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Old 04-01-2004, 04:12 AM
Daless2 Daless2 is offline
The king of shotgun debate
 
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 1,303
Please note: these observations and opinions are my current feelings and thoughts.

The proof is in the pudding and that still needs to be determined based on how this system performs over time.

I still have to finish the PCM Adaptive Learning Process before I can get the full effect of the blower and get the Jeep back on the Dyno to see exactly what power improvements have been realized. Right now I have nothing to share but seat of the pants opinion in that regard.




General Thoughts, Observations and Experiences

Before I get into the detail of this installation I thought I would give a few more general thoughts and observation and a few minor criticisms too.



Out of the Box

The Avenger Super Charger I installed on my 97 TJ is a very complete and well engineered kit in every way. The quality of everything in this kit is first class. All machined parts fit perfectly with no exceptions.

Over the years I have purchased a number of Jeep products only to find CNC machined parts that simply do not line up. This drives me nuts!

There is nothing of the sort here. Jack and Ed have taken the time to do this right and it is evident even at first glance.

The Super Charger kit arrives packaged in one big box filled with those little packing peanuts. (I?m still picking them up off the shop floor)

The Super Charger and Intercooler are bolted to a piece of plywood that fits the box perfectly. All the other parts, and there are a lot of them, are laid up against the Supercharger and packaged with shrink-wrap type saran wrap.

Here a picture.




Kinda looks like a cocoon. Hey yea, that?s what it is.

Instead of little caterpillars waiting to be released into butterflies there are a bunch of baby horses in there just waiting to come out, grow up and become big boys and big girls horses under my hood!)



When you unpack things it looks a bit like this.




Is everything there?

Well yes, and then some.

Because of minor differences between the TJ intake models for various years in the end you will find you have a few extra fittings and hoses to wonder about. LOL

Obviously all the big stuff is easy to identify, but there are a bunch of fitting, screws and small parts. I would have liked to see a ?packing list? that gave a description and quantity of everything in the kit.

I should have inventoried everything and created that list from the start, but I didn?t. I would recommend to the folks at Avenger to include a packing list in the future. Not a big deal, but I would have felt more comfortable at the start if I could have verified everything was there before I started.


General Installation Observations

While I believe there are some opportunities to improve the instructions that come with this kit. (read that: More Pictures!) I also believe anyone with a reasonable mechanical ability can install this system without any problems.

This is for the most part a bolt on installation. There are only a couple of grinding operations, and of course you need to punch and thread a hole in the oil pan.

I will go into detail on all of this later.

I also believe the order of the steps in the instructions can be re-ordered so that many of the sub-tasks can be done in stages. This would allow someone to do small parts of the work at a time without taking the Jeep down until the project is totally complete.

This is the approach I took and what I will document.

All in all the instructions worked for me, but I think a few more pictures and a little more explanation of ?How to do it? would be helpful.



Customer Service and Technical Support

World Class folks, what else can I say.

During my installation I had the need to call Jack or Ed with questions six (6) times.

The phone was always answered (by a person, not a machine), and either Jack or Ed or another technical support person was available to answer my questions.

Each time I was made to feel like I was a ?Customer? and answering my questions, even the not so bright questions, was not a burden at all.

It?s nice to do business with folks like this. Folks who encourage you to call and folks who have answers to your questions promptly and with courtesy.

Kudos? for great customer and technical service!

That said, I would not have had to make four (4) of the six (6) calls had there been a few more pictures in the instructions! LOL! I?ll fix that! I took 300 of them!



Misc. Other comments on the kit

In addition to the packing list and a few more pictures in the instructions I would like to see a list of special tools needed to complete the installation and a list of supplies you need to have on had.

Most of the tools you will use are hand tools, and most will be found in any decently equipped shop. But there are a few you may not have and need to acquire or borrow to complete the installation.

As I did my installation I took note of these tool (i.e. 5mm Allen wrench, grinder, pneumatic chisel, ect) and the required supplies. I will put these lists up later.



Installation Bottom Line

This is not a difficult installation, it is however time consuming. If you follow the order of the installation instructions that come with the kit your Jeep will be down until you are finished with the installation.

I found you can perform a lot of the installation is stages, over time. This enabled me to continue to drive my Jeep between these tasks. As I document my installation you will see what I mean.

ANYONE with reasonable mechanical skill should have no problem installing the Avenger Super Charger on his or her Jeep. Just read through the directions, make sure you understand them and go have at it.



Pre-Install Requirements and Your Hood

As I shared with you before, your Jeep has to be in good tune, good compression and good fuel pressure before you start.

Another requirement is to have a 1-inch body lift. This is needed so that the nose of the Super Charger (where the drive pulley is) will clear the underside of the hood.

My Jeep has a 1-inch body lift, but I also have a 1-inch motor mount lift using the M.O.R.E. polyurethane bushings. I am here to tell you that this set up does indeed clear the underside of the hood. BARELY! By about 1/8-inch when the engine is torqued over under power. I?d like to get another 1/8-inch in there and will figure a way to do that somehow.

To check hood clearance Play Dough works great! Just put a glob of it on the top of the Super Charger Pulley. (Engine Not Running) and close and latch the hood! Then open it and measure the Play Dough like you would Plasti-Gauge



Please note, I neglected to mention that prior to the initial Dyno testing, and tuning everything up, prior to the blower installation I also removed and cleaned the throttle body. I typically do this every 30K or so but thought it would be good to do it now as well. I forgot to mention this before.

When I get the time I will post a detailed description on how I do this for those who may be interested.



NEXT

I want to compile the lists of tools and supplies next and then get into my write-up on my installation and the order of tasks I choose to do them in.

Bare with me as this is as time and energy levels permit.

Have a great day!

Frank
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