what the hell is wrong with my car?

[wytbishop]

If it makes as much smoke as you say for it to be oil your compression would have to be like 120psi per cylinder....


oh wait.

[h3xt0r]

I really wish you guys could smell this stuff- it's definitely not oil. I have been around lots of engines that burn oil, and this ain't it. the only thing being consumed at an abnormal rate is the fuel. we already know it's not coolant. I mean, what else could it be?

Burning oil can be easily masked with the smell of gasoline if you're getting unburnt fuel. Coolant would be just as hard to tell apart from gasoline. If you've got a blown piston seal you're pretty much screwed and no mater how much money you poor into this car, if you don't replace the rings, its going to keep that smoke. Believing that the evil piston rings are actually good doesn't make it so either.. However, I find it highly unlikely that one of these cars could be operating at 120PSI.

Redo you're compression checks with a new testing unit. You are cranking the engine 3x before reading the compression and you are reading it in PSI correct?

@FirstMazda:You're name gives a bit of insight about your knowledge on these cars. Indoro, Ryan, Bishop have all been here for an unbelievably long time. They all have borderline engineer level understanding of this vehicle. Hell some of the guys on this forums have been working on these cars since before you were a twinkle in your daddies eyes. If one them says stand on your head and punch the radiator, my suggestion would be to do it because they're probably saying it for good reason. And I like a good laugh here and there.

So for future reference, if you want help from the guys on the forums. Humor them when they ask you to do the normal engine diag rundown. In order for them to help you, you have to fill them in on -ALL- the information.

1. You said massive cloud
2. IT WILL NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER EVER be a air/fuel/spark issue.


EVER

Guess what? You don't have to worry about the MASSIVE CLOUD OF INCOMPLETE COMBUSTION STINKING UP THE DAMN NEIGHBORHOOD EVERY MORNING!!!!

WHY?

YOUR MASSIVE CLOUD OF SMOKE IS
OIL
OIL
OIL
OIL

Your car wants to marry you. but you refuse to give her rings! She'll NEVER say yes!

if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it
If you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it

PS~ Bishop....I LOL'D!

[Ryan]

Just wanna say, Mazda motors are awesome and run at sub 80 PSI

My first B6 had a solid 60-80-0-80 and ran like a very pathetic champ all the way home. Decent mileage too.

[h3xt0r]

Just wanna say, Mazda motors are awesome and run at sub 80 PSI

My first B6 had a solid 60-80-0-80 and ran like a very pathetic champ all the way home. Decent mileage too.

Seriously?

[Ryan]

Yup. Had a visible hole in one of the exhaust valves... let me see if I got those numbers right, they might be in my original worklog.

When I first got her, she ran with greyish smoke, and really rough. She'd stall at stop lights with brakes, rear defog, and lights on. Brought it into my mechanic, and he ran a compression test, anywhere between 40 and 120. Running on two pistons! it was pretty rough.... So, before I found this site, and everything awesome on here, I made an uneducated decision and paid 300 bucks for a new SOHC. About 170 for a new clutch kit too. That all works prime, now. It runs nice, the clutch feels good, shifts smooth (minus not liking going into reverse sometimes, but I understand thats normal.)

Eh, I exaggerated a bit. You get the idea though.

[myfirstmazda]

by the way, it was checked with a brand new tester, and I cranked the engine about 10x for each reading. tried to check the timing too just for shits, but couldn't find the mark.

[Ryan]

I found it worked really well to find the mark on the crank pulley and put a dab of white-out on it.

[myfirstmazda]

well, here's the update: after much testing I discovered that I was losing all fuel pressure overnight. if I went under the hood and pressurized the system before starting, it started clean EVERY TIME. I began to wonder if it was all draining back into the tank through the pump, but then I had another thought, and did some searching. turns out my tank isn't venting properly or something, so I tried an experiment. simple, I loosened the gas cap a little and drove around like that for a while. no smoke, and as a side benefit, my surging/hesitation is gone. I guess the vacuum in the tank was actually sucking the fuel back out of the lines. now this is the WORST it gets:

[myfirstmazda]

another update...
the car will still smoke like that if you idle it for any real length of time before you shut it down. out of curiosity, I tried putting premium gas in it one time, and it actually ran worse. the jerking and all that crap was back. so it runs better on regular, still smokes if you idle it for very long before you shut it down, and hasn't used 1/2 quart of oil since the last post. wtf? I thought about hooking up the fuel pressure gauge so I can see it from in the car, and taking it for a drive like that to see what was going on. I don't know. anybody want to buy a car? be good for a bp swap!

[Ryan]

I get kicks from the fact that you still think its fuel.

[Savin]

anybody want to buy a car?

I'll give you $1 for it. Since you asked.

[thinkurr]

was that the torque specs for a 93 mx3 4 cylinder?
ive got to re torque my head bolts soon myself....
also does somebody have the torque pattern as well?
thanks.


I never tried to take both head and IM together, so I can't tell you. Sorry.

The torque specs are:

Head bolts: 56 to 60 ft/Lbs
Intake manifold bolts: 14 to 19 ft/Lbs
exhaust manifold bolts/nuts: B6: 12 to 17 ft/Lbs, BP: 28 to 34 ft/Lbs
Valve cover bolts:

B6 SOHC: 43 to 78 in/Lbs (<- be careful!)
B6 DOHC: not a clue.

BP:
2 bolts at end of VC: 69 to 95 in/Lbs
screws on top of VC: 43 to 78 in/Lbs

Remember: 1 ft/Lb= 12 in/Lbs. Be careful with the VC bolts.

[Dark_Rider2k3]

I think he inadvertedly found his problem and doesnt realize what it means

"Losing pressure"

Is a symptom of your problem, which is engine related, not fuel related.

[myfirstmazda]

actually, I gave up on fixing that particular problem. Which is interesting in itself, because it has stopped doing it. hasn't fogged out the neighborhood in a long time. on a (possibly) related note, I moved, but still in the same city. I have a different commute now, with no freeway driving. I only get it up to about 50 mph most days. don't know if that's anything to do with the difference, but I really don't care right now. I'll just drive it until I'm sick of it. it does still have the surging, though.

[Daninski]

I'm not going to read this whole post i just want to ask. Did you possibly over fill your oil? Thanks