The death of JRSC rotrex

[350z]

The stock kit was installed in May and about Sept the HBP was installed along with supporting mods (injectors, pump, e85). The car was probably driven maybe 4K miles with the HBP and ran good until today...

The oil level was still good, belt was aligned properly... While driving, the sound of rocks in a can could be heard followed by a loud high pitch sound then a loud pop from the engine! Car died immediately, all lights came on but luckily it was able to coast onto a close by street.

Opening the hood to inspect I seen greenish fluid splashed around, thinking to myself that's odd since the engine didn't over heat and not coolant lines were busted. Then I seen fluid dripping from under the filter going to the head unit... Took off the coupling and seen this.

The impeller is completely separate from bearings inside as it spins freely (yes the belt is still wrapped around the pulley).

Has anyone else had/seen this issue yet?

[BigFatFlip]

What were the driving conditions before failure? ie rpm, load, etc. Sounds like it's a traction drive failure based on your description. I believe there have been a couple dead blowers mentioned in the JRSC owners thread but not sure if it was the same as your failure. I would suggest posting there.

Have you contacted JR or rotrex about this? Would be interesting to hear their input.

[Freeman]

Haven't seen that specifically, but I have seen more than a few failed rotrex SC units.

[350z]

Same here, just don't like the fact that its not even a year old.

Cruising at about 55ish in traffic, don't know the RPM. I posted in the owners thread but there are trolls in there that like to swing from this brands nuts all day.

[Freeman]

Mine lasted about 8,000 miles before it got really loud and boost dropped way off. Impeller was also spinning freely.

Another I've seen was a snapped off input shaft, another internal bearing failure, one other one was the input shaft seizing up and snapping the belt (JRSC).

[BigFatFlip]

The unfortunate thing is these aren't rebuildable, so you're pretty much stuck with buying another one instead of replacing a snapped shaft, etc.

[Freeman]

Originally Posted by BigFatFlip

The unfortunate thing is these aren't rebuildable, so you're pretty much stuck with buying another one instead of replacing a snapped shaft, etc.

Unless there's some sort of warranty coverage. With JR there may be, with my KW issue there wasn't. Had to buy a new supercharger.

[Jackson Racing]

Hi 350z-

Sorry to hear about the trouble with your Rotrex unit.

Have you sent in an email or called? We have not seen anything regarding a broken unit this morning.

Based on the description, this appears to be a Rotrex shaft failure. Shaft failures can happen from a few things, but I'd rather not speculate until we have a look at the unit. We will need to send the unit to Rotrex in Denmark for warranty inspection.

Please call or email us at tech@jacksonracing.com ASAP so we can get the process started. We will need some more information on the unit and system to help with processing.

-Oscar Jr.

[phanguy]

Originally Posted by Jackson Racing

Hi 350z-

Sorry to hear about the trouble with your Rotrex unit.

Have you sent in an email or called? We have not seen anything regarding a broken unit this morning.

Based on the description, this appears to be a Rotrex shaft failure. Shaft failures can happen from a few things, but I'd rather not speculate until we have a look at the unit. We will need to send the unit to Rotrex in Denmark for warranty inspection.

Please call or email us at tech@jacksonracing.com ASAP so we can get the process started. We will need some more information on the unit and system to help with processing.

-Oscar Jr.

Definitely reach out to JRSC. They took care of me when mine started getting REALLY loud then started making grinding noises. You'll be out of commission for probably 3-4 weeks while the SC gets shipped around so prepare for that. But huge props to JRSC for having both amazing products and customer service.

[EquiFox]

Originally Posted by phanguy

Definitely reach out to JRSC. They took care of me when mine started getting REALLY loud then started making grinding noises. You'll be out of commission for probably 3-4 weeks while the SC gets shipped around so prepare for that. But huge props to JRSC for having both amazing products and customer service.

3-4 weeks ?

Mine got really loud aswell, paid 50% for a replacement while my broken one was being shipped to them and it's been 6 months now, no news (I got a KW kit tho)
Sad thing is that the replacement one started doing the same thing after 2K miles... switching to PTuning turbo

[Alltezza]

Originally Posted by EquiFox

3-4 weeks ?

Mine got really loud aswell, paid 50% for a replacement while my broken one was being shipped to them and it's been 6 months now, no news (I got a KW kit tho)
Sad thing is that the replacement one started doing the same thing after 2K miles... switching to PTuning turbo

Is that only with KW that you had to pay 50%? I don't think JRSC would do that to the people that bought their kits....at least I hope not.

[Freeman]

Originally Posted by Alltezza

Is that only with KW that you had to pay 50%? I don't think JRSC would do that to the people that bought their kits....at least I hope not.

No it's a KW thing. Had the same thing happen to me. The blower got really loud, boost dropped way off. Sent it in and was told that Rotrex denied the warranty. Wasn't told the specifics of why they denied it, but that KW was fighting with them on it. I was told I could wait until it's approved or I could buy a new blower for 50% off and get refunded when they approved the warranty claim. So I bought a new blower and haven't heard anything about my warranty claim since. I'm swapping over to Edlebrock when I can afford it.

[Freeman]

Originally Posted by EquiFox

3-4 weeks ?

Mine got really loud aswell, paid 50% for a replacement while my broken one was being shipped to them and it's been 6 months now, no news (I got a KW kit tho)
Sad thing is that the replacement one started doing the same thing after 2K miles... switching to PTuning turbo

I've put 300 miles on my replacement and I'm swapping over to another kit as well. I don't trust the blowers.

[EquiFox]

Originally Posted by Freeman

I've put 300 miles on my replacement and I'm swapping over to another kit as well. I don't trust the blowers.

Glad to know I wasn't the only one !

I ditched my tuner and KW (worse support ever), dumped 10K on a proper turbo kit, just waiting for summer to arrive :P