First Romanian BT MS3

[mituc]

So in late May/early June the engine started using oil. No oil consumption in the first 500 miles after the change no matter how I drive, no significant oil consumption if I only drive around town or do trips less than like 150 miles at once, at a 250 miles trip though it would eat up 1/4 between min and max on the dipstick.


The spark plugs all look like this:



I'm currently looking into rebuilding the engine and do it properly. Power goals: whatever the GTX3071 + meth can do on a built engine, so probably around 400-420-450whp - remains to be seen.

[Jackis]

Nice build, mituc!
Keep it going!

[Jackis]

What annoys me is that you have light buildup on spark electrodes, not just oil and gasoline black buildup. Ahat AFR are you targeting at? Is your coolant level steady?

Well if I were you, I would just find some proper stock block without wear and put inside some forged pistons and rods. Our russian and ukranian experience with custom sleeves is not 100% satisfactory, about every other 4th motor is having one of sleeve to move down and engine starts to eat coolant after 12-15K km.

Looks like you have typical rings or ring-wall failure issue. But whatever it is - time to go forged

[mituc]

The AFRs dip into mid/low 10s at WOT. The target is 11.0-11.2, but I can see the commanded AFRs go lower sometimes. The sparkplugs look normal. There is no oil on them at all, those oil traces on the threads is from when they've been installed (some light lube to prevent them from seizing at high temperatures).

The engine did eat a bit of coolant from the Max to half the distance between min and max in about 6000kms.
But mostly it eats oil. It starts eating it during long drives and only after at least 800kms after changing the oil. So it never burnt fresh oil.

I don't intend to sleeve the engine, I will just use my block and bore it for 88mm pistons instead of the stock 87.5mm. The car still pulls and there isn't any bit of smoke that I can see on the tail pipe, so the block should be more than fine to bore to 88mm.

Thank you for chiming in, right now I'm kind of lost and even though I had people giving me advice on what to do and what to purchase any experience sharing or advice really makes me feel better.

[Jackis]

I know what you are talking about, every MPS owner feels like that when it is about to do some engine work. I was in the same boat in late 2011
Anyway, I think that most reliable option is just to bore and hone stock sleeves and put in some wisecos or manley pistons with some new rods. That should be easiest way to do, and may be the best in terms of money and endurance. If you put in some meth kit, your sleeves would never crack because of heat.
But anyway, the fact that you eat some coolant is not very good. I mentioned it because I see white buildup on sparksm and the fact you are not lean at all tells that head gasket is leaking. I hope thats just small crack in sleeve or in piston ring.
Do you have dipstick blowout? If you put dipstick out and rev on neutral to redline, will you get any oil from it? I see some oil in turbo inlet and that tells you have some gases in your carter.

[mituc]

I never tried to rev the engine without the dipstick. There is very few oil on the dipstick above the marks though.
The oil in the turbo inlet comes via the PCV so yes, the carter gases (crankcase gases) bring some oil vapors along with them.

The coolant is clear just that now it has some traces of black soot, but it's still green and doesn't seem to have lost its cooling properties (it's rated for better than -35C).
I also brought into discussion the head gasket several times when I was at the dealer and they said that the coolant still looks too good to be the case of a leaky head gasket (or if it leaks it does that only under high stress). Since I have very low compression on the cyl 3 and not very good on 2, I think/hope it's the piston rings or ringland.

In therms of engine internals I intend to use SP63 pistons (stock compression ratio, 88mm bore, so 0.5mm over) and some Manley rods. If the Manley rods are not balanced then probably I will have to get some more expensive rods (such as carillo) because the price for the rods + machining them is almost the price of a higher quality set of rods.

[Jackis]

Yeah, me too I'd rather think it's a ringland. And looks like it did some scar on sleeve and gasket and it leeks there under high stress. Anyway, once you disassemble it - everything should be clear.

Manley rods which we used for some time, got rather good wheighing, about 0.5gramm each. So we did not wheigh them for being total equal, but rather equalize each piston+rod pair (by doing some port work on the piston inner part).

Also check out that pistons! Manley Pistons for Mazda MZR-DISI - SPEED PERF6RMANC3

[cdumitru78]

I am subscribing! One more Romanian fellow, although based out of Portland OR now. Just bought an 08 MS3 with some mods and a Stratified tune. Nice build man, lots of great info here.

[mituc]

Originally Posted by cdumitru78 I am subscribing! One more Romanian fellow, although based out of Portland OR now. Just bought an 08 MS3 with some mods and a Stratified tune. Nice build man, lots of great info here.

Stay tuned for more, I'm currently in the process of rebuilding the engine, I just paid for all parts (pistons, rods, gaskets, VVT) yesterday so there's more to come

[Lex]

Originally Posted by cdumitru78 I am subscribing! One more Romanian fellow, although based out of Portland OR now. Just bought an 08 MS3 with some mods and a Stratified tune. Nice build man, lots of great info here.

Awesome more Romanians! We left the motherland when I was just 10.

Mituc looks like you have an Ukranian challenger...

[mituc]

Originally Posted by Putin 2.3T Damn gypsies and their long-running BT builds. I'm a northeastern neighbor, Ukrainian. If I get my build to 450hp before you get yours back on the road.. you will not hear the end of it.

You are even more insane running that 6266 on a stock block than I was wanting as much power as possible on pump gas only from a gtx3071 and pushing 26PSI in 30+ Celsius weather

How big is that 6266? I think it's in the 3582 league, right?

Originally Posted by Lex Awesome more Romanians! We left the motherland when I was just 10. Mituc looks like you have an Ukranian challenger...

World is getting a bit smaller and less sour with all this 2.3DISI-T community...

[Putin 2.3T]

Damn gypsies and their long-running BT builds. I'm a northeastern neighbor, Ukrainian. If I get my build to 450hp before you get yours back on the road.. you will not hear the end of it.

[mituc]

Some of the parts are already here:

The DCR VVT pinion:


...and the Koyorad radiator:


The rest of the stuff (SP63 pistons, Manley rods, L19 head studs, OEM gaskets, main studs and timing/VVT kit) will be here by the end of month most probably.

So next on the list is the WMI kit and the Guardian Angel.

[mituc]

Got a bunch of parts today:


...Including the pistons and rods. I was eager to weight them to pair them properly when I had the biggest surprise of the month: the rods were ALL 593 grams and the SP63 pistons were ALL 355 grams!!! There may be some fractions of a gram differences between the rods and the kitchen scale I have was straight 593 for two rods, for one was going to 592 every like 10 seconds, and for the other one went from 593 up to 594 and then stabilized at 593.

The SP63 pistons are some machined Wisecos which look very good, so if I will ever need new rings it may be easier to get them. And again they look beautiful (I know, they will get gunky next 5 seconds after starting the engine with them in, but still).



Thank you @SPEED6 KILLAH ! Awesome stuff!

The GA and the Cooling mist WMI kit are also on their way here.

[mituc]

The WMI kit is here. Still waiting for the GA (probably will be here next week) and debating if I should get an OCC or not.



The CMGS gauge is pretty big, has a ton of wires and also a thin tube. I will have to leave it hanging somewhere under the steering column or in the glove box until I'll find a better place for it. Drilling that piece of plastic just above the ashtray is also something I'm considering right now, since CP-e doesn't manufacture the single gauge pods any more.

[Mike@Stratified]

This is looking really good. Eager to see the end result!

[Lex]

Woot! Glad the WMI got there safe and sound!

The GA and WMI integrate very easily - connect the yellow wire from the CM kit to the GA blue wire.

[mituc]

Yeah, I guess nobody is more eager than me to see the result If it was for me to take a decision, if I had the timing chain I would have started the build without the GA since that's the easiest part of all to install

I'm still waiting for the timing chain from @EdgeAutosport.com along with the Whiteline ALK and bumpsteer correction kit, I already started a discussion with a local exhaust shop to order for me a more emissions compliant catalytic converter to replace the 400cel ceramic one that came with the Ultimate Racing V1 downpipe (they can re-do the mounting flange to turbo if necessary) and I hope that by the end of March I will have enough miles put on the engine to start tuning for WMI

I'll probably not run meth but some high concentration ethanol that I can find in hardware stores, drug stores (yes! drug stores! ) or denatured alcohol as methanol can be purchased legally here only by companies that can prove they use it as a solvent or degreaser.

[mituc]

Originally Posted by mituc I'm still waiting for the timing chain from @EdgeAutosport.com along with the Whiteline ALK and bumpsteer correction kit,

...which was just marked as shipped. I'm already intensively preparing for more WIN. Like opening the windows to melt the snow outside, that intensively.

[mituc]

Three shipping companies kept me busy today. I received a lot of stuff.

Whiteline ALK:


Whiteline bump-steer correction kit:


Timing chain and the crank pulley bolt:

Well of course in this package from Edge I also had a set of spark plugs, but this doesn't count as I already had one from SP63

Redline Assembly lube and RedLine break-in additive (these were ordered from a local company)


I decided not to use the Millers break-in oil (Millers CRO), but instead the mechanic from the dealer told me I should think of using the Mazda factory oil (Dexelia Ultra 5w30) and eventually some break-in additive. So I choose the one from RedLine.

I'm thinking of performing a mid-hard break-in, something like this:
1. start the car and let it idle 5-10 minutes to make sure there are no leaks and so on;
2. drive it for 20-30 minutes varying RPM up to like 4000-5000 and boost no more than like 8-10PSI and only after 10-15 minutes of driving, + a lot of engine braking;
3. change the oil and drive home (250 miles) like I always do (lots of overtakes, engine braking, mid boosting, a lot of gear changes, no cruise control, and everything hoonigan style).

I'm getting closer and closer from leaving the mid-winning club and joining the high-winning one.

[mituc]

Today I got the last part that I knew I need to go faster with the rebuilt engine. the Stratified GA:



I also went shopping today around town at some hardware shops and got this thing to put together a remote filler for my water/alcohol tank:



Could not find anything for the top end yet, I'll probably go to some scrap yard, get a washer fluid tank and take only the filler part of it.

I'm scheduled for the rebuild on Thu Jan 29 days but I'm still waiting for the nuts and washers of the L19 head bolts from SP63. Hopefully I'll get them in time, I'll see in a few days if I need to reschedule the build.

My car is not the only one BT 2.3DISI-T in Romania any more, there's a 6MPS with a built engine, meth and a GTX3076. Last time I checked it was making a bit more power than I did on 3.5 cylinders but wasn't faster yet. He is getting where is should be as the guy is acquiring parts for 500+WHP even though he doesn't always listen to what I have to say. With some help I will still be able to have a faster car with less peak power

[Lex]

Oo competition. Is this someone I know or on here?

[mituc]

Originally Posted by Lex Oo competition. Is this someone I know or on here?

I don't know if he's a member here, most probably not. To be honest I'm looking at it more like a fellowship rather than competition, as until recently almost everybody was looking at lime like "what does this guy want? add more power to have a bigger reserve for when he exits the bumper to bumper traffic?" .

Originally Posted by Jackis Looking for a first start after a while!

Looks like it's going to take a while... at this point after quite a few days I have no idea when I'll receive my head bolt nuts. I'm looking into what type pr part number they are and considering getting them from somewhere else as I did with the other missing parts from the initial order.

[Jackis]

Looking for a first start after a while!

[mituc]

Now I have head studs washers and nuts! So tomorrow I'll know when the actual build is going to take place after calling it off last week.

The front brakes from Edge also came in. It looks like I'll have to replace the front rotors and pads, probably the right rotor had a defect or was hit very hard. It's strong enough not to see it but when braking lightly after the brakes cool down it feels like the rotor is not sitting straight. Also the left side brakes 8% harder than the right side and when braking violently with cold and dirty brakes the car tends to rotate towards left. So I'm going to re-do the front brakes entirely as well.

[mituc]

Originally Posted by mituc Now I have head studs washers and nuts! So tomorrow I'll know when the actual build is going to take place after calling it off last week.

Feb 17 is the day we begin chapter 2.

[mituc]

Maybe not such a big deal for anyone else in other parts of the world, but around here it is, because no one can acquire legally methanol unless they prove they use it as a solvent/degreaser or anything alike in some industrial process.
But, I found it, and it's legal:



70% methanol, 15% isopropyl alcohol, up to 15% ethanol but at least 90% alcohols. So the "up to 15% ethanol" is what can vary. Apart from this it contains some red colorant and water. WIN!

[ItsNox]

Originally Posted by mituc Maybe not such a big deal for anyone else in other parts of the world, but around here it is, because no one can acquire legally methanol unless they prove they use it as a solvent/degreaser or anything alike in some industrial process. But, I found it, and it's legal: 70% methanol, 15% isopropyl alcohol, up to 15% ethanol but at least 90% alcohols. So the "up to 15% ethanol" is what can vary. Apart from this it contains some red colorant and water. WIN!

That's great to hear - I know I love my meth kit and its great being able to get 55gal drums of M1 for $230. Make sure you clean the nozzle(s) regularly as the dye builds up and will cause blockages.

Sent via Tapafail

[mituc]

Originally Posted by ItsNox That's great to hear - I know I love my meth kit and its great being able to get 55gal drums of M1 for $230. Make sure you clean the nozzle(s) regularly as the dye builds up and will cause blockages.

I assume all I ave to do is to pull it out and clean the nozzle around the splaying hole, right?
Since the company that bottles that alcohol mix is local I may go and pay them a visit and ask them to sell me some of that juice without any colorant in it. I don't know the nature of the dye but since everybody told me that I may experience some build-up because of it I'm just going to take the easy way and simply not use anything with dye.

And an update: I brought the car in yesterday, the downpipe is out, we had a very hard way to figure out how we're going to put the WMI pump and tank because it's very big and I also have that corksport CAI box which I don't really want to get rid of (it barely fits the tru-3 JBR intake filter ), but at this point everything is figured out (the tank will go under the driver side fender bolted on the impact joint, and the pump on the other side of it under the transmission).

The machining shop is also booked and they want to deck the block and head and not only bore and hone the cylinders. Probably they will re-do the crankshaft as well, but I'll find out only after they measure it. I'm probably looking at around $2k labor in total. It's going to be fun...

[mituc]

Ok, so the turbo play is axial, not radial. This is the sound it makes when pushing the shaft back and forward:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jfFdbwDqkI

I will probably leave it in the engine and let it eat the steel dust resulted from the break-in - if there will be any.

The engine is totally apart now. the fresh oil in the turbo housing was from the valve cover breather hose. Maybe the low compression on cyl 2 and 3 was increasing the pressure in the crank case and that was leading to an overall oil pressure increase making the fresh oil form the cam housing to be pushed back into the intake?

Cylinder #2 and #3 had some hair thread cracks on them. Maybe the one in #3 was slightly larger and because of that the top of the cylinder wall had a soot stain in that area.

Otherwise the engine is absolutely and immaculately clean, if it didn't have any oil in it one can get heart surgery in there with 0 risk of contamination.

The SPEC disk and pressure plate are 50% worn. Thinking to replace them if I will have the other clutch reworked soon enough.

[Lex]

Beautifully clean engine especially for the mileage! This is a testament to how you care for it.

[mituc]

The crankshaft has 0 wear, so I just ordered factory size rod and main bearings (Clevite H).
Thanks to @SPEEDPERF6RMANC3 I'm going to have a pretty solid engine to restart the fun with.

[SPEEDPERF6RMANC3]

@Mituc your going to be the first built ms3 in romania?

[mituc]

Originally Posted by SPEEDPERF6RMANC3 @Mituc your going to be the first built ms3 in romania?

I'm going to be the second one this time , I missed the title by about 8 months. But the first one with your L19 head studs and custom pistons, so probably still the strongest motor.

[mituc]

It's almost ready. All that's left is the wiring for the WMI. Everything else is done. With some luck, tomorrow we will bleed the brakes and turn it on for the first time with this new engine.
Today we also put some oil in the engine, about 6 litres of Dexelia Ultra 5w30 and 250ml of redline break-in additive.

Below there are some pictures with the awesome install of the WMI kit. It kind of shows that the mechanic who worked on it has some golden hands.
I don't have any pictures from when the engine was put together as I was 250 miles away trying to make some more money to pay for the labor, but I'll check with the mechanic once we will finish this up.

[mituc]

WMI almost ready, we're like one maybe two hours away from starting the car for the first time after the rebuild.

The CoolingMist stuff that has to enter the cabin is huge, so we couldn't get away without drilling the floor. You can see some wires inthe 3rd picture coming from the CM failsafe, actually only 4 of those wires have to go to the engine bay but that 6mm nylon tube for the boost reading is huge when you have to do this kind of stuff.

[mituc]

The car feels good and is alive. I've put about 600kms on the new engine and in the last 100kms I gave it some boost (14-17PSI).

This is how my cockpit looked like just right after the first 30 minutes drive and just before the first oil change:



This evening I wanted to show my daughter what I'm going to use to make her two Piston Cups like in the Cars/Cars2 movie. What I initially believed it was just a hair crack in the piston ringlands proved eventually to be the ends of a much larger crack.
The pistons are cracked in exactly the same way, the loose piece is about the same size and shape, and in the same spot on the piston, on the exhaust side, 180 degrees away from the intake valve pockets.
@Lex, I remember you were passionate about analyzing cracked ringlands. Here is both of mine

[Jackis]

Nice to see you back on roads!

[mituc]

Long time since last post, the car feels and drives great. Of course it does! Having the car built from stock to where it is now (chassis, engine, suspension) by an Europe Top 5 Mazda technician is something that makes me very proud of.

In the following video clip only the top 3 teams were presented, the Romanian team took the 5th place.

My dear friend Anis, you are one of the best people I've ever met! Thank you!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tBqM4xYhv4

P.S.: @Jackis, your guys were in 3rd place! Congrats!

[mituc]

That moment when you think your car is on meth but it's actually sniffing metal bungs:

https://forum.clubmazda.ro/uploads/m...4d413cd709.jpg
https://forum.clubmazda.ro/uploads/m...2acb3dcda0.jpg
https://forum.clubmazda.ro/uploads/m...cdc9affc59.jpg
https://forum.clubmazda.ro/uploads/m...b1bf7077ab.jpg
https://forum.clubmazda.ro/uploads/m...731757c0b8.jpg