going to dealership for smoking turbo fri.

Street Sleeper · Aug 12, 2009

well, my car started smoking immediately after putting on my magnaflow cbe. i had a race pipe previously with no problems. tried running 5w-40 with no luck. still smoking.

im going to put my bpv back to stock, and put my cat back in place of the race pipe before i take it in on friday morning. only mods i'll have is AEM intake and cbe (thats engine related). hoping that wont be an issue considering mazda sells similar parts. a pipe is a pipe.

car is still under warranty. 22k miles. i found MTOL 5505 referenced here: http://www.mazdas247.com/forum/showthread.php?t=123748050
hoping by passing that on to the dealer will help.

i've got all my oil change records as well. any other info i can arm myself with that before i go in?

thanks,

tunersteve · Aug 12, 2009

Sounds like you've got all the bases covered. Let us know what the outcome is for your car, you may be one of the first to get the new PCV system if it's available.

Blendercloud · Aug 12, 2009

I'm interested to know what they say as well.

By the way, I'm going to move this thread to the Forced Induction section.

BoostedSpd6 · Aug 13, 2009

good luck!!.. i didnt know about the new pcv system.. that'll be sweet if u get it.

tunersteve · Aug 13, 2009

BoostedSpd6 said:
good luck!!.. i didnt know about the new pcv system.. that'll be sweet if u get it.

See the link in the first post, check that out.

Street Sleeper · Aug 13, 2009

cat = no smoke

well, heres my conundrum now. i put my old cat in place of my test pipe. left everything else on. NO smoke!

this is good and bad. good that theres no smoke. bad that i cant use my test pipe. i got used to that grizzle sound

anyhow, if the dealer cant replicate the smoke problem, then thats an issue. should i just keep the car with the cat and call it good, or should i still take it in? not sure if there was any damage to the turbo/seals or pcv from letting it leak/smoke. maybe i should get an OCC...or still take it in?

Blendercloud · Aug 13, 2009

The below has been said in several other places on the forum, but I think so you're properly addressed, we can say it again here. Most of the time, the residual oil that you see causing smoke will actually be burned up in the first and second catalysts. To understand why it smokes when you remove a cat and replace it with a test pipe you have to understand how a catalytic converter works.

Catalytic converters are within the exhaust and are an area constructed of very high heat materials. They use a series of grids or honeycombs to maximize the amount of surface area for chemical reactions to take place. Different chemicals (the actual catalyst) are then plated over that grid surface. The result when exhaust gases from a car engine are passed through it are oxidation of most of the particles coming out of the engine via heat.

Knowing this, you can see how putting in your cat would hide the fact that your turbo is actually smoking all the time. The statement you made in "not sure if there was any damage...from letting it leak/smoke" isn't the case. Your installation of the test pipe did not 'cause' the turbo to leak or smoke. The test pipe merely did not burn up the oil as it passed through the exhaust like the 2nd catalyst would have. Essentially, your turbo seals are going to leak oil regardless of what exhaust component you have in place.

My recommendation is while you have the stock catalyst in go see the dealer and tell them about your experience. Try to gauge their reaction and try to get them to mention the new PCV system. Even if you cannot duplicate the smoking for them, bring it to their attention. They may take your word for it and explore possible solutions with you regardless.

Street Sleeper · Aug 13, 2009

excellent advice. thanks! understood about the functionality of the cat. was just wondering if removing it caused less backpressure, and made the turbo/pcv more prone to leak. i guess it wont hurt to take it in tomorrow to see what they say. i'll keep you posted.

Street Sleeper · Aug 14, 2009

well fellas, took it in and good news.

they were able to replicate the smoking issue.
they changed my oil to a heavier oil (which i already had).
the called mazdausa and they said i will be getting the new pcv valve system when it comes out. not sure on when that will be.
if i still smoke after that, then will be a turbo replacement.
that was the official reply from mazda.

initially on the phone the guy said the cbe would void my warranty, but they didnt say a word about my mods. roger beasley mazda austin dealership is mod friendly.

i'm going to check back with them next week and see where they are with the pcv system

bennychan723 · Aug 17, 2009

so.....Cat = no smoke.........wat about juz CBE

Blendercloud · Aug 17, 2009

bennychan723 said:
so.....Cat = no smoke.........wat about juz CBE

Cat = burns up the particles that you would see as smoke. The turbo is still leaking regardless of cat or no cat.

DJJUT · Sep 10, 2009

Im even more confused on what to do now!! I wanted to buy a test pipe but am now worried about the smoking issue...... should I buy/fit a TIP at the same time? Thanks.

Street Sleeper · Sep 10, 2009

DJJUT said:
Im even more confused on what to do now!! I wanted to buy a test pipe but am now worried about the smoking issue...... should I buy/fit a TIP at the same time? Thanks.

well blendercloud stated it pretty well.

my car had no smoke when i had just a test pipe.
i added cat back exhaust and i smoked.
i took off the test pipe and put the cat back on, no smoke.

the cause/problem isnt the exhaust, the cat just hides the problem which is pcv/turbo related.

btw, still no word back from the dealer. i've called twice and they were going to call me back, but they never did. he asked if the oil change fixed my problem, which was surprising as thats how they rolled it out without a fix. wtf. anyhow, gonna start bugging them for an eta.

Street Sleeper · Sep 15, 2009

just spoke to them again. they said they want me to take a picture of the smoke and email it to them, even though they duplicated and acknowledged the problem while it was there. with the cat back on, it will take about 3k rpms continuously for about 10 minutes to get the smoke issue photographable.

he said to me that they have not confirmed the pcv system. they might replace the motor or the turbo. sounds like mazda hasnt really found a fix yet and the pcv system might not be the solution originally indicated. they definately dont have answers and are draggin their feet, although they are taking responsibility for it. (blah)

oh well. i'll keep post again once i get my pix sent over to them to see what they are gonna do.

Street Sleeper · Oct 7, 2009

well, go the word that mazda is going to replace my turbo under warranty. they asked me to send them a pic of the smoking. initially they said they were going to install a new pcv system, but dunno what happened about that. is the new turbo better than the old? at least the seals?

Blendercloud · Oct 7, 2009

Street Sleeper said:
well, go the word that mazda is going to replace my turbo under warranty. they asked me to send them a pic of the smoking. initially they said they were going to install a new pcv system, but dunno what happened about that. is the new turbo better than the old? at least the seals?

The good news about getting a new turbo is that you're getting a replacement item that spins in excess of 140,000 times per minute. The turbos are pretty much the same except for the seal design. I'll let Steve talk more specifically about that, since he knows first-hand I believe.

Thefriar · Oct 7, 2009

Blendercloud said:
The good news about getting a new turbo is that you're getting a replacement item that spins in excess of 140,000 times per minute. The turbos are pretty much the same except for the seal design. I'll let Steve talk more specifically about that, since he knows first-hand I believe.

have you tried running a turbo back exhaust instead of a normal cbe? they are less restrictive since the turbo manages backpressure not the exhaust system on turbo cars. Too much exhaust system backpressure can blow out turbo seals

tunersteve · Oct 7, 2009

Thefriar said:
have you tried running a turbo back exhaust instead of a normal cbe? they are less restrictive since the turbo manages backpressure not the exhaust system on turbo cars. Too much exhaust system backpressure can blow out turbo seals

While the TBE is better, our turbos actually require some backpressure to function properly. Mazda has revised the seals in the latest turbo, but right now, the TSB is not simply replacing them, but using 5w-40 to see if the smoking stops. Look for a TSB/recall for the PCV system to address this in the near future.

Street Sleeper · Oct 14, 2009

just got my car back with the new turbo. got my cat on, so cant tell if its smoking yet. seems to run well. now time to put my bpv and RP back on and cross my fingers! quite pleased with my dealership. no word from the manager on the pcv system or if it was fault with the seals. he said i had a bad turbo and had only seen one issue before. hope to not see smoke!

BoostedSpd6 · Oct 14, 2009

glad to hear things went well at the dealership..keep us posted.

going to dealership for smoking turbo fri.

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member