Turbo Issues: Assistance Needed

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2018 Mazda CX5 Machine Gray
Hi all, I've got some noises and problems coming from under my hood that don't sound right.

I just got through replacing my broken LSD with a new welded one. So far the transmission seems to be running great. However, no sooner have I got the LSD fixed I have a new problem. I've got weird noises coming from the exhaust/turbo area. Its sounds like a whining belt except it's coming from the middle of the engine bay. It whines during idle, it whines in reverse and it whines even more during acceleration. It is intermittent with intervals about 10-20 seconds.

When I bought the car the tech said that there was a leak in the drain back line of the turbo. Could it be that there the turbo has no oil? I also notice that once my turbo timer shuts the car off the turbo spools after the car has shut off. I don't ever remember my turbo spooling off AFTER the car has been shut down. Does the engine oil supply the turbo?

Any help is appreciated. My car knowledge is limited so if you have more questions I'll do my best to answer them. I'm pretty fed up with my MSP right now and I'm hoping this isn't a big deal and can be fixed by replacing a seal or gasket or something.
 
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I think u should post a vid with audio so people can hear the noise. Might be a bit hard to hear if u have exhaust ,etc but worth a shot .also,post your location since someone on here can probably help u out if they are local to u
 
Dollars to donuts that's your turbine wheel scraping the inside of the housing. If you've got an oil leak and your turbo isn't being properly lubricated, then bad things happen in a hurry. At least that's what it sounds like to me. You can take the turbo out and see for yourself to make sure.
 
Yes the engine oil feeds the turbo.

If its not getting oil things get ****** up in a hurry!

Sounds like its time to upgrade or rebuild to me...
 
Thanks for the input. I think I now have more questions though. I'm pulling some information here on the forums and this is what I am gathering. Please correct me if any of the information below is wrong

Garrett T25 Turbo is stock. Replacement is bolt on. Flange needed?
gasket info: part #N3A1-14-293 for the flange on the block
Wastegate actuator should be replaced

I kinda want to do a sanity check to make sure its not my engine knocking before I go spend a couple hundred on a turbo. Any way I can do this without running the car too much? I don't want something to become dislodged and really make its way into the engine and have it seize up. Once again, the first guess that it is the turbo is that A. Noise is coming from there. B. Noise continues after car shuts off (like a fan blade whirring), C. Mazda dealership told me I had a SMALL leak around the turbo return line. D. Pistons, Crankshafts, and engineblocks in general don't squeal as much as they do clunk. I am not seeing any white smoke coming out the back.

Also I am guessing this noise is NOT reversible with a few seals?

My car eats through a lot of oil but I always make sure its filled up. I find it hard to imagine that a small leak in the return line would be the problem? Bad bearings maybe?

Now I have been wanting to upgrade my MSP for a while and although this is not the best circumstance for this I would like to look into upgrading the turbo. I see alot of numbers flying around. If someone could point me in the right direction I am looking for a turbo at $1000 plus or minus $150 or so (parts only, gaskets, flanges, seals, tubes, etc etc). I've seen the numbers T3, T4, T25, T28, T35 thrown out and I'm not sure which ones to start looking at. I'm heading over to the FS section right now to look at what is available. Is there anything else I should be considering at this point? Which ones are bolt on and which ones need modification

Any Mazda guys/gals around Chattanooga that can help?

Sigh, Sorry for all the questions and overload of information.
 
Oh btw I haven't seen a turbo replacement guide anywhere on the forums. Anybody know of one or willing to give pretty detailed instructions?
 
Basically I would say u need to do a lot of searching around google and start crunching some numbers.

And having a small leak will not make u go through mass amounts of oil, but u have to understand if ur turbo isn't getting lubricated and it starts wearing badly then it will burn oil and pretty much mar everything internally.

Depending on what ur plans are u may have to upgrade a lot more than just the turbo. Chances are u will want a fmic and larger injectors to name a few, and with any changes in your setup u will definitely need a tune.
 
If you had work done to the trans, why wouldnt you suspect it to be that? Did you put shock proof oil in there for the LSD? If the turbo is leaking at the drain back, then its getting oil. Otherwise there wouldnt be anything leking AFTER the turbo. 133k is plenty of miles on the stock turbo, and it could be that, but also sounds like something is loose. After replacing the turbo, and the noise still continues, look into the flywheel bolts.
 
I am not suspecting it to be the transmission based on the fact that the noise occurs in neutral as well as all gears. It also occurs during idle. It is a whirring/squealing noise rather than a grinding/clanking noise. The car shifts beautifully throughout all gears and isn't causing any problems even when I drove home after the trouble started. I am going to go do a sanity check with the transmission fluid levels and go talk to the mechanic tomorrow.
 
That does not sound good....A very quick check before throwing money at it: Remove the cold pipe form your turbo (from the air filter to the turbo inlet) with the engine off. Use a hair dryer on the junctions to make it easy to remove, or else you'd be pulling on it like a mofo. Be carefull on the plastic nipple feeding the BPV, that POS was glued on the plastic pipe and it breaks easily...God bless epoxy glue....Then take a look at your turbo inlet to see if there is oil or some blade chunks floating in there. Take the turbine shaft and try to move it. If it moves, you are in trouble. I think all MSP have issues with the oil return line seal, they leak a bit (some drops once is a while). The car would puff blue smoke if your turbo is passing oil. A good check to see if the engine itself is running like crap is a compression test.

A good point was made about your LSD work, maybe something is loose in there and it's rattling. Good luck!
 
Do not drive or even turn the motor over!!

100% dead turbo scraping the housing and I suggest doing a compression test after checking the intake piping for any compressor wheel fragments
You can get a compression tester at the autoparts for $20.
 
My coolant was low when I opened the hood. Would this cause noise? I did not see any signs of overheating. I was so concerned with noise I didn't see if my thermostat was running hot.
 
Pull off the intake piping from the turbo compressor housing and look inside the turbo you will see oil pooled up and the compressor wheel chewed up. Spin it by hand and you will find the problem!
 
Update: I took a look inside the compressor side of the Turbo and Waalahh the compressor fan spins freely and I can see where it is scraping the housing. Thanks for ur help and patience everyone.
 
The next step for me is to try to find out why the turbo went bad. Where exactly am I looking for coolant in the oil? How do I check to make sure oil and coolant are flowing properly in the new turbo
 
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That is without a doubt a turbo w/ the BB toasted. These turbos dont like oil starvation. I would put a new turbo and install a lower flowing orifice on the bottom.
 
Sounds like u cooked the bearings in the turbo cuz it wasn't getting lubricated properly since ur oil line was leaking
 
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