Smoking and Turbo Seals

[Wardski]

Good luck with getting it replaced, some dealers seem pretty keen to jump in and rectify the issue, others (like mine) tried every excuse in the book to avoid replacing the turbo (coolant blockage, injector, cant replicate issue etc), even with me commenting on the TSB on a number of occasions, before they finally came to the party.

If you want a copy of my paperwork on the replacement to help illustrate the issue with your dealer PM me your email address and I'll sent it to you.

A lot of car problems are very hard to replicate, especially the smoking turbos... If you're worried about any kind of noise, smoke, odd behaviour, buy yourself a cheap a$$ china made vid cam from Aldi, keep it in the car, and when the $hit happens - record it.

Alternatively, if your phone supports vid recording like most Nokias, Samsungs and LG's (and now iPhone 3GS) use that instead

[LYNCHY]

^^^^ yep yep yep ....my video of my baby smoking made them look at it pretty quick smart

silly dealers

[foxy]

What I have not heard mentioned is the turbo advice in the owners manual. "idle the engine at least 30 seconds to cool the turbo before turning off the engine". I suspect that most of us were never told this by the Mazda salesman when the car was delivered. The manual does say "After driving at freeway speeds or up a long hill".

The main problem with this is that after, possibly, decades switching engines off when we arrive at a destination we are now expected to remember that you are in an MPS and that requires an idle down time. If we don't then it could cost you megabucks.

[TD]

I did that and still had the turbo replaced at 30,000km.

Basically, if your car is on their list as liable to be affected by the dodgy turbo (by VIN) and you complain about it you'll probably get it replaced. And you'll know when it needs replacing!

[KYM-11M]

I did that and still had the turbo replaced at 30,000km.

Basically, if your car is on their list as liable to be affected by the dodgy turbo (by VIN) and you complain about it you'll probably get it replaced. And you'll know when it needs replacing!

TallDan, could you elaborate when quoting

"if your car is on their list as liable to be affected by the dodgy turbo (by VIN)"

Is there a range of VIN no. MPS out there that have defected turbos? Im asking cause im due to run out of warrenty and i have had quite a few warrenty claims over the past and i do not wish to have to replace a turbo out of my own pockets....

[kmh001]

KYM there is a bit of discussion in the US about the smoke not being caused by defective turbo seals but by defective design of the crank case ventilation system that does not allow the oil to drain from the turbo. Mazda have allegedly developed a new PCV system to apply to smoking cars and there is an after market vent mod also.

If your car is smoking there is an experiment you can do that will cost you $15. Go to supercheap and buy one of these:
Calibre Mini Air Breather - 18mm, CALMAB18 - Supercheap Auto

Remove the vent pipe connecting the rocker cover to the intake. Block the intake end and and install the breather on the rocker cover outlet with a small hose clamp.

Cross your fingers and hope that the smoking stops. If not you've only lost $15.

[duglet]

done 104000kms and not a problem with my turbo

I guess im either lucky or just maintain my car well.

Happy Motoring
duglet

[TD]

TallDan, could you elaborate when quoting

Is there a range of VIN no. MPS out there that have defected turbos? Im asking cause im due to run out of warrenty and i have had quite a few warrenty claims over the past and i do not wish to have to replace a turbo out of my own pockets....

Yes, there is a VIN number range likely to be affected by the rear turbo seal issue. Mazda will not tell you if your car is within this range however.

Basically, your car needs to be displaying all the symptoms, Mazda will look at it and check against the VIN range list. If your car has severe smoking issues and falls within the range then warranty replacement of the turbo will be approved.

You'll notice that most of the people here who had the issue got their turbo replacments in the 25k-50k km range.

If your car isn't doing it there's probably nothing wrong, don't get yourself all paranoid about a problem you may not even have. Trust me you'll know if your smoking is bad enough!

I was sitting in clouds of my own smoke at traffic lights and used to have people deliberately avoid sitting behind me in traffic due to the smoke pouring out my exhaust, it was that bad. See some pics and vids from this thread or do a search on YouTube for Mazdaspeed turbo smoke or similar to get an idea what it looks like.

[KYM-11M]

Great feed back, thanks guys. Kmh001.... i will keep that in mind if i do become suspicous of any smoke, just want to know wheather it was a generally pattern in most mazdas. I guess i may be out of the clear, although i have no mods apart from a sri and being almost 60k im maybe one of the lucky ones.
I did read earlier that some of the guys experienced it with aftermarket down pipes and TBE, hopefully once i have my down pipe this wont happen lets see!!!
Thanks for the helpful info!!

[kmh001]

I'm like Dug, I have 104,000 km and no smoke. The down pipe is not thought to cause smoking itself, but removing the cats is thought stop masking the smoke if it's there. So it's possible my car is smoking but the stock exhaust is hiding it. If that makes sense.

[KYM-11M]

I'm like Dug, I have 104,000 km and no smoke. The down pipe is not thought to cause smoking itself, but removing the cats is thought stop masking the smoke if it's there. So it's possible my car is smoking but the stock exhaust is hiding it. If that makes sense.

So really we should do the test you mentioned, to see wheather it is or not smoking..... ill have to get round to try it just to be curious!!

[kmh001]

Nah that $15 test is to try and stop the smoking. If it's not smoking now don't worry about it.

[KYM-11M]

Nah that $15 test is to try and stop the smoking. If it's not smoking now don't worry about it.

I see!!! nah no smoke now (fingers crossed) lets just hope it never happens when im outta warrenty! lol

Bloody mazdas and the copious amounts of warrenty jobs!!!arghhh

[Penguin740]

Just out of interest I have today tried the - leave the car idle for 15mins or so and see if it smokes. Mine seems to be fine. It's a Dec 2005 MPS6 with 90000km on the clock. It uses Mobil 1 oil which may have something to do with looking after the seals? Not sure but it has got to help.

My car goes in for a tbe in a few days so that should be the final test to see if the seals are fine. Hopefully its all good. I'd certainly like to know before the warranty runs out in a few months.

[Penguin740]

Opps I take my last post back.....

Took my car in to CES for the exhaust today and they unearthed a new turbo! Looks like a mazda replacement under warranty. (i'm the second owner)

Looks like mine may have smoked after all!

[Mr Nasa]

i had a new turbo!!
new ready for new head gasket(cracked)!!
mm lets see what else....
78000ks

[RadiantKnackers]

I have a question.

Is a good sized puff of smoke common on cold start up?

My LittleredMPS greeted me for the second time in a week with a big, clearly visible puff out the pipes of whitish smoke this morning.

For info my car is a completely stock gen 2 MPS with 1300k on the clock.

Suggestions?

The car is going in for its 1k service next week and I think I might be having something to say about it.

Before anyone suggests it...No it wasnt condensation...and No it wasnt fuel smoke. Went and stuck my head in it. Sort of smelt like oil mixed with burnt plastic.

[AD07]

Doesnt sound good by the way you describe the smell, especially not after 1300k's. What about if you take the car for a good run then leave it idling? Does it smoke then??

[RadiantKnackers]

I tried that this arvo.

No smoke that I could see but it smelt like a piece of leggo had melted on the exhaust

[2000MNLESS]

Mention it to the dealers Jase, so at least its on record.