Is it possible to be running rich on a stock ecu. At first I thought I might have had a coolant leak. After replacing the entire coolant with water, I still smoke at idle. Another member had taken the time to explain the comparison of smoke. And the smoke that I get isn't pillowy and lingers around for quite some time. The smoke looks blueish black, and smells really rich with fuel, so much I almost get high. And with the new exhaust on there I wipe down the inside of the muffler, and it gets covered with black soot shortly after that you can swipe off. When its cold it starts right up, but than after it warms up for about 10 minutes and then shut it off, it becomes a bit%h, and then is hard to start up again. Also at idle it sounds like one of the rotors is skipping around ever so often. And what I mean by that is it sounds solid for 5 minutes and then you'll hear something like a broken record skipping for 2 seconds, and then it goes back to normal.

I had recently opened up the exhaust flow, and was going to take it for a test for setting the boost. But then encountered these problems. I don't know anything about the history of the car just what mods I have done. Right now I have it set at 6 or 7 psi. Perhaps the lower boost may be causing the rich mixture?

 

Oh ps. I tested the compression 100's in the rear, and 85's in the front. And when I was referring to the smell of fuel, I'm smelling it out the exhaust.

 

it looks like your water seals are shot, but then you experiancing blueish black smoke as well. It is possible that your water seals are shot and your turbos are leaking oil. theres a makeshift test to see if your water seals are gone by opening your coolant filler neck while idling checking for bubbles. another note, if you do not have enough water/coolant in the system it will run rich.

 

Well the first thing to check would be the vac hose from the UIM to the map sensor if you're running rich. That would normally cause a poor idle as well but worth checking. After you do that there is a battery of tests you can try. If you do a search for smoke at start up I can't even tell you how many hits you'll get.

 

I did a search on the smoke at startup but it doesn't really go into detail on testing proceedures, just smoke color and a few tidbits here and there. I read about the turbos leaking oil and testing for shaftplay but really don't know how you can test for that. Oh the other thing I forgot to mention is, before when there was coolant and distilled water in the system it would gurgle into the filler neck after shutdown, but now with just water in it, it doesn't do that at all? Weird.

 

How many miles on your motor? Is it the original motor, or a reman? High mileage rotary engines smoke more than new ones.

 

Well the speedometer reads 180,000. I don't know if it is the stock engine though. It appears to be rebuilt. I called mazda up and they said the engine had not been replaced by any of their tecks. I haven't had time to get the block number off because it's a pain to get to.

 

I can tell you with 180K its prob been replaced at least once lol

How are your coolant temps? Well....if you dont have a aftermarket gauge I guess you wouldnt know.

Maybe we should start with basics. How is your spark plugs and wires, and your O2 sensor? I'd start with plugs and wires

STEPHEN

 

The temp usually stays around 190f. The o2 sensor, is brand new aftermarket. Spark plugs are new and the spark plug wires look good, and throw a spark, don't know if that helps.

 

The thing is the smoke doesn't seem to go away it just stays there, at idle or driving. On a side note I did add about 4 oz of premix oil to a full tank. Maybe the engine is just giving out? Or like scratchjunkie was saying maybe I got hit by a double wammy. What do you guys think are those good numbers, rear seems to be really strong 3, 100's, and the front a little weak 3, 85's. Oh yes and the map sensor and every vacuum hose has been inspected and or replaced, accordingly.

 

Dude, the smoke is probably from the 4 QUARTS of oil you put in the gas tank. That's why blue smoke is coming out, which is what happens when you burn a lot of oil. Most people use like 12 oz. per fill up.

Also, I wouldn't run 100% water for too long. And i hope you are using distilled water only.

 

You do not need to add any oil to your gas tank unless the stock oil injection has been disabled. Why are you adding oil?

 

Edit: I meant to say 4 oz. I added it as insurance for the engine in case the omp goes, just following the trend I guess.

 

Thats like adding extra air to your tires in case they get a leak. Don't do it.

 

You seem like a pretty experienced owner, I'll probably listen to you on that.

 

 

Since my car has had 5 owners including me, and runs surprisingly good for 111k , I was wondering if there is anyway I can go about checking the engine to see if it has been rebuilt before?

 

i dont agree. i mean he does not know what condition his omp system is running at and its not like its gonna hurt as it burns off cleanly (well if he is running a 2-stroke oil with a TC-W3 rating). hell im running 14oz per tank on my fc and about 6-8oz in my fd at every refill and its does not hurt me at all (no abnormal smoke or anything). its just extra protection (especially if you wanna keep your rotor housings in good condition/lubed up). im sure you have read multipul post about how many engine rebuilders see a nice streak where the OMP injectes oil but the other areas are not in such good condition.

 

So, did you find out what your problem was?? Was it the 4 oz of oil you put in?? Tell us if you resolve this issue..