Total Engine Teardown! Mazda 2.3L TURBO MZR. Mazdaspeed 3 6 CX-7, Another One!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- My name is Eric and I own and run a full service auto salvage business called Importapart located in the Saint Louis MO area. Part of our model is dismantling and selling parts from rare and niche market engines. I've torn down everything from an LS7 to a Renesis rotary engine. There are over 20 teardown videos to watch! Check out my playlist of engine teardowns here: • Blown Up Engine Tear D...
In this video I tear apart a 2.3L Turbo Mazda MZR Engine, found in mazdaspeed 3, mazdaspeed 6 and Cx-7. This is a Fomoco-mazda joint effort designed engine and I believe many of the faults lie in from that conglomeration. This was probably the best MZR I've torn down condition wise, in the last year or two. Lots of great parts to sell!
If you'd like to buy parts from this engine, or others I've torn down, email us at Importapartsales@gmail.com.
Thanks for watching and if there are any engines you'd like to see torn down, feel free to leave a comment about it.
Catch ya on the next one!
-Eric
July 4th weekend Saturday night teardown. Here we go. Our boy always looks out for us.
Cool video! It's weird, I work on cars all day at work, then come home and relax watching other people take stuff apart. Lol. One thing I did notice is, how you still, even if it's junk, you still loosen the head bolts in sequence. That's pretty cool, like muscle memory takes over. Keep up the good work!!! And thanks for doing the videos.
It's not muscle memory. Those parts are still good😜 of course he would save the head.
You're very entertaining, Eric. Don't let your imminent success go to your head and ruin your humility. Best wishes.
Honestly all in all it's not a bad motor. 150k on my 08 and it's going strong. MAINTENANCE MAINTENANCE MAINTENANCE. that's all I can say
Your videos are one of my favorite to watch. Every time you have a tear down of any engine it's the first I click on. If you could do 3 or more a day I would watch every second of all of them. I know im not alone on that statement. It could be 5 LS engines a day I would watch every one of them. There are other content creators doing same thing on YT but for whatever reason they are not you doing them. I enjoy yours a lot more. Keep em coming
You are an asset to TH-cam
I've viewed many and people could learn from presentation. Clear, informative, good pace, additional information and what to look for, cause and affect, thorough. And not monotoned. Thank you
The crazy thing about the timing chain is that owners have figured out you can use the timing chain from the Ford 2.5 Duratec which is a heavier chain and it will run on the 2.3 MZR just fine. So it's not even a packaging decision
I have this same engine setup in my cx-7 almost 300,000km no issues yet. Their not bad if you maintain them
Hush. Don't be telling everyone the secret to engine longevity
My MS3 has 220k miles with all original components and it's still going strong
@@NixonAngelo oh shit! Mines getting close!
Mine made it to 86k miles before it grenaded itself. But it was fun. I was making over 380 at the wheels when it blew.
Is it a 2.3L Turbo though?
Got a mazdaspeed 3 with 211,000 miles on it so far without a rebuild, so id say thatd a win for a turbo'ed 4 cylinder
I suspect whoever bough that engine decided to change the balancer and lost cam timing. Those 2 tiny knicks in the piston is where they met.
A stupid idea of not using keys as manufacturers have done so for well over a hundred years.
Planned obsolescence. The m.....f.....ers.
im a whole 3 months late but here i go:
a few years ago we had a cx7 with one of these in the shop that needed valve seals and someone had the brilliant idea of pulling the head, just marking the chain timing with a paint marker... little did he know that the crank sprocket was free floating where only keeps its position after the balancer is tightened to 90ft lbs and the crank has to be locked in place by the firewall side in one of the counterweights from the side of the block... long story short that was 8 exhaust valves and 2 intake valves for a whopping total of 1.5k only on valves on us... and the turbo was leaking a little from the front impeller... after that i sworn to never repair a ford for cheap nor to own a ford or ford related brand ever, sorry for the added salty rambling, cheers!
Can't imagine what sort of brain thinks, Oh just tighten the balancer pulley tight enough and everything will stay in time.... lol
@@robertf6344 im 3 for 3 never had one come out of timing if you tighten that bolt right
It's beyond dumb - you have to dismantle the high pressure fuel pump and a host of other pieces to insert a timing plate... cost of machining a key would no more then the diamond washers they use
Great timing chain info.
I asked my mechanic when I got my 2010 Mazda 6 @ 42K when will I have to do the timing chain, he said never. Right now I am at 329K. Runs very well. That’s 329,000 miles BTW.
Eric, you should do a post edit and explain what killed it, then put on a pair of sunglasses like Horatio Cane in CSI: Miami. Like for the Escalade engine "A lack of oil and maintenance caused this engine to put a rod through the block. That's when murder......came knocking" then a quick blurb of the theme song. I don't know. Sounds goofy but watching these and figuring out where things went off the rails or killed the engine is the best part of guessing. The OG's will light up the comment section within minutes of the video coming out saying what our predictions were. That's the fun.
Great video! I own a CX-7 with this engine. Had 94K when I got it as a one owner, now has 154K and is still going strong. Hopefully it will for a while longer.
That self-clearing timing chain option. I’ll be looking to see more of that in other engines. Innovation by engineers continues to amaze me.
?? Your being sarcastic right
@@SavageZebra67I'm glad he didn't respond because he obviously is
Owned a speed 3 for a number of years. I had a tuner and ran like 21 lbs of boost and had a turbo inlet and mazdaspeed intake. The thing was a ton of fun to drive. I beat that thing up for 80k miles and the only thing that went wrong was the starter cable came loose and had to be fixed at the dealer. There was also something that had to be done under warranty for the transmission. I even got a new clutch out of it. Ran 13.9 at the strip and got it to 150 once. Lol maybe I was one of the lucky ones?
Omg you took it to the dealer for them fix that little connector right
No you wasn’t, have heard a lot of good things about this engine.. I had a Mazdaspeed protege with a FS engine, which is a little weaker than this told this one didn’t have a problem with it. Please note that the MT 24 weather tech car engine was based on Mzr Mazda win some races with it and almost won the championship came in second
Enjoy seeing different engines internals and finding damage, I've learned alot. Keep them coming.
Yea!! Trying to find something to watch on tv nothing good. Glad you posted A video. 😁👍
I bought a brand new Mazda cx7 back in the day and loved it!! Didn't get a year out of it before the turbo blew. After some research I found out these motors were garbage and got rid of it before it blew again!!
That was the best looking parts engine I've seen you take apart.
The best Saturday night bedtime stories!! Thanks.
In case anyone was wondering, the W on your oil does not stand for water 😂😂😂😂
You learn something new every day
I use 0W-20 just in case. 0W means zero water right?
Stands for winter?
My dad has been a Mazda Master Tech for over 30 years. He said that this engine in the MazdaSpeed 3 and Speed 6 rarely, if ever fail. He's never personally seen one in either of those vehicles. In the CX-7's they're almost ALL junk!! Reason: People who one the Speed vehicles SERVICE them. They do it often and with quality lubricants. Most CX-7 owner stretch the intervals to the MAX or more causing the VVT issues and the turbo failures! Do oil changers every 3,000 miles ............. no problems! Every 6,000 or more ............. = fried motors.
And from one Mazda Master tech of 23 years to another, your Father is 100% right. I have no idea why it's the case, but CX-7 owners simply refused to replace the oil every 10,000 klms or 6 months. In the early days of GDI turbo engines especially, changing the oil on time was of the upmost importance. Even these days with SN grade oils you have to change the oil 'no later' than 10,000 klms or 6 months. Due to the fact CX-7 owners just couldn't seem to change their oil, turbo oil supply lines clogged solid with carbon wasn't uncommon. I change the oil in my MPS every 5000 klms, currently at 270,000 klms on the unopened engine no problems.
Although I've never had a turbo MZ 2.3L, I owned 3 different 1st gen Mazda 3's with the naturally aspirated 2.3L/manual trans, and each went well over 200K miles with routine maintenence. A thermostat here, an alternator there, etc. I was an owner/operator bank courier, going about 65K miles a year. I changed oil at 5K intervals.
Hurray, it’s tear down day. The best 4th gift for an old man. Thanks. Be safe. Peace
I have an '08 2.3 non turbo and the only issue with changing the timing chain is having to move the passenger CV axle out of the way in order to put in n the timing tool. Overall the only suggestion I would make to anyone in order to get the proper torque on the crankshaft boltt is to use a flywheel lock. And also for taking it off because trying to use a spanner took or crankshaft pulley tool is a pain. Unless you know how to fabricate something to hold it because that the last 90° turn takes a lot of torque to get that bolt to move. And I'd apply semi permanent glue as well just as a precaution measure since thats all that's holding it all together as he mentioned. It's a basic engine. And I do agree about the timing chains that they are pretty light. And you'd think they'd have made a beefier one for the the turbo model but I see that's not the case. .
I really enjoy these teardowns. I’m sure why. Maybe because each one tells a story about the life of an engine.
Wow, 1.6K likes and 9 dislikes. That's a ratio you don't see often, says a lot about this channel and its quality of content.
I’ve owned 2 Mazdaspeed6! One abused and one taken care of! Even the abused one was reliable never left me stranded! Problem with UsA is your bad fuels! We put RON99 in our cars in Europe and they never blow up!
I would really like to see a 2.7 ecoboost engine tear down. 2015 f150. Love your videos man, Don't stop!!
Like your comments on engine design matters, keep them coming even if they involve complaining.
That timing chain comparison is legit. Tiny ass chain for what what it’s being asked to do!
Good job on the improvements and taking biases and personal opinions out. Subbing now 🤘🏻
There's nothing wrong with the chain. It's a different design to the standard LF/L3/L5 engines which don't contain particulate matter in the oil due to the fact they're port injected and not GDI, the chain on the GDI L3-VDT is a roller design and contrary to popular opinion rarely stretches, roller designs aren't weaker than the multi leak design, they simply handle the increased friction as a result of increased particulate matter in the oil better than the chain used on the LF/L3 and L5 engines. What happens is the pin locking the internal stator in the VVT actuator wears and fails resulting in the stator moving in relation to the outer housing as oil pressure bleeds off giving the impression of chain stretch when it's just a worn VVT actuator.
I've worked on all Mazda engines from the B3/B5/B6 and BF engines right through to FS and KL/KE (and other V6 designation) engines and the Mazda MZR/Duratec engines really aren't that much harder to time considering they use chains and not rubberised/Kevlar belts.
Nice, really good start of the day watching engine being torn down :)
Am really enjoying the variety of engines you are doing - have learned HEAPS I wouldnt have found out otherwise - good job sir!!
I appreciate everything you do you teach me everyday even though I have to watch your videos multiple times but what I can teach you is WD-40 goes a long way
Your channel is WAY underrated. You kind of remind of the Discovery Channel's Dr. G Medical Examiner only you do autopsies on engines instead of people. Back in the 80s Mazda made sweet 2 liter 4 cylinders so it's a shame to see where they are now.
Their latest SkyActives seem pretty robust, so far my fathers 2019 MX-5 is still running like new after 100,000 miles. granted my dad takes good care of the oil changes.
The lack of keyway on the crank sprocket is something I personally have never understood. Maybe it was a cost thing?
Worst part is that engines derived from the Mazda L family(specifically, the Ford 2.0L Duratec and EcoBoost) still retain this quirk.
The space for the timing chain is the same on the 2.5/2.3 N/A engine as the 2.3 turbo engine. A lot of people are swapping 2.5 block's on their speed cause their cheaper and they fit.
I'm guessing Mazda fixed a lot of the issues with these engines. I was watching a repair video, from Mazda, on the Skyactiv and the specifically pointed out the crank was keyed unlike the old engines, and that it was very easy to time.
No! The problem is US gas quality! We put over 200K miles on the speeds in Sweden! The only thing kills these cars is rust!
Your tool holes on the block are actually used as location holes for all the machining of the block. Every machining process relies on those two holes... The holes are the first machining process from the raw casting...
Interesting tear down. The MZR has had a long history with Mazda making some serious mistakes that have haunted the MZR with many failing at relatively low mileages. The Honda engineers completely shame the Mazda engineers when it comes to designing motors. Honda 4 cylinder engines make more horsepower per liter and yet have far fewer problems.
Honda leads in the NA 4 cylinder department.
Honda does some really good stuff but let's not give them a total pass either. Around 2006, the cracked Honda Civic blocks come to mind.
Alan Eliason I wasn’t trying to give Honda a total pass but most of their 4 cylinders are very solid. Some survive being boosted to 1000+ hp. Their are issues with their 3.5 liter V6.
I had a Mazda speed six, was a great car, sleeper, surprised many a BMW
I had one too, was an awesome ride, but kept having issues with the rear diff and diff mounts breaking.
Me too, but it was rotting away soooo quickly. Seriously, it felt like it had zero rust protection.
That is from a Gen2. The piston and con-rod design differs. Not bad for a primitive platform. Over in South East Asia the prices just for the engine and manual trans from used dealers is holding up and the Gen2 are costly.✌
It's so weird that Nissan uses the same chain for their engines' timing system and the pulley system in their CVT's. Probably why their CVT's are widely considered the most reliable.
sArCaSm
😂😂😂
May God forgive you fer lying.😇😇😇
Mazda really went to shit didnt they?
Half of the stuff they offer these days is crap.
@@alouisschafer7212 Mazda doesn’t even make or use this engine anymore. This engine was made with collaboration with Ford and was poorly engineered. Their current 2.5L is very reliable and does not have that many issues. Do some research before you talk, you’ll sound less stupid.
@@skydiva1998 The 2.0 and 2.5 Skyactiv engines have been around for about a decade. Also the 6 speed automatics. They don't have many problems. The information is out there. Also, I own a 2016 Mazda 3, 2016 CX-5, 2018 CX-5. Nothing but routine maintenance. I put about 30k miles/year on the Mazda 3. The M3 has averaged about 41 mpg over 130k miles...mostly easy rural driving at 55 mph.
Canister filter , probably another minivan engine, judging from the varnish inside. My MS3 is over 200k, but it always had M1 and good filters on it. This engine will not tolerate indifferent maintenance .
My personal thought , that block does look salvageable . A good bore and hone job and it most likely be good to go .
I find it curious that you will announce that you know nothing about an engine but then go on to list all the parts that have to be removed before some other part can be detached. Regardless, I love the mystery that your teardowns create as to why an engine sits under your wrench instead of under a hood hauling some boozer to the local boozery. Can't get enough.
Dude love your channel, keep up the good work.
I'm glad you took my suggestion and eliminated the whole talking like a chipmunk thing it is beneficial to you and me and everything around us both you have immense knowledge of how these things work and how how these things fail it teaches all of us to look for possible disaster problems in the future it helps us all I'm glad you took the time to slow down the speed capture to explain what you're talking about as you do it cuz it means a lot as you're watching it and you here on comprehensible verbal language of something you can't understand you don't know what you're missing thank you for taking the time
i love watching these vids, such great information even if its not the same engine i'm working on
Wish I had the pictures of my DISI when my friend pulled it after it blew. Had like 3 baseball sized holes in the block.
My 08 MS3 has 220k miles original everything and it's running strong
Thank for another video about the teardown down on a Mazda engine.
Put a few bolts in the crank and use a prybar between the bolts to turn it over next time 😉
Hey Eric, I recently purchased a mazdaspeed3. The guy says the engine trans and turbo are new and has paper work to prove it (about 17k on each). He has a bunch of bolt on stuff and a couple different ots+ tunes. Any extra steps I should take besides oil changes to ensure the reliability of it?
I think, if you ever decide to quit turning wrench, you have a future in Stomp. The wood block percussion while turning the crank was rhythmic.
Nice one dude glad you got some good parts from it? Please make more videos they bring me joy from the crazy world and the crazy wife I live wit? Keep safe dude
“Built in tool holders” 😂😂😂😂😂😂
That’s hilarious!
I'm gonna stay tight lipped.... Okay, that might be a lie.... Heh heh heh! I enjoy the commentary... That's how we learn... Keep it coming....
Im leaking from timing cover, will i need to retime? Probably right since the friction easgers have to come off
Hello..
I've seen you scrap these Mazda L3 engines.. very interesting..
I'm fixing to to a build over of a LF engine that shears some of the measurements as this one...
If you don't mind.. I'd like to get the depth of the Piston cylinder from the deck of the block to the bottom of the cylinder and spacing of the narrowest point between the cylinders or the thickness of the cylinder wall...
I'll greatly appreciate your help... Thank you...🙏
Tool holders? I'll have to check it that out next time I get a chance.
I’m probably talking out my ear, but the Nissan chain looks like a link-belt type, and the Mazda looks like a true roller. Despite the “weight” differences, the Mazda chain would be the superior unit. Roller = less weight/friction, and that should mean higher revving and less “stretching”…
I'm now curious to the technical differences, and may need to throw toyota and Honda in my mix for extra education on belt engineering
My old 323 wore out a chain. I think it's a Mazda thing. I like Toyota's and Suzuki's.
my mazda speed 6 engine has a tapping noise, i just changed the bearings but its still there. any idea what it could be?
That Z3M 😍😍
Hey Eric, like your vids, could you do a few on salvaged parts that are ready to ship? Especially Blocks.
Do you ever see Audi 2.0T engines? Could you tear one down for us sometime? Keep up the good work!
looks like a short block at least. not a bad find.
What can couse the engine to smoke a fter changing engine oil
Thanks for another great tear down
What are the top 7 components on these mate that sell really well .
So you have three teardown videos of the 2.3 MZR, do you see these similar issues in the 2.3 non-turbo?
Not nearly, no
Question: Do you pay less for an engine that has been sitting outside, has questionable background or is missing parts like this one?
Typically no, because a lot of these get shipped in. It’s a mixed bag. If one is really bad or missing major parts it’s usually cheaper
you gonna love toyota 1GR - FE
I nervously watch this video as I baby my MS 6.
Would it be possible for you to tear down a 2.0L EcoBoost at some point? From what I understand, they're pretty heavily derived from the Mazda 2.3L Turbo.
Ford 2.3 turbo* everything on yhis engine is stamped with FoMoCo
@@lomfmur still derived from the Mazda L block.
Nice video Adam Sandler
Why don’t you like carquest oil filters? From what I can see the inlet holes looks like it from purolator. In that case i would stay away from as well
I'm confused. You can easily just polish those cams with a Terry cloth? Cams are usually really hard metal and rarely actually pit from rust.
I'm not much of a Mazda fan, but I will say, those were some beefy looking rods. The big ends had a lot of meat around the bearings.
Don’t need to be one, it’s basically a Ford engine anyways. And yeah the rods are strong but they’re genius over at Mazda/Ford and if you boost under 3k you can bend up
Can’t you just upgrade the chain or do they not manufacture a better quality chain?
Maybe it’s just me but I could have sworn you pulled the caps off 2 & 3 first then in the next shot all 4 seem to be on. Did you put 2 & 3 back on to try and rotate the crank ?
I did. I used the crank to push the rods and pistons to the top of their bore. I reinstalled them, and then pulled them all once every piston was at the top.
Can you pull down 3L 1kd toyota prado diesel
what is a keyed crank ive looked around and could never get a solid answer
Has usually a slot in the end of the crank so that the sprocket can only fit on in one alignment.
I have a cx7 with this engine in it. Is it a good idea to add an extra litre of oil to help prevent oil starvation, or would that damage the engine?
It is a bad idea to fill above the maximum marking on the dipstick. If you're worried about oil usage just check it monthly and maybe carry a small bottle with you.
Hey mate do you know anyone who tares down the mazdaspeed3 gearbox /diff chasing some parts cv shaft going in on LH side to diff very loose ?? Regards from Australia 🇦🇺
In relation to the heat tab. Isn’t it possible many years ago someone bought this used engine installed it in a car. It could have powered the car for many years before it failed and you got it.
Any chance of a 3.6 Pentastar?
Cam chains: thinner are lighter and speed up more quickly under accel. Those chains are fine for the purpose.
Nah.
There is a lot of load on those chains driving the valvetrain at a few thousand RPM.
Id rather have stronger chains than undersized chains.
The chain is specifically designed for high particulate application and can handle the load of the HPFP just fine. The problem is morons that can't tell stretch from a failed VVT actuator locking pin.
Send it my wayy i need a block to build with forged internals
Can you doe a teardown on a Suzuki xl7 2.7 2002
530 full synthetic, premium gas, and a heavy foot is all you need to keep em running.
Premium gas what tha fuck?
@@tashey1203 correct.
8:11 If peeing your pants is cool, consider me "Miles Davis"
Billy Madison, classic🤣🤣🤣
Why didnt you just put the bolt back in the crank and use the air impact?
I didn’t have the bolt, or I would’ve
I like how you just don't hold back on these engines "tool holders for your tools... Because you're always going to be working on it" 🤣
I own an 07 ms3 and can confirm about the timing issues lol
I havent watched far into the video but you can see the valve cover has previously been timing chain clearanced
What kind of gloves do you wear?
Did that weak assed chain have FoMoCo stamped on it?
First gen 3.4 Toyota Tacoma/4runner engine please!
6:55 That chain looks like it came off of a motorcycle. To say that you couldn't just throw a stronger chain at it seems really strange, especially considering its importance.