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[SHOwn]

Lately, I've had to add a quart after about 1300 miles - never was a drinker before. 125K, using 5w30 Castroil synthetic. She puffs a little white smoke when I get on her, and the turbo outlet had a ring of oil. I wonder if the turbo oil seal is going bad. I'll have to check the shaft play and double-check the PCV system. Rocket mentioned failing to seal the sheet metal valve cover (inner cover windage tray thingy). I might have been guilty of that late last summer - I don't remember. Could that cause this much loss? One more clue, I am getting a little right side leakage from somewhere, but not 3 quarts worth. That's also a new development.

Anything else to look out for? I started the search for parts for the IHI VJ-14, but Michigan Turbo doesn't show rebuild parts in their catalogs going back to 2007, the guy there told me after he looked for them. He does have several rebuilt ones on the shelf, complete with actuator for $850 with a one year warranty.

If I were going to go hybrid, I'm thinking to keep the lag down but make a little more - wouldn't that mean going with the VJ-11? I'd still have to come up with one at a price I can afford.

Just thinking abut it. If there is not much shaft play, is it risky to keep driving it (rather tamely) for a while yet? I drive her 50 miles a day year round.

Ron

[Rocketman]

Check the shaft play.
Check the intake tubing, see if there is fresh oil coating the inside. If there's a lot pre-turbo, the VC baffle seals are suspect.

Failing to properly seal the baffles in the valvecover can cause a tremendous loss in oil. There's a lot of oil flung to the bottom of the VC by the camshafts, and the positive pressure from the crankcase will blast it straight out if the baffles are not there to separate it and let it drain back down. I have seen B6 engines spit oil from the VC vent when this happens.

[azgtx]

To properly check that turbo you will need to take the turbine elbow off to gain access to the turbine wheel. As well take of the inlet j pipe to get to the compressor wheel. With a finger on each wheel, try to push in and out to detect the presence of axial clearance. On theses journal bearing turbos that is the killer..showing the wear on the seals. Ideally you want no movement in and out. There will be some radial movement, side to side, that is normal. If the compressor wheel is touching the housing the bearings and or the thrust collar or plate are shot. Running the turbo in that condition will only render a reasonally unrebuildabe unit. Meaning you will be looking for parts that are not readily available for these old turbos.. If you want a hybrid I have the vj11 compressor wheel and housing. I also just got my hands on another vj14 in superb condition that will save you half of what your shop wants for that rebuilt unit. Check Matt's suggestions  first..also check the pcv valve as well. Another thing to consider is the B6t responds very well to a catch can/oil air separator...that is why there are bungs on the vback of the motor. Then check the turbo.

[SHOwn]

Thanks for sharing your expertise again, Rocket. I tore into it and here's what I found. The intake tubing (air return line, and the line that has the metal blow off device) both had evidence of a fair amount of oil in them. The turbo outlet had much less. The turbo inlet had a light coating, and the J tube that feeds it was medium - with a little moisture thrown in to boot. Not liking the sight of moisture, especially when I fund that the surge tank was down about 10 oz. I don't see contamination inn the oil, or in the radiator, so that's a good sign. The low coolant is probably due to me not checking it much since I finished the repairs on the water pump.

I also checked the turbo play - 1/8" measured in and out, no wobble. Seems like a lot of in and out, isn't it?

[Rocketman]

That is an excessive amount of in/out play. A fresh turbo will have nearly indiscernible amount of play.

It may not be the total source of oil consumption but it's time for a rebuild, replacement, or hybrid :/

[SHOwn]

Just missed ya AZ. Thanks for chiming in. I only took the j pipe inlet off since I have to drive this thing in the morning. The play I measured was left to right when standing in front of the engine. I thought that was a bit much, but most of the oil is definitely coming in upstream of the turbo. I just ordered a new PCV and valve cover gasket from RockAuto, in order to redo the baffle seal I probably didn't do. That's likely the majority of the immediate issue. I want to order another PCV from the local Mazda dealer since I'm an experienced loser from a previous car eating my wallet due to a parts store PCV. I only ordered the RockAuto one because it was a Fram, and it was
cheap and I had a big order going already. It might work better until I can find the factory one.

Once I find out where I'm at with the compressor, I'll have to make a decision about hybrid or stock. I hate to be a car down for a while, and I'm much more the bodyman/painter than the mechanic, so I might have to see if locals can fix her if I need to rebuild the turbo. I always have to talk myself into these projects, but I'm short on time this year due to house renovation going on right now.

[SHOwn]

Took the day off yesterday and tore into my valve cover to see if I had sealed it last fall. I did. So I took a hose and my air hose and put a little air in the plenum and yup, there was a little leaking going on near the seam with spark plug #2. So I tore it all apart and redid the sealant, but I very much doubt that that was the source of my oiling. The PCV valve hose was split on the bottom, and was probably the source of my teaspoon a day stain on the floor. Idk if that could also be a reason why the PCV system would have oil in it, but the PCV valve was also a little bit gummed up, so I put a new Pureolater one on there. Mazda told me I can no longer get the one for the 323 GTX, so I had to go aftermarket.

Anyway, I'll drive and watch the oil consumption for a while. I had 900 miles since I changed the oil and it was only down about a third of a quart. Seemed like it was drinking more in the winter. Maybe it is the turbo, but the evidence in the PCV tubing seemed to point to a problem there.

[SHOwn]

Ok, I checked the oil at least 3 times when I worked on it last Friday, and. It consistently looked to be about 1/3 to 1/2 a quart low.i drove it on Saturday and Monday, putting about 80 miles on it, and it showed a full quart low when parked in the same stall 2 days later. That's at least a half-quart in 80 miles!  All I can attribute it to is getting into the turbo once in traffic, and that was minimal. It is still leaving about a teaspoon on the floor every night too, but I doubt my loss is all leaks. If it were leaking that much, the underside would be dripping all the length of the car!  I put a quart in her and drove it another 150 today. Yet inexplicably, still full.

While I doubt it is only an outside leak , (I still suspect the turbo) fixing the oil leak is proving to be elusive. Last fall I tore the belt drive off and replaced the water pump, belts and the crank and cam seals while solving the water pump leak, but now it seems to be leaking from somewhere on the belt side of the engine only this time it's oil. I'll have to take a look on Saturday night, the family is having a garage sale that is keeping me out of there until then.

[chrispoe]

You could try something like this
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002M4G24U/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687662&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000JFHNTM&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0DM09C7FFPV776M2X6TJ

I use UV oil dye and a small black light flashlight to locate leaks that are hard to find.

[SHOwn]

Thanks Chris. I might have to resort to that after I pull off some covers to look at the situation.

[NomakeWan]

I'll go ahead and say that my massive oil problem started with a little mess if you got on it and eventually became a gigantic mess, and the culprit was the turbo. There was oil on everything and in everything. Real big mess.

Check your intake hoses. If you've got oil in there, it's time to think about a rebuild/hybrid/replacement.

[SHOwn]

Ok, I have watched what is going on ad I'll get the puff of smoke if I get into boost. I believe it drinks at least a half-pint when this happens! She still runs fine, but this has got to end soon. I've been staying out of the throttle just to keep things safe, and it has been working, I hardly drop in 1000 mi if I keep my foot out of it. That bonus benefit is I have gotten the best milage I've ever seen since I sold my 86 Escort GT, 32 MPG! 

Well, I picked up a used vj11 with 0 shaft play - it's not cleaned up, but it seems good. I'll have to get some more parts I think. I just got the exhaust manifold gaskets (2 for some reason), and the turbo flange gasket set. I wonder if "clocking" or positioning the vj11 on the vj14 exhaust housing requires more gaskets? I see a round flange with bolts that hold the cartridge section to the turbine and impeller housings. Can the round cartridge flange just be loosened and turned as needed to help with coolant and oil line fitment (line up)?

I also see that the coolant ports have what some call Banjo bolts connecting the tubes to the housing. Can these be loosened and turned some? If so, where do I get the gaskets, seals?

I'm going to try to post some pictures of the vj11, and maybe start a thread documenting the hybrid build.  I will have questions about good recommendations for high flow catalysts, and complete induction kits with better intercoolers. I already have a 2-1/2" exhaust, but still have the small downpipe and original cat. Might be time to go bigger flow.

[WashiestSnake]

Dont they all drink oil though, considering there is oil injectiors in the cylinder? I mean that wouldnt explain why youre losing a bunch im just trying to understand tbese engines a bit more.

[SHOwn]

Wait, what? I've never heard about oil "injection" except in Diesel engines. I don't believe the Mazda 1.6l has an oil injection system. I heard something about the Mazda rotary having an oil tank for something like that, but no, I don't think our engines inject oil into the combustion chamber. Can you show me this on a certain page of the maintenance manual?
The pdf is on this site IIRC. No matter, as the title says, "started". This car used to go about 3000 miles before it was down a quart.
 
Back to the turbo info. Any information about putting the vj11 on using the vj14 cast iron exhaust housing would be helpful. I already read Rocket's post about treatise on turbo upgrades

[greywolf27030]

Dont they all drink oil though, considering there is oil injectiors in the cylinder? I mean that wouldnt explain why youre losing a bunch im just trying to understand tbese engines a bit more.

I believe they have oil squirters the spray on the bottom of the pistons to cool them. Not that unusual on a turbo engine.

Jack Byrd