Large puff of smoke.... Ikes!

[1quickturbosix]

So im sitting at a stop light the other day.... which is a known stop light that takes forever!... anyways. I go to take off and look in the rear view mirror and see a large puff of smoke. I thought to myself for a minute, "was that my car" or was that the 86 cavalier sitting next to me. So I blamed it on the cavalier and went about my business. Now yesterday I had to run inside my house and left my car running. As I came out I looked at my tailpipes and notice just a small amount of smoke coming out of them, at the time i wasnt sure if it was smoke or it was just because it was only about 35 or 40 degrees out. So I get in, take off, and POOOF, another large ball of smoke. These are the only 2 times I have seen it. Usually after it sits in idle for a minute and then takes off. Any ideas what this may be. I searched for the whole smoking turbo bit but didnt find any thread on it..... and I know theres a million out there..... somewhere. Any input would be great or if someone would post a link that would be great. Thanks everyone.(2thumbs)

 

[BlackCherry06]

Sounds like your turbo seals are in the final stages of committing suicide. You can thicken up your oil (5W-40) to see if it helps, but in the end you'll have to take it to Mazda and show them what it's doing.

If you have any engine or exaust mods, replace them with the stock stuff before taking it to Mazda.

 

[1quickturbosix]

yea.... thats gonna be next to impossible... due to the fact that I moved and all the stock parts are about 7 hours away. AAAAHHHH

 

[Blendercloud]

Is a 7-hour trip (or shipping) worth $2,000 for a new turbo? I would think so.

Dollar values are estimated, but sweet mother of Jesus I think I would have them shipped considering the alternative.

 

[1quickturbosix]

Thats true...... Was there ever a final verdict if dealerships could detect the Cobb AP?

 

[Blendercloud]

I don't think they detect an ECU history. If you use your AP to go back and put the stock programming back into your ECU, I think you would be fine. I've never known any auto dealer to be able to detect that you once upon a time had a reprogrammed ECU as long as at the time it's at the dealer you had the stock programming.

 

[vrspeedemon]

can't find it right now, it may have been on another forum but there was mention of a tsb due to a smoking issue after car has been sitting idle for an extended period of time. not sure how "extended" that period was though but might be worth checking out.

 

[Blendercloud]

In your owner's/operator's manual I believe it says not to leave the car at idle for more than 2 minutes. I know that other cars can have an issue with rich fuel delivery at idle which may cause sluggish initial operation as well as backfiring. The latter may be why Mazda made such a recommendation. On the other hand, maybe they saw problems with the turbo seals coming.

 

[tunersteve]

To complete the task that the dealers do, on a cold motor, drive 5-10 miles, so that the car is at operating temp, then let it idle for 15-20 minutes. Keep a video cam nearby so that you can record it and take it to the dealer. Next, when you take it in, perform the same test, and leave it run while talking to your service rep.

Dealers may be able to detect the AP, but only if they look for it. Fixing the turbo shouldn't cause them to pull your ECU mapping for any reason.

 

[1quickturbosix]

Yea, its really strange, its only done it twice. So this might be a dumb question, but is the car undriveable once those seals take a s***? Or will it just smoke a bunch? This is my first tubo so still pretty new to this stuff.

 

[BlackCherry06]

You can keep driving it, but you'll eventually have a very oily and dirty intake tract.

 

[1quickturbosix]

MS6 for sale.......

 

[mysleeper6]

I had this issue when I had a test pipe in place...went back to stock for a dealer visit, they detected no problem. Meanwhile, I haven't had the chance to replace the test pipe and I've had no issues since.

 

[1quickturbosix]

So I just put everything back to stock last night and let it sit and idle so I know what to do when I go to the dealer to show them the smoking, and I cannot get it to start smoking. Im afraid im going to go to the dealer and they are gonna tell me theres nothing wrong. I only have about 800 miles left of warranty. Anyone have any ideas or what to tell them?

 

[Blendercloud]

So I just put everything back to stock last night and let it sit and idle so I know what to do when I go to the dealer to show them the smoking, and I cannot get it to start smoking. Im afraid im going to go to the dealer and they are gonna tell me theres nothing wrong. I only have about 800 miles left of warranty. Anyone have any ideas or what to tell them?

Take it to the dealer and tell them to leave the service ticket open regardless. If you continue to have that same problem after your warranty expires (within reasonable mileage), they may be legally liable to fix it under warranty.

 

[DaleNixon]

In your owner's/operator's manual I believe it says not to leave the car at idle for more than 2 minutes. I know that other cars can have an issue with rich fuel delivery at idle which may cause sluggish initial operation as well as backfiring. The latter may be why Mazda made such a recommendation. On the other hand, maybe they saw problems with the turbo seals coming.

Don't let it idle for more than 2 minutes? That's pretty hard to avoid at some lights and/or traffic. Also, the manual suggests an idle period for letting the turbo cool down. So let it idle, but don't let it idle? I'm so confused. (braindead

 

[wannabe]

heres what the manual says:

Don't operate the engine at high idle for more than 2 minutes.

the keyword there is HIGH. in other words, don't idle it at like 4,000 rpms or anything like that. idling at a traffic light (at like 700 rpms) is totally fine, safe, and to be expected.

 

[1quickturbosix]

So has anyone gone through this before? Having the turbo replaced? Does anyone have any advice as I will be taking the car to the dealer on Monday? Anything I should say? Shouldnt say?(uhm) Thanks a million.

 

[1quickturbosix]

Anyone?

 

[tunersteve]

Drive it for 10 miles before you head to the dealer, leave it running while you talk to the service manager, and make sure that before you leave it starts smoking again.