Installing Your Magnuson Nose Drive

By Derrick Stinson




This method differs from the instructions included with the kit and does not require you to remove the fuel rail and supercharger. NOTE: Perform at your own risk - Grand Prix Net does not recommend this method and neither does Magnuson. Many owners have done this with no problems, however.

Tools Required:
  • Metric sockets, both short and deep well and extensions
  • Torque wrench that goes to 20 ft/lbs
  • Syringe (size is not a major factor but a horse syringe would be best)
  • Air line tubing (like you get a Wal-Mart for fish tanks)
  • 2 or 3 rags for any cleanup

Parts Required
  • Magnuson nose drive installation kit
  • Spare supercharger belt - in case yours is stretched or too small to fit the new pulley size

The Upgrade


NOTE: For pictures, please see Eric Wong's page
  1. Remove the negative battery cable
  2. Remove the supercharger belt and the alternator belt
  3. Remove the alternator. There are four bolts holding it on; you do not have to remove any of the wires to it. Once you have the bolts out you can just lay it out of the way.
  4. Open the oil fill plug on the SC nose drive. Cut about 4 or 5 inches of air line tubing and put it over the end of the syringe and into the nose drive. Drain the old oil out of the nose drive. Make sure you get as much as you can or when you remove the nose drive you will have a mess.
  5. Take the bolts out of the nose drive and remove it. On removing the nose drive, just use the pry bar locations (shown in the Magnuson instructions) and pull the nose drive towards you (i.e. towards the passenger side of the car). There is not much holding it and it only needs to be pulled about a inch or so to be freed.
  6. Clean any oil that spilled, which should only be a very small amount if you got most out with the syringe.
  7. Clean the locktite off of the supercharger where the old nose drive was. Don't use any thing that might scar the metal. I used a razor blade to clean it. Also clean out any of the locktite that might have gotten on the gears that are exposed. I use an air hose, not moving too close, but close enough to blow anything out.
  8. Check the gasket that the nose drive was contacting. Make sure that it didn't break or tear. On my installation, mine did not tear or break. But I assume you can cut the gasket that is supplied with the nose drive and put it there. Anyone more experienced with this please correct me if I am wrong.
  9. Get the new nose drive. There is a gasket(?) or rubber-like bushing that came with it. You need to put it on the nose drive first, not on the gears. It was easier for me to line it up to the gear's prongs with it on the nose drive than on the gears (i.e. I could see it to know which way to turn it). It is somewhat difficult to put on , but I used a little supercharger oil to help it slide on.
  10. Apply the locktite supplied with the kit to the gear housing where you removed the old locktite gasket. Remember to circle the bolt holes.
  11. Put the new nose drive on and line it up to the prongs. If you need to, you can turn the pulley in order to line it up correctly.
  12. Put the nose drive's bolts back on and torque them to 20 lb/ft. Double check them all twice. The bottom bolts on the nose drive can be tricky, but extensions and deep well sockets can make the job easier.
  13. Put your alternator back on and put all the belts back on.
  14. Put the oil supplied in the new nose drive that is now attached to the supercharger via the oil plug on the nose drive. Remember it has no oil in it yet. Leaving out this step will permanently damage your supercharger.
  15. Reconnect the negative battery cable.
  16. Double check everything to make sure it is correct and make sure you have no left over bolts or tools in the engine bay.
  17. Start the engine and check you belts make sure there isn't any slack. Mine had some and came off, But is was old and probably had stretched some. Having a spare belt on hand is probably a good idea.
  18. After allowing the supercharger and engine time to heat up, turn the car off check for any leaks around the nose drive. Correct any problems and enjoy the new power!

    Have questions? Ask Derrick Stinson (dstinson@p-c-net.net)