. Anyways, thanks for the thorough information.

 

And some further complications? And yes it is confusing to me too?
From the SCOL website;





So now the two type of SC bypass systems Vacuum and electric take different couplers? I have a 2014 with the electric bypass and from the above they list EAT-360148?
I can't even find that part number? Typo maybe?

Plus they list EAT-308858 as the solid optional isolator but that can't be as that part number is for the old style M122 blower? Do the solid couplers interchange between the TVS1900 and the M122 blowers? I did not think so?

So maybe the 2014 and up electric bypass blowers still use the spring loaded version of the coupler only?
.
.
.

 

So GaiaXF-V8S, you mentioned we have all the current part numbers for the V6 and V8. The thread has so much info that I started to get lost. I have a 2016 V8 Type R. Which one do you believe is the correct part # for the solid isolator for mine?

Thanks

 

At this point we would just have to reach out to Superchargers Online. I'm pretty sure on my XF I just bought the LSA/LS9 isolator, I'm not sure if SCOL was even selling Jaguar specific Isolators. It was so long ago, I unfortunately can't remember. I may also elect to just rebuild the supercharger with a new shaft and OEM spring style because despite it's flaws, it does run amazingly quiet at least until the trouble starts. It also seems like the ZZP Isolators are working better these days. I can recall a lot of people in the LSA/LS9 crowd were not happy with the growling noise. As far as on our Jags go, It seems from some of the comments here that they are not experiencing that issue. The only thing that gives me pause is that SCOL claims that their Isolators don't cause bearing wear, insinuating that the aftermarket isolators do? The only way to get some answers it seems is by asking SCOL.