Unlike turbos and other superchargers that are lubricated using oil circulated from the engine, Vortech Superchargers‘ V3 unit is much simpler with a self-contained oil supply. That clean look, however, does require some maintenance. In fact, Vortech suggests changing the V3’s oil after the first 2,500 miles and every 7,500 miles thereafter.
Not to fret, changing the supercharger oil is much easier than crawling under the car to drain the engine oil, as you can see in the accompanying video from Vortech. It’s about a 10-to-20-minute job and requires only a couple tools. And you don’t need to lift the car, but you probably could use a creeper to make life a little easier on your back.
First step is to remove the used oil through the braided stainless drain line. Using 9/16 and 1/2 wrenches, remove the bolt plug and let the fluid drain into a proper container. Replace the bolt and then remove the dipstick to ensure there is no fluid.
Vortech stresses that the proper synthetic must be used when filling the supercharger. And also it’s important not to overfill. If the dipstick reads too high a fluid level, simply unplug the drain line to reduce the fluid level.
The video is very easy to follow with the demonstration on a display engine, instead of under the hood of a car. It also gives instructions on determining the dipstick and vent-plug locations, as they different depending on whether the supercharger is installed on the left or right side of the engine and the resulting mounting angle of the blower.