Turbo Smoking...!
 

after some hard driving decided to let my car cool down and poped the hood up. as i was looking around at the engine by i saw some smoke coming up from the Turbo. the smoke seems to be coming betwen the compressor and turbine but not real sure it might have been coming from one of the gaskets in that area too. the smokes seen like the oil type acidic like smell and burns my eyes, althought its not alot of smoke, enough so that you can see it could it just be that the gaskets are loose or could it be the the gasket is going bad soon ?...

Gasket - most likely the top / oil feed one - needs to be replaced, period.


-Ted

Werd, you're getting blow by.

What is a Blow by?...thanks for the info.

This has nothing to do with blow-by. It's just a leaking gasket.

Bluw-by is combustion gasses being pushed into the crankcase. Normal operation for an engine unless it is significant.

There is more than one kind of blow-by. Oil is 'blowing by' the leaking gasket. There is air in a turbocharger thank you.

This is not internal to the turbocharger. It is external to the turbo. Therefore, the feed or return gasket is leaking. I have never heard the term "blow by" applied to a leaking gasket and it's probably not a good idea to do so due to confusion.

Hey Aaron, how many time did you have to count to ten before you could respond so nicely to this?

Get it some nicorette :lol2:

Sorry couldn't resist:)

Engine oil under pressure enters the bearing housing from the oil inlet line. This oil passes between the bearing and journal surfaces where, as a result of tubulence, air is mixed with the oil. This oil then flows weather by gravity or scavenger pump through the oil drain line and into the engine sump. Anything which prevents this draining will cause the oil to build up in the bearing housing to a height above the oil seals. Under this condition, the oil will leak out into the compressor and/or turbine housing past the piston ring seals.

Maybe you should know what you're talking about.

#1. We dont have piston ring seals
#2. This STILL isnt blow by. Blow by is a condition in which compressed gasses from the combustion area excape by the seals and cause the case to pressurize. This isnt normally a horrible problem for rotaries.

I think you mean turbine shaft seals, because we don't have pistons.

This is not blow by. Blow by is combustion gasses being forced past the piston rings (for crappy piston engines) into the crankcase, or forced past the side seals and oil seals (for proper rotary engines) into the crankcase. This can build unwanted pressure if the purge system is not working properly and can certainly cause internal turbo oil bypass. However this leak is INTERNAL to the turbo and will cause smoking out of the exhaust.

The original poster is clearly talking about an EXTERNAL turbo oil leak. This will be caused by the inlet or outlet gasket. In extreme cases oil leaking inside the turbo can squeeze past the interference fit of the turbine housing and end up outside the turbo, but this is pretty rare. Most of the time it just burns up in the turbine housing and gets blown out of the exhaust.

Neither of which are an example of "blow by".

Here, lets say the oil is "squeezing" past the gasket. Basically means the same thing as "Blow-by," without the confusing double meaning...

BTW that is a very cheap gasket right from Mazda, go 'n pick one up.

Now if a piston engine driver asks you what blow-by is. You can tell him/her with confidence. Touche Aaron. Touche. :)

is it the stock turbo? has it been rebuilt recently? do you have a oil feed line restrictor?

I rebuilt an S4 turbo and the supply and return passages were both almost completely closed off due to coking of the oil (sludge buildup). If the oild doesn't return to the oil pan quick enough, it will be forced out either at a weak gasket or the shaft seals on either end of the shaft. Since you didn't mention any smoking out the pipe, my guess would be a burned oil pipe gasket, but also possibly a coked bearing housing. An overhaul might be needed as well.

no its is a BNR Stage 3 turbo... is it okay to still drive it around or should i totaly stop. if it is one of the gasket loose do i have to pull out the turbo inorder to fix it ?....

You can still drive it around, just check your oil level before you do, but this is not advise to do. Also do you see alot of oil spewwing out or smell burning oil or hear some sizzling sound of burning oil? Also you do not need to take out the turbo to replace the gasket, and you can prolly make your own by getting some gasket paper.

im having the same issue...not sure if its from the turbos...its just comes off of my intake manifold and only occurs after ive driven full boost for a good period of time...just a little bit of smoke, almost like steam hovers above the engine when the hood is popped...the smell is closest to burned clutch...i almost think it is coming from the tranny

its probably because your turbos getting to much oil pressure and you need to install a oil restrictor...or you can take the oil feed line off and weld the hole on the flange side shut and redrill a smaller hole thats like .070 or .080...contact bnr or rx7store they can tell you the exact size hole to be drilled

so nothing is really damaged right?..is it safe to drive it around as long as i stay off of boost...

im no gonna say its safe to drive it... i drove mine for a little like that until i fixed it by welding the pipe and drilling..now it dosent smoke at all....if i were you i would replace the gasket and if that dosent fix it you probaly have the same problem that me and thousands of other people have had with a rebuilt turbo..

i had a similar problem before. mine was leaking from the the top oil feed line, and right when it leaked, it would burn off the turbo, and it smoked right in the same area you described. stupid thing is that my friend forgot to put the gasket there when we were assembling the engine. :( But its fixed now, so its all good! :)

replacing this gasket....how? pull the engine!@!??!...same on 3rd gen as w/ the gasket problem?