2000 Millenium Edition Millenia ?s

BDSCRPN

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2000 Mazda Millenia/ Millenium Edition
I'm new to owning a mazda, however have owned a number of varied makes models of most everything else. No stranger to working on any type of engine except this Miller cycle. Really no much of a difference diagnosing or anything but....

...This 2.3 miller cycle is a bit of a puzzler with these know oil burning issues. Question is, any mechanics figure out the cause of the problem or is this a Mazda Engineering issue that they will not share with the general public? I understand the bearing issues with the Lysholm SC, not a problem cause, found the replacement parts through an SC rebuild site. Problem is the time it take to do the work and the seemingly idiotic design in the first place. I'm figuring that the issue stems from infrequent oil changes causing the vacuum lines to clog and pcv and egr valves to malfunction. Thus in turn causing coking of oil in the SC and the oil pan which causes this sc bearing to have blow by due to sludge and 'oil cheese' in them. The graphite bearing seals just can't move correctly and thus oil in the charge air and intake system causing these otherwise amazing engines to foul badly.

Please correct me if I'm wrong or anyone has practical first hand knowledge of these engines. I have a number of other questions about this engine as I would like to 'enhance' the performance. But need to sort out this oil burning issue first. Also is it common for the valve cover gaskets to leak? Cause this one is and unfortunately due to design placement the Alternator is getting doused in oil.

I do have the full gasket kit or this engine already but wanting to see what input I can get and suggestions for better fuel economy and or power output I can find prior to full tear down. ie better pistons heads, blowby valve replacment, exhaust systems, or whatever. Basically find the best course for this car either go economy fuel consumption or can this thing zoom zoom!
 
WOW... nice first post lol. unfortunately im not very familiar with the 2.3 since i have a 2.5. But i do know that not much can be done to it to make it go zoom zoom. unfortunately this forum doesnt have much millenia people. im not tryin to spam or anything but i would suggest you go over to mazdaworld.org for that. that forum is run by millenia owners and 929 owners. jus tryin to point you to a forum with more milly info.
 
first off, for an engine thats 10+ years old, a little bit of oil seepage is expected. gaskets get old and crusty, and they start to leak.

second, there shouldn't be anything exotic about the engine that would make a rebuild or operation much different than a conventional engine. the miller cycle is just a differnt means at attempting to get better efficiency from the output. check out HowStuffWorks.com to see if they have an explanation on the differences. its a pretty slick operation, compared to the 'conventional' Otto cycle.
 
Well thanks for the suggestion of the other site. Did find some good material not listed here. As for the miller cycle engine was just stating I have worked on most everything else except for the miller. but like I stated not much difference either way.
 
if your alternator is getting doused, i would check the oil filter area. the oil press switch is there, and that is a common problem. another is the oil cooler/heater. this is a "sandwich" cooler, and it goes between the filter and the head. between it and the head is an o ring, and over time, and hot oil, it gets hard and shrinks, causing oil leaks. mpn KL01-14-702A. with the filter off, you will see a nut. remove the nut, disconnect the coolant lines, and the cooler comes off. however, you will need a deep socket that is thin wall, i think it is 30mm, i forget. i have one that i turned down on a lathe for the output flange nut on a bmw, and it fits perfect, but the size has been ground off. we have 2 99 s', and i have already changed both, they both have about 140k on them
 
yes valve cover gaskets are known to leak on the milly also pistion rings after awhile they wear out allow oil to seep above the pistion and cause a massive amount of oil loss cause by obviously it getting burnt
 
I've got a bit of experience fixing these.... Change the vacum lines and change the oil every 2500 miles... I would also suggest upgrading those vac line ties and the intake manifold.. This fixed my intermittent del and TCS issue which can be common in these miller cycle of engines.. They are great when taken care of.. I had to spend about 2500 upgrading various engine and trnny components but well worth it... This is why I made the smart switch from Mercedes to Mazda.. This video shows this initial problem before the repairs and upgrades...

Hope this helps

[video]https://m.youtube.com/?#/watch?v=KU3xQJ8-kgE[/video]
 
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