Hi all,

I recently bought used a 2001 manual ZX3 S2 that has been turbocharged by Tom for about 6000 miles. It has the big kid minus intercooler. I bought the car used and have finally been able to drive it around for an extended period of time after installing my quaife. Well I was showing the car off to a friend and he said he smelled oil. I figured it was the gas smell of the car from the chip and just blew it off.

But recently I have noticed that I am burning oil. I got up and looked under the car and it looks like there is oil everywhere underneath the car. It looks like it is coming from the back of the engine but there is alot of oil dripping at the downpipe/flex flange(its not 100% sealed I think and it looks like oil is dripping down).

I notice it mostly when I only get on it about 5 lbs psi and come to a stop; it will blow in front of the car. The smell is bad and it seems to be worst when I first start the car. Sometimes I come to a stop and there isnt a drop of oil smoke at all coming out. One of my friends followed me when I got on it once and he said it was obvious I was burning oil.

I have been really buisy lately and I have no time for a compression test. So without me doing that(Probably next weekend Ill have time) what do you guys think is wrong? I havent lost any boost, car seems as powerful as before, but as when I bought it the idle is kind of rough and it will stall really easily by getting too much gas in the engine (like pulling foreward up a hill 10 feet slowly at like 2k rpms then coming to a stop). Someone mentioned the PCV system could be at fault; the pcv is a boost friendly valve vented to ground with the other line plugged and the valve cover is vented to ground.

Thanks!!
Steve

PS: I tried emailing Tom a few times but he never got back to me [???:)] but I seem to recall reading a happy bday to Tom so if its true have a great one!!!

Havent got an email from you that i can find

If you have oil at the front (engine area) i would look at the oil drain back or oil feed line

If it was an engine going bad issue you would smoke out the tail pipe

Let me know how i can help

Tom

There is no oil past around the oil pan drain nut. The oil return looks fine. I took apart the oil feed tap setup(It has a T and a sender off the prevously plugged port by the starter), it appears a little lose but I cant turn it a full 360 again to tighten it more.

The smoke I am talking about is coming out the tailpipe.

Tom do you use a different email than your HPDYNO one? I sent probably 3 to it within the past 2 weeks but I just got my account activated here so I could talk to you(Activation email problems).

You may of killed a turbo seal or an engine , it will be hard to say till a compression test is done

the hpdyno@aol.com is my only email and i am on AOL IM under hpdyno all the time and leave it on

Tom

OK compression numbers are up.... this is in the order:

passanger 1 2 3 4 drivers (IE facing the front of the car)

1: 190

2: 180

3: 180

4: 170-175 (Noticbly lower than other 3)

I tried putting a little oil into the #4 cylinder but it just spit it back up into the gauge in a yellow frothy foam and pegged the needle.

What do you guys think? I have to take the turbo off in order to pull the tranny sometime soon (I cant even drive the car due to the differential not being shimmed and making all kinds of bad NVH), so I'll be able to get another look at the turbo but it would be nice to know if I have to pull the engine too.

Thanks guys!!
Steve

170-175 is a little lower but not low enought to smoke i wouldnt think

Can you do a leak down test

Tom

I probably can do a leak down test... I have an air compressor but no line or pressure regulator so I would have to go buy them both. I read about it online but I still cant figure out how to do it on our Focus' so could you possibly quick walk me through it? I dont know how to find TDC, how to turn the engine by hand, ect.

Thanks!
Steve

Also I forgot to mention the car really bogs down almost like its misfiring at like 2-3k rpms and my gas mileage is horrendous(20 highway with no boost/10 city).

Ill try to do a leakdown test by next weekend and If I pull the turbo off what am I looking for in a bad turbo?

My header must have some new cracks in it also becasue after the compression test when I poured a lil oil into the cylinder it sprayed it all over the turbo.

Thanks,
Steve

How much oil did you put in?

I'm not sure I just have been keeping it to the top of the fill line. I had an occurance where I left the filler cap off for a drive and lost alot of oil but I'm sure it didn't hurt the car as nothing has changed in the 200 miles since. I probably have lost a quart of oil since the car started smoking if I would have to guess, not that much but my car definately is burning oil.

Sorry, I meant in the cylinder while doing the compression test. A few drops would do so I was trying to figure out how it sprayed all over the turbo.

i have the same number of compression.if is in the back i will probably oil feed line!

The oil feed line in back is a little loose yes, I didn't have a deep socket big enough for the stock sender so I used a plugged port next to the starter. Its as tight as I can get it but that still doesnt explain how oil can get into my exhaust. I'm going to try to do another compression test as soon as I have time and see if just using a few drops of oil will work better.

Steve

OK yesterday I fixed the oil feed line and moved it to the head so no more leaking oil at all. But my car still burns oil but not much. It mostly does it if you drive rather hard for a trip then stop for 10-20 minutes with the car off and restart it, the oil smoke will be pretty bad for a minute. What does this mean?

Thanks,
Steve

It used to mean your valve guides and/or stem seals are bad ,the oil sitting in the valve covers/head waiting to drain down the galleys, instead finding a way down around the valve stem into the combustion chamber...don't know if the zetec uses the same arrangement...