When I sent it to P W It needed a ball drive and seals. It had sat on a shelf for about a year and a half. Sitting that long in the same position caused flat spots on the ball drive bearings. Craig said that was a somewhat common problem with them after being stored awhile. When I was ready to put it back on the car, I noticed the seals where seeping and when you turned it by hand you could feel a faint catch or click.
The early life of this thing was a major pain.
I bought it brand new, and it locked up within two weeks, but even before it got that far it was a PITA.
Before the purchase I called Paxton directly to see if I needed any other equipment/parts to do the install. They said "Every thing you need is included in the kit, hoses, belts, anything you will need". Wrong, The kit was designed for 85-87 TPI. If you had the 85 or 86 you had to buy an 87 style alternator. So right off the bat, 2/3 of the years the kit covered needed a new alternator and new wiring harness pigtail for it (costing me $200) and I had to wait three days for it to arrive after ordering it, sending the advertised (supposed) installation time from one afternoon to over three days while I waited for extra parts that That were required and I was told prior to the purchase I would not need. The kit also relocated the alternater closer the the water pump, requiring a shorter belt, also not included. Some of the fasteners needed where not included either. None of that would be a big deal if I had been told when I purposely took time to call them directly and ask that specific question before the purchase.
Then one of the airduct coupling hoses was too short, about 3/4" shorter than the parts list said it was supposed to be. I called them about it, and they wanted me to ship the hose to them, then they would send me a new one. I'm on the other side of the country, so shipping time both ways would be about 1.5 - 2 weeks. Long damn wait for a $1 - $5 part that was incorrect in a $2400 dollar kit. I would have been a happier customer, if they had just dropped one in the mail and I had it in 4 - 5 working days or so. I just tracked one down localy and paid $15 for a foot of hose (I only needed 3" but 1' was minimum they sold).
So after all that I finally get the thing installed and run it for about a week and a half, and on the way home one evening on the interstate, the supercharger locks up and it shredds/melts it's drivebelt. Great. I call Paxton, and get a return number. I remove, drain, Plastic bag, and box the thing up and ship it to them. A few weeks (that's right, not days, weeks) went by and no word from Paxton. I call them up to see what's taking so long, and they say they are discussing whether they are going to cover it under warranty or not.
They then say, they are not sure if I had run oil (Motorcraft F type tranny fluid) or if I had run it dry!?!?!
WTF??? I had drained it befor shipping it, so it wasn't full, but it had plenty of oil residue left in it, as well as metal shavings. When I drained it, the oil coming out of it looked like red paint with silver metal flake in it. I asked them about the oil residue that must have been in it, and they said they leave oil in it durring manufacture so it could have been there from that.
After making me use a turkey baster to fill it, they say maybe I didn't, and maybe they won't honor the warranty?!?!? I politely threatened a call to the CA BBB and/or the CA attorney General and they decided to cover the supercharger but not it's drive belt that it ate when it locked up. So that would cost me $50 bucks to replace it. Pricks.
So they began to rebuild my expensive headache, and I began to wait, and wait and wait. Again after a few weeks wait I call and find out I am waiting for them to get more belts. Finally a box shows up at the door. I open it and there are no belts in it, with the supercharger, and wait just a minute, the supercharger isn't right either. The discharge is in the wrong place.
I opend the invoice, and discovered that I had the supercharger that belonged to a guy that lived in Texas. I called them up and they said "oh, that's where that went". They had sent him my supercharger, and sent his to me. Now, they wated me to ship it back to them (at my cost). I told them to do a UPS recall at their expense. After again waiting for weeks, no UPS truck showed up to pick the package back up. I again called to see what the hold up was. Maybe I should have called an pestered them every day from day one? They seemed surprised that I still had it, and that I hadn't shipped it back to them yet at my expense. I couldn't beleive this. I took it that evening to a UPS terminal, and shipped it to them at my expense just wishing the nightmare would end. About 3 weeks later I receive my supercharger and belt after months of waiting, and spending about $300 over the cost of the supercharger kit. To this day, I still cuss Paxton and their thoroughly lousy handlng of the situation. Hey Paxton,
. I wish ATI had been around with their Prochargers back whe I bought this thing.
Craig at Paradise Wheels, was great.:hail: Completely the opposite of Paxton. Quick, Helpful, quick, accurate, quick I was thrilled. Unlike when dealing directly with Paxton, I did not feel That I had been conned, mugged and pi$$ed on.
WWW.OUTLAWPERFORMANCE.COM
Which was a real treat after having dealings with Paxon directly back in the early to mid '90s. Paxtons service royally sucked eggs!
