Updates;

-The muffler developed a crack along the far side around the neck welds and on the engine side along the base. Got pretty loud over the weekend so I brought it in and had that fixed with a magnaflow 3" which toned down the note some and really sounds pretty nice now. They didn't really offer much in the way to 'make it right' after they messed things up last time though. Kinda put off there, probably going to go elsewhere from now on.
-After cleaning the pulleys with brakleen and a small flat blade to scrape them clean and replacing the belt with a new gates I finally cleared up that alternator belt squeal at startup.
-I've been having issues with burning oil lately, occasionally I get big plumes of white smoke when hot starting and more frequently I get smoking while idling or cruising. I suspect valve stem seals, but I need to pull things apart to confirm.
-I found oil residue on the under tray and a streak going from the dipstick to the pan and down. More concerning is that I found oil on my turbo, specifically around the turbine side where it attaches to the CHRA. Appears to be coming from the feed threads (see picture). Turbo performance is not impacted so I think it's the feed, and I'm having the same issue as Aidan (drain too small).. Could this be causing the plumes of smoke? Oil failing to drain and working itself out?

And lastly, tonight while checking tension on bolts I found a broken head-to-exhaust manifold stud. Luckily it appears to have broken just behind the nut head, so extraction -should- be easy. I will be pulling all of the studs this weekend for a replacement.

 

Anyone try the SS ARP studs from MR?

MR-EMFK-ARP - MiataRoadster fastener kits - exhaust manifold - MiataRoadster - High-performance service...and parts for Mazda Miata Roadsters

 

My personal setup:

https://www.belmetric.com/fine-10x12...ud-p-1376.html
https://www.belmetric.com/hex-with-f...7s1pn3egpv2mt5

 

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Just used a caliper on all the hardware I have from TSE, biggest ID was the treadstone fitting that attaches to the turbo at just under .5", need to review the efr docs but I believe that's too narrow.

 

BW specifies .5625" minimum

 

I emailed TSE for their advice and will start my hunt for bigger hardware..

In other news, I spent several hours tonight wiring in a new siren for the alarm but the thing was a dud, need to exchange tomorrow and re-run again. Also ordered 10 of each stud and nut from above links.

 

This post discusses the same topic and goes into good detail on it, looks like I may need to look into a 12AN drain.

 

So my current inlet to the oil pan is a 3/8" NPT (6an equivalent) and the fitting I have is a step down from the hose diameter of 10an. I don't really have a good way to fab up a 12an fitting for the turbo, so I'm thinking most likely I will be drilling and tapping for this 3/4" NPT -> 10AN adapter fitting to eliminate restriction. Might be a drill / tap / JBWeld(?) project coming up.

 

the id of that fitting is probably still really small.

 

You think a 12an -> 3/4" would be any better? I don't have anyone lined up easily that can weld aluminum for the turbo side fitting so I need to work that out yet.

I wonder how big the ID of a 10an to 12an upconverter is, perhaps I can get a 12an hose and use the 10an treadstone fitting and immediately scale that up to 12 for the hose / pan fitting?

 

12an pan side. And you can buy special 10an adapters from se power systems. It's mentioned in my psa post

 

Thanks for pointing that out, I missed that portion. I'll give them a call tomorrow.

 

Or your turbo is too low...

 

Pending hearing back from SPS and barring any issues putting in the new pan fitting I plan to install this next weekend while I replace the exhaust studs.

 

40+ kits in service and Tim is the only person to even mention a perceived issue with the drain. I personally have 3 cars running in my direct care using the standard feed/drain lines with no issues. You can upsize the drain if you wish, but it's not causing whatever issue you're having.

 

@soviet is running the same manifold setup as me, with an even smaller drain line. He doesn't have smoking issues and I do. SPS seems to think the drain is also my issue. If I upsize my drain line and the smoking goes away there might be a reason to believe that not all EFRs drain equally.

Your kit is also a top mount, with a long oil drain, that gives plenty of room for oil to return to liquid and drain to the pan.

There are also many other factors that add up, crankcase ventilation, oil weight, oil pressure, etc, etc. Add them all together with a slightly smaller than specified drain line and you might have an issue.

I too am somewhat doubtful that the oil drain is our issue, but at this point I'm out of ideas (for mine). Want to loan me a known working 6758 at MRLS and see if it still smokes?

 

Ryan_G has a straight shot 3/4 inch silicone hose and threw away the 10an fittings and went to something larger but I don't know what. He's still got efr issues with it sending oil into the compressor housing. Southeast Power evaluated the turbo and found no issues with it. Ryan thinks it's getting too much oil pressure and I have to agree he's eliminated most everything else. Boundary VVT oil pump.

 

Sure, he'll even loan you a manifold and dp for the small price of $3100+shipping.

 

Its entirely possible that my turbo is different from yours, since it is one of the earlier ones. Mine is a steel center, not the new aluminium ones.