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Thread: Lost power after VVT actuator replacement

  1. Default Lost power after VVT actuator replacement

    Hi everyone.

    Picked up my 2007 Ms3 this afternoon, had it in the shop having the VVT actuator and all the timing gear replaced to fix that damnable startup rattle, as well as having a set of CorkSport rear engine mount bushes installed. Quiet as a mouse on startup now, but something is wrong. I seem to have lost a significant amount of power. I used to struggle for traction at WOT in first and second, and there was a great feeling of acceleration in those gears and now, well, traction isn't an issue and that boost feeling is gone. It also seems like my intake is quieter as well.

    I guess my question is this: is it possible that some previous owner in Japan had mucked about with the timing somehow? There were a couple of subtle modifications done when I purchased the car, the speed cut is gone for example and there's one of those stupid earthing kits in the engine bay but the rest of the car was stock. Or is it possible that this is all in my head? Since I'm not having to wrestle with the torque steer, perhaps the car just feels slower.

    I'm going to have a talk with my mechanic on Monday, see if he noticed anything strange when he had the engine apart, but I'd certainly appreciate any thoughts you might have.

  2. #2

    Default

    Im interested to see what the experienced members here come up with on this one....
    If it were me, Id be thinking that the mechanic may have the timing retarded a tooth; maybe 2.
    Maybe the vvt actuator is actually faulty and not allowing advance, or is stuck advanced and the ecu is knocking back boost levels etc.

    Or just maybe, the mechanic flashed the ecu with an 'update' or something that is reccommended with a newer style vvt? Out on a limb on that one....but if it was running a stage 1 tune or similar and has gone back to stock it would be quite noticeable....

    No flaming pls. Just throwing ideas out there...
    Last edited by Dog; 26-11-2016 at 09:30 PM.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Central Coast
    Posts
    174

    Default

    Doesn't sound right at all. When it's done correctly, the power delivery should be smoother and increased. *MPS2NV

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Central Coast
    Posts
    174

    Default

    Hopefully 2NV can give a bit more insight

    Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

  5. Default

    Thanks for the replies so far.

    I guess a little more info might help. The only power mod I've done is a CorkSport stage 3 short ram intake. The timing gear and VVT actuator were replaced with genuine Mazda items. I don't believe that my mechanic has flashed the ECU, as he's not a Mazda dealer. The car also seems to bog down quite badly under about 2k rpm.

    I'm going to disconnect the battery today and leave it for a while in the hope that an ECU reset may help. It's a long shot but it's easy enough to do.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Down South
    Age
    40
    Posts
    318

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Newcastle
    Posts
    1,413

    Default

    Tow it back to be repairer would be my suggestion.

  8. Default

    Why do you say that? Do you think something has gone horribly wrong?

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    Newcastle
    Posts
    1,413

    Default

    It's not worth the risk and it's better to allow the repairer to review what works they did.

  10. Default

    Got it all sorted. Turns out it was a simple matter of being mis timed. A tiny mis use of the crank locking tool caused the timing on both cams to be out by 1 tooth. Picked up the car today and it's a different animal. Puts down the power much more smoothly than before, and the CorkSport mount bushes have made a huge difference. Torque steer is almost entirely eliminated with only a minor increase I vibration through the steering wheel. All in all I'm thoroughly impressed.

  11. #11

    Default

    It's disturbing that they could have got the timing wrong.
    Having always worked on cars with keyed cams and cranks this system is a bit different but if you have all the right tools it works quite well. I would say it's pretty hard to get it wrong unless they didn't follow the procedure correctly or tried to cut corners somewhere

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