Who has the Darrell Cox Racing VVT Actuator?
 

Well my 2007 TR MS3 with 69,500 miles just hit trouble this morning. When I turned the car on it made a loud banging sound (metal on metal) for split second then went away. I turned the car off, waited a moment then turned it back on and no sound. Thought it was strange so I went about my drive. After I got to my destination my car sat for a good 45 minutes and when I went to start it back up it made the loud sound again. Now i'm worried!

On my drive home I monitored KR and i wasn't seeing anything out of the normal. When I got home I hopped on MSF and Google to research my problem and come to find out my VVT Actuator is shot. I did check my timing chain a few weeks ago, opened the oil cap checked the chain tension and it was quite loose. So after seeing a loose chain and now hearing this sound, i'm guessing both the chain and vvt actuator needs to be replaced.

I havent called any dealerships or shops to get quotes yet but from what i've seen Mazda has it at a 4hr job and most people are spending anywhere from $850-$1200 to replace this.

My question is does this sound like the correct problem i'm having? With 70,000 miles on my car could it be something else? For those of you who replaced your VVT Actuator, did you buy a new OEM vvt actuator or did you replace it with the DCR vvt actuator Darrell Cox Racing - DCR VVT Actuator (Powered by CubeCart) . Is it worth getting the DCR vs the OEM? I dont even know the cost of the OEM, anyone know?

Is it safe to drive my car for a week or so until I can get my parts in and an appointment made to replace this stuff?

Thanks for the replies and feedback!

Either ptp or dcr.

The sound of vvt failure is, "clack clack clack clack clack" at exactly half engine speed.
I would not consider it a banging sound.

Even if my vvt actuator isn't bad right now its probably best to swap it out since the mechanic will be in there changing the timing chain right?

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Yes.
Why is he changing the chain?

Because its stretched

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http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/foru...in-bolt-93661/

Not sure how long you can wait or how much this stuff goes for, but this guy is selling some stuff.

Absolutely. Do it all at once man, DCR VVT, Chain, tensioner, and CS LW Crank Pulley if you can swing the $.

Free HP IME.

I, and many others, are rockin the DCR with no issues. It's a nice piece.

Here's some info etc:

http://www.mazdaspeedforums.org/foru...g-chain-71935/

How do you know your chain is stretched? If you measured the extension of the tensioner, you would have done it while you were in there.

leave your car sit overnight then the next day remove the oil cap and lift up on the chain. Mine is so loose i can almost remove it off the sprocket. Thats how i can tell my chain is loose.

You should test yours, again be sure to let your car sit overnight and check it the next day. If it's loose you'll probably be in need of a replacement soon.

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You sure it's not the tensioner going?
Does a chain stretch?

Yes, a chain can stretch, or wear... But this test should be done when the car is warm up completely. The tensioner is pressurized with oil , and can back off just a touch when the car is cold. If there is still abnormal slack in the chain after the car is up to temp, then I would replace both. A worn chain, or bad tensioner will also show up as KR when the engine is lugged (chain slapping around inside the cover),

This^
thanks silver.
This was what I was about to get at.

yep i just bought the dcr vvt actuator to get that replaced. I also found an ex-mazda technician that is going to replace my chain and tensioner and do all the labor for $500 out the door including parts/labor. The DCR vvt i had to buy separately so total out of cost to me is $750 to replace everything. I dont plan on selling my car so this should make my car good for another 70k miles.

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ah, so youre the guy that karl is doing this for.

i have to ship him my timing tool set.

Yes Karl is doing both mine and Brett's bbogue. Get all those tools sent up to him asap. Do you have the top dead center peg tool you'll be sending him in addition to the camshaft alignment tool?

yup, both the plate and the peg. stuff gets from tucson to phx in a day. was gonna send it out monday/whenever i get a shipping address from him.

So I tried to check the PU chain this morning as I have noticed the ticking is getting louder. With my valve cover you can not just stick you fingers in to check as they have a block-off that will not allow you to stick anything in there to get at the chain. So at this point my only option is to bring it in to the dealer.

Um no.
Take off the valve cover.

I have never tackled that one, guess I will attempt it tomorrow. I assume it as easy as removing the coil packs, bolts and elec connections anything else I need to make sure not to fuck up?

Do it warm or it'll be a useless task.

I thought it was best to do it cold.

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It's been explained by silver demon why that's the WORST idea.
The tensioner works off of oil pressure, so ideally, you'd want to check it while it's running, but for obvious reasons you cannot.

OK cool makes sense

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Got all my parts ordered to fix this issue. DCR VVT is on the way shipping today. Still on edge if I should order the CS LW Crankshaft pulley or not. Thoughts anyone? I hear it could cause some issues with harmonics or something, not sure what that is but does anyone have any feedback on doing a lw cs pully?

Still not sure why you think you have an issue, but good luck.

?? It's quite obvious i have an issue. When I start my car you can hear the timing chain banging on the valve cover. If that doesn't give it away i dont know what does. My car is also within the scope of affected vin #'s that have the VVT TSB for 2007 MS3's. Granted the vvt may not be bad but with 70,000 miles on my car it's bound to go and since the mechanic has to be in there replacing the timing chain, tensioner, guides and everything else we might as well replace the vvt actuator as well. Preventative maintenance so we dont have to go back in there again say 5-10k miles from now.

You never stated it was hitting the valve cover, or that you pulled the valve cover to check for scarring.
All you said was you checked tension the wrong way and that you had a banging sound at startup. I wouldn't consider chain slap a banging sound.

My apology i was getting threads confused, i've posted about this on a few other existing vvt threads.

Ahh.
Good luck.

i got the shipping address from karl, so ill be sending out the stuff to him tomorrow morning.

Perfect thanks man.

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Question does anyone know if the dcr vvt will fit a reg non speed mz3? My dealer doesnt know all they say is they look the same I need to know because im having this issue as well I have video on youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pC6d...e_gdata_player the noise im making

That's either a tensioner pulley bearing, or idler pulley bearing for your serpentine belt.
Not your vvt. The vvt noise is only on startup at cold starts.
To answer your question though, if the vvt actuator numbers are the same from speed 3 to regular 3, than the dcr will fit.
Do you even have vvt?

Yes I have vvt

Well it's not your noise.

Found out today the vvt was I guess loose at idle it was shaking causing the noise