GEN1 MAZDASPEED 3 NO BOOST

Okay where do i begin?

I have been home for a total of 3 days in the last 5 months, i have spent all this time between North Carolina and Tennessee . I have been running between my fathers and my mothers house since they are 70 plus, and i have had no time to be home, let alone work on my car.

Now i got home today (FINALLY) and i had some time to work on my car, and gonna send out some packages to many people i promised parts to. (STREETSPEED PLS DON'T HATE ME FOR NOT SENDING THE PIPES EARLIER!!)

Anyways getting to the problem.

I have a 2009 Mazdaspeed 3 that is not making boost. I can't even get to 1 PSI. I get to 0.00 PSI and that is it.

Things to note. I have replaced the following parts.
- Turbo (CST4)
- MAF
- IWG
- Throttle Body
- FMIC Piping
- EGR Delete
- IM Gasket
- MANIFOLD TO TURBO Gasket
- TURBO TO DOWNPIPE Gasket
- O2 SENSOR (WIDEBAND)
- 3 PORT EBCS

I have done a boost leak test, and i can't even get it to hold pressure, it shoots our through the breather tube on top of the valve cover. I added an extra check valve to my IM PCV system, and i also replaced all my gaskets not including my exhaust manifold gasket. I tried replacing my 3 port with my oem EBCS and no change.

I am stumped. I tried everything, and to be gone and come back to this issue is just crazy. My fuel trims are negative, and i can't find why. I dropped the car off at "MazdPros" and no luck. They said my throttle body was shot, and i replaced with a NEW OEM unit. No change.

 

Do you have a log of it running and idling? You need to plug the valve cover tube as you don't need to boost leak test that just your turbo to throttle body. Is your turbo spinning freely? Is the wastegate flapper just wide open, did you ever adjust it?

 

I don't have a log yet, i got back today about 2 hours ago. I will get one ASAP. This happened all of a sudden, my K04 took a shit on me. Ever since that happened i have not made boost ever again.

I plugged the tube, and i can hold about 20 PSI. My turbo is spinning freely, no problems, my wastegate actuator i adjusted and it is closing properly.

The turbo i purchased was used, and i did get to test it before buying it. No shaft play, 6k miles, and was holding 22PSI on car i removed it from.

 

This is a datalog i was able to get.

I have no boost whatsoever. No matter the RPM. I'm really stumped

@JohnnyTightlips

 

Possible causes:
1. WG not closing at all
2. MASSIVE boost leak
3. Turbo not spinning.

 

okay, so maybe I’m doing this incorrectly.

when I boost leak test, I attach a coupler I made to my turbo and I set my air compressor to 20psi with my regulator. The compressor never stops hissing out air, is it supposed to hold the 20psi and not leak it from anywhere?

edit* I know it’s not supposed to leak, it does hold the pressure cause when I remove my compressor hoses air shoots back out, but the compressor does keep pumping air, so it must be getting out from somewhere right?? I double checked my FMIC kit, and I also checked my IM gaskets and all.


Also, what can cause a turbo not to spin? When I remove my intake the turbo spins freely, no shaft play, no in or out play.

the wastegate is exactly how it was removed from the other vehicle. I didn’t adjust it, I didn’t move it. The turbo was making 24PSI.

I’d like to note, this has happened even with my old turbo, which is why I replaced it in the first place. It did not fix my problem. (I was told this by MazdaPros.)

I’m gonna plug that breather hose, and try boost leak testing again. I’m also gonna replace the hoses going to my boost control solenoid as they’re a little old. Not cracked or anything just old.

 

It should hold boost for about a 30-60 seconds before it drains out. I tested mine at 25lbs and it took over a minute for it to get back down to 0. Do you have pics of your setup and bay? Your log is showing -25 "maximum" STFT and your AFR's are rich in those spots too. This tells me that you are getting fuel but not enough air to balance the mixture "boost leak LARGE" If you look at that pic when you step on it your AFR goes insane rich to 8.9 which might be max for the sensor and you build no boost so that air is escaping somewhere and not feeding the mix like it needs to.

https://www.revisionsrus.com/logs/2085

 

Okay, i have to make sure it holds pressure for at least one minute?

Other than the FMIC piping, where can the air be leaking from? Just to get an idea of where i should be looking. I am using a regular 8 gallon compressor, I'm not too good with tools as i have to teach myself how to use them. When setting the regulator pressure, do i set it when the hose is connected to the car already or do i need some sort of attachment to regulate it at the actual hose? The compressor has a regulator, but its before the hose.

I used soapy water, sprayed all my couplers and no leak. I haven't plugged the breather, but i will once i get home. I'm sure that will give me some good results.

Side note: Could bad piston rings cause this issue or injector seals? Sorry if this is a dumb question, i am just trying to gain some knowledge of whether internals or injectors can cause leaks.

 

You also need to make sure the intake valves aren't open. There's a technique to this, but I've never done it.

 

Okay, now this is new.

How would i go about doing this?

Do i have to set the engine to TDC? Lol. I'm already on my way to pick up all the needed parts for the smoke test so i hope i find something new there

 

I have never had to do this with any of my turbo cars. I guess it could be leaking out the cylinder or ex valve but by then you should be able to find leaks else where.

 

If the exhaust valves are open then yeah you won't make any pressure. You could cap the exhaust at the tip, but it will take a while to pressurize everything. Also if your PCV system is vent to air you either need to cap it or make sure the intake valves aren't open, for obvious reasons.

Edit: Bump the engine over and try to test again.

 

It sounds to me like we have two different types of tests being discussed here, a boost leak test and a leak down test. For a leak down you'd want to make sure all the valves are closed on the cylinder you're testing (piston at TDC on compression stroke). But I've never heard of the valve positions being a concern for a boost leak test? I mean, you'll never get all the valves closed across all 4 cylinders unless something is seriously wrong with the motor lol.

 

No, actually. Depending on the setup, you might fail a boost leak test if you have moderate blowby on a cold engine where the crankcase is evacuated to atmosphere.

 

I guess I could see that, just figured you would be able to find the leak still before it escaped past the valves. Learn something new everyday!

 

Cold blowby on my car is so bad that if I don't let it warm up enough, it can barely move. I should get a log of this, because it's pretty wild.

 

Okay guys so I just did a smoke test with the DIY kit, and nothing. All the air comes out of my valve cover. Literally 100% of it.

I capped the breather tube, and I regulated my compressor to 20PSI. As soon as the air starts pumping it comes out of my valve cover. For a second it was holding 20PSI. But when I remove my oil cap, it blasts out.

My car is still not boosting, and when I say not boosting I mean, the turbo does spool at all. I sprayed soapy water on all the couplers, and I had some very tiny leaks, I tightened everything, and nothing changed.

I replaced my valve cover cause the air was leaking out of the sides of it. I fixed that issue. Now it leaks from this sensor next to my oil cap.

I don’t see how this would cause me to have 0PSI, I understand maybe low boost pressure, but not 0PSI.

I added photos of my setup, maybe I’m an idiot and installed something wrong?

What sensors control boost? Can a bad sensor cause my engine to not build boost? The only codes I get are O2 sensor bank 2 (which is new cause I spilled coolant in the connector while replacing the turbo.)

I also boost leak tested straight from the turbo housing, and same problem. Like I said I may have a very tiny leak at the moment coming from my BOV gasket (the one in between the piping and the BOV) but it still holds 20PSI for about 20 seconds until it leaks out of the valve cover.

note, can anything on the exhaust side cause this? A cracked exhaust manifold? I’m confused as heck!!

 

Also adding, my turbo spins freely, no shaft play, no oil inside the housing.
CST4 gen 1

 

Is that the right port to use for the BPV?

Edit: You sure you aren't just dumping boost back to the intake? Have you checked your BPV at all?