Oil leak near alternator
 

Hey guys and gals, I'm new here and I tried searching before posting this but had no luck.
I have a 2012 MS3 with BPV, SRI and Test Pipe. It only has 30k on it and just noticed i have an oil leak on the back of the motor near/behind the alternator. I can't see in there well enough to pinpoint where it's coming from exactly so I was wondering if amyone has had this problem or if it's a known issue. I've owned the car since 250 miles and can't believe I already have an oil leak at only 30k....very discouraging.

Check the oil return line from the turbo.
I have / had the same problem since I installed the BNR S1. I installed two new gaskets at the oil return line, I hope its gone now ... but I have to verify that.

I would take a look at the oil feed line. It's right underneath the alternator and the oil there is pressurized. Get the car on a lift and take a look. Might need to remove the plastic engine cover to see it

Thanks for the info. I have to change the oil soon so i'll check it out when underneath it. If it is the return line, will just tightening it down again fix it or will i have to replace gaskets? Newb questions but I'm new to these and turbo cars.
Thanks

Unfortunately, I cannot answer this. Tightening the bolts did not help in my case so I replaced the gaskets. But I still have to take a look underneath the car tomorrow If it's dry now.

No problem. I'll just try tightening first, then gaskets if that doesn't work. What gaskets did you go with? I assume (pretty obvious really) that aftermarket gaskets would be better, so I want to get quality.

I bought the OEM Mazda gaskets at the local dealer as I needed them immediately.

Oops sorry Fonsi, i meant to vote you up but the buttons on my phone are small and it down voted. Can't freakin change it now. :(

Okay, thanks for all the help guys. I'll get it sorted out. I feel better knowing it's something that happens sometimes and not something serious or something broke. :)

Off topic. How are you monitoring fuel pressure? Do you have an accessport for your mods?

No monitor or accessport robspeed, only have those 3 mods and i didn't know those were enough to need monitoring!!

Well you deleted a cat on a gen 2 with no hpfp internals. You could be in trouble and not even know it. I assuming you don't have a tune? Get an accessport man it'll give u a nice gain and piece of mind.

Correct, no tune yet. I kind of went by how i had black smoke (fuel dump) blow out the exhaust at WOT when it was bone stock, then after those mods i still have some black blowing out, just not as much. Figured with that it's still not starving fuel and running a tad rich. I was going to wait until i could buy more mods (exhaust, DP, etc...) to get the Accessport as funds are not abundant for me but I'll try to get asap. Thanks for the tip.

Dude be careful saying stuff like that around here. You will be attacked lol and for good reason. You can not tell if your fuel pressure is holding above 1600 psi at wot by the color of the exhaust. Your maf sensor isn't going to calibrate itself either and your ecu doesn't know what the hell your doing unless you tune accordingly. Your getting very little compared to what you could get from your mods. I'm not even saying get a pro tune. Just an "off the shelf" map for your mods. There are "off the shelf" maps for your current setup. Either buy an accessport now and run a safe map until you can get hpfp internals or get the hpfp internals now and when you get your accessport you can jump right to stage 2 which will put a huge smile on your face. Better yet your car will be safe.

DO NOT INSTALL ANY MORE MODS UNTIL YOU GET HPFP INTERNALS! ESPECIALLY A DOWNPIPE!

Copy that, thanks. What people say doesn't bother me but they have to understand that someone coming from a muscle car background has to learn turbo cars just like anyone else. That exhaust smoke thing was from the old school mindset i guess. I'll get there.
This sucks now because i don't have the money for a Accessport or even the internals atm. Wife, new mortgage, 2 year old and another on the way....i may have to put her back to stock. God that makes me want to shed a tear...

So i got under my Speed this morning and the oil return line is dry as a bone. The leak is to the right of that. I can't see anything of the leak from under the car, too much in the way. Looks like something is bolted on there but not sure what it is. Here are the best pics i could get....

Looks like timing cover. I would clean the area up with brake cleaner and use some rtv

Yes there are over a dozen things that wouldn't even come into play with an old school muscle car. Maf sensor grams per second/voltage, air fuel ratio, boost psi, boost air temps, knock retard, spark advance, long term/short term fuel trims, throttle position, waste gate duty cycle.

Here is some good advice for you. If you donate to MSF you will have access to the for sale section of this forum. There you could find a used accessport for half the price. I saw someone recently got a v2 AP for $350.

And you don't have to go back to stock. Just take it easy until you get hpfp internals. They're $350 new. I wouldn't buy used internals but some do and have luck. Then you can push it but your still going to need the Accessport to really get something from your mods.

And whatever you do... don't buy a hyperfail.

Thanks, gonna try tightening that bolt down right at that leak area when i clean it up and rtv too.

When i say old school muscle car, I have a built street/strip fuel injected mid-12 sec 87 Mustang GT, but i know that's not as technical as a Speed3/turbo car. One of the reasons I bought my Speed, i want to learn.
That being said, I'll get the hpfp internals asap and go easy on her while driving in the meantime. Then the accessport when possible. Will also donate to check out some deals on an Accessport. Thanks again for the help!