Dead At 30K Miles!? Mazda Skyactiv-G 2.5 CX30 Core / Blown Engine Teardown
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- Опубліковано 26 тра 2023
- To peruse our inventory and shop our parts, please visit www.Importapart.com or email us at Importapartsales@gmail.com.
To see if I've torn down a particular engine, check out my other teardowns here: • Blown Up Engine Tear D...
Today we have a first for the channel and a pretty special engine, a Mazda Skyactiv-G 2.5L 4cyl from a 2021 CX-30. This was from a rental car and brought in to the local Mazda dealership with a no-start condition where they condemned the engine. This is the very first "bad" Skyactiv engine I've had the chance to buy for the channel as they seem to be really reliable engines with a lot of used engines available from used cars, and relatively low prices due to low demand.
The Skyactiv engine is special because it focuses on the most complete combustion possible, utilizing high compression (14:1), direct injection, and specifically designed pistons and manifolds to prevent knock while running low octane with such high compression. The results are impressive fuel economy, good power (186hp) in a reliable and compact power plant.
I've had a lot of requests for these engines and many others. If there's any engine you'd like to see torn down, I may have already done it so be sure to search my channel. If I haven't leave me a comment and tell me what it is!
Why on earth am I doing these teardowns? I own and run a full service auto salvage business in the Saint Louis area called Importapart. Part of our model is buying blown, core and unwanted engines and dismantling them to resell the good, usable parts. We do not rebuild engines, we merely supply parts to those who do.
I really hope you enjoyed this teardown. As always, I love all of the comments, feedback, and even the criticism. Catch you on the next one!
-Eric - Авто та транспорт
I finally get to learn what Sky Active *really* means! It’s been a myth amongst us for years 🤣
Hey Ray! Good to see you!
Did you get your Subaru engine?
Yeah, now we know it isn't connected to Skynet so no baby Terminators coming from Mazda. At least not yet...
Rainman Ray in the hooooooooouse...
its ray ! hello ray !
Mazda tech here. The Sky-Activ family of engines generally really reliable. In several years of being a tech at a dealer I can count how many full engines we have had to replace. Typical issues you will see with the 2.5L non-turbocharged engines will be a timing cover leak, but most often this will be covered under warranty. The 2.5L turbocharged engines occasionally get a cracked cylinder head, but these aren't too common. One thing to note about the Sky-Activ head gaskets, the head gaskets are stainless steel, and the heads or the block of the engine will usually fail before the head gasket does. They are easy cars to work on compared to most manufactures, and a great car for someone who would like to work on it themselves. They still do have transmission dipsticks (they are small, under the airbox), but its more than just about any other car manufacturer can say. Not really any specialty tools are needed for basic maintenance.
I was amazed that my Mazda 2 DJ has a dipstick for the transmission. Many cars don’t even have dipsticks for the engine oil anymore.. My girlfriend has the latest 3 Sedan in Soul Red (my 2 is Dynamic blue). We both really like our Mazdas! They’re very reliable and enjoyable to drive.
I'm very interested in the 3.3t when the CX-70 comes out. Hoping it will be a long term winner!
Can you tell us something about the spinning thing in the camshaft?
I owned a 2.5 turbo and it was a really nice engine. It ran perfect until I sold it, but I always wondered about intake deposit build up with the direct injection.
Dunno about that though, Car Wizard over on his channel just went through a head gasket replacement on a CX-9 with the 2.5L Ford derived engine and it was an absolute nightmare. Maybe that's just that specific engine.
when a mechanic says this engines are hard to find you know that is good.
Hmm I would say the opposite. For my 2.0L mazda 3 2008, a good engine is $800 and I have hundreds to choose from here in BC, Canada alone.
@@ivanvarela3215 2008 is key here. thats when ford owned mazda in the western world. Mazda is a diffferent beast now
@@Olemrac11 a 2.0L engine for my mom's 2018 maxda 3 is only $1500. Not much has changed, they still have ongoing joint-ventures with various production facilities. Still a very easy car to work on, little has changed from the '08 model I have.
@@ivanvarela3215 Except the entire architecture, the entire engine, the entire literally everything... yeah, totally, you're definitely right. Little has changed.
@@OSTKCabal one can still do all their general maintenance on their own, bud.
As someone who isn’t a Mazda fan, I am very impressed by this engine. Some engineering team took their time to build a very good engine. Maybe I’ll have to consider Mazda when buying my next vehicle.
Things got a LOT better once they kicked the Ford stuff to the curb
I previously drove Toyota, then Honda, and then switched to Mazda, I'm pretty sure you won't regret switching. They are phenomenal vehicles. My Toyotas I liked, but they weren't that great to drive, not terrible but just OK. The Hondas all had important things that really irked me all the time, like the ride / handling, steering and economy. The Mazdas: well the worst things about them are good, and the good things are amazing! We have a whole family of them (6 Skyactiv models in total) and have had zero problems! Even with my daughter's 2014 3GS, which has 200000 on the clock.
@@houtyfish273 Yeah the worst complaints I can come up with against my '13 3 automatic are things like... the allowed RPM range for downshifting while keeping the transmission engaged is narrower than I'd like. Or the display tells me a tire is low but won't tell me which tire is low. I mean FFS if you're down to that kind of stuff you've got a good car.
@@big0bad0brad Exactly! When your only complaints are quite trivial.....
Do you have the 2.5?
@@houtyfish273 2.0L but I like to play some of the hypermiling games so it would have been my preference anyway. I found that buying the ecopia ep422 plus tires that the '14 came with were a big improvement over the factory turanzas in terms of not squealing like a banshee in tight corners and still maintaining efficiency and enough performance.
If you trade the hassle of some downshifting and strategic air conditioner use, this car can be one of the cheapest to own; I haven't even done brake work at 198K miles because I haven't used them enough. But did have a wheel bearing go out but that kind of thing is a bit of a fluke.
24 yr tech here and those engines are pretty much indestructible never torn one apart so thank you for the insight
Hey sir, fast question for ya. Idle shake/vibration in 2.5 192 mazda 6 gj. 250k mil. Ac turned off and while its just on "p" i can feel like a one sec shake, its a moment and keeps repeating every 2 - 3 sec like missfiring but much less noticeable. However i do even think its showin up when engine gets warmer or its just me. Ppl says thats the mounts but its kinda pulsating vibes
@@VeritasAequitas01 I got a Mazda 2 with 270k kms on it, it has the same pulsating vibes you mentioned, I cleaned MAF sensor, throttle body, it got less shaky, and then I added fuel injector cleaner into the tank, after a tank of fuel, now the car is much much less shaky, though it still has that pulsation but barely noticeable. In conclusion I think it's just engine is old
@@BaeLasso thx for reply sir. Tbh i stopped taking care of it cuz i have already chacked how those engine works in" fresh "cars...like cx5 2021 (around 20k miles ) and cx30 2020 around same milage. So i think its kinda normal. Just like u said maybe those throttle cleaning etc helps in some low % but its still shaky. Well the culture of those enignes seems lame idle working. I should already change the engine mounts also... Anyway till now almost 200k mil and no issues. Not even a singe failure in memory. Cheers bro!
The Mazda Skyactiv engine line will be ones to remember. Long live Mazda!
Yeah, remembered for its ridiculous market segmentation. They just half-close the throttle on the lower trims.
Who still does that? The 120HP 2.0 is the same block as the 165HP GT-M, just the throttle gets fully opened.
@@The_Noticer. bro what are you on lol
Been waiting for this one! I’m coming up on 400,000 miles on my 2015 Mazda 6 and I’ve never owned a more reliable car. Still runs and shifts great and still getting 33 mpg on the hwy. Beside a belt tensioner and an LCA, I’ve done nothing to this car except change the oil every 5K and drain and fill the transmission every 75K. I bought it used with 90K and it’s very comfortable and nimble. I will not hesitate to buy another one when it’s time.
Is your 2015 direct injected like this one? The valves on this one already need to be cleaned from the carbon build-up.
400,000 miles? That’s unbelievable! I am hoping to get this many miles on my 2020 CX9. I just love this company!
@@onenikkione yes, mine is DI but I drive mostly hwy miles so I suspect that helps mitigate a lot of the severe build up. I was using CRC DI cleaner for a while but got out of the habit. Some day, I’ll probably zip off the intake and take a look. I will probably just manually clean them if they look built up. Would like to just do an EGR delete but probably not legal.
my '14 mazda 3 skyactiv is at 500k km(300k miles) and it runs 10/10, no oil/coolant consumtion, rattles, noises, smoke etc issues.
took the head cover and the intake just out of curiosity and they look exactly the same as the ones in this video with 10times less miles!
@@scooterwoodley195 That's amazing. It sounds like you're averaging 40k miles a year ? My 2016 at 120k must be barely breaking in by your standards lol. Mazda recommends fuel injection cleaning every 30k miles. I've done it once. Otherwise I've done everything you've done for maintenance. It's amazing sedan for fwd.
I was a Mazda master tech here in California, I retired a few years ago. I can remember getting a lot of bad mouthing from the Subaru guys telling me how crappy Mazdas are. The reality of it was our Subaru shop had at least six guys working on Subaru engines at any given moment while us Mazda guys did maybe one engine per month and sometimes less than that. We did have a rash of water pump belts that broke causing catastrophic failure but usually the failures I had witnessed were due to lack of maintenance. I have five Mazda vehicles including a 91 LE pickup that's as reliable as it was when it was new, the only thing I've had to do to it has been just maintenance.
I have 100k in cx5 so now I have to replace timing belt, water pump, tensioner and anything else?
I believe it has an internal timing chain. It has two drive belts.
Yeah my 2018 Mazda3 2.5L with 150k miles had it's serpentine belt tensioner replaced roughly every 60k miles.
@@redrum3835 how much it costs you?
@@yournightmare9999😊
Not an engineer nor have i teardown any engine. But i've seen many engine teardown and this is one of the simplest engine i've seen. No wonder why Mazda engine are so reliable. Simplicity is reliability.
The skyactive is not a simple construction. It is close to a diesel engine running on petrol. 14:1 Thats why it gets so high milage. This is an advanced invention.
@@finnyvindhalland9852 I think this is just semantics. Streamlined can be considered simple even if it took a lot of R&D
My first car was my grandfathers 1986 Mazda 626 with a 5spd manual. He bought it brand new and rarely drove it. We inhereted it when he passed away in 2001 and it only had 18,000 miles on it. Loved that thing!
So much more respect to this guy after he named all the cool Mazda's he's owned
Nice name
@@thebarofsoapIG Would the real David Garcia please stand up. Oh wait...
He has owned & driven many of the coolest Mazda's - Miata / RX7 / 626 / 929 / Milenia / B series trucks ......
My mom bought a 2022 CX-5 with the 2.5 liter N/A Skyactiv-G motor and I have to say it’s a very nice little car to zip around in. Aside from the overall good aesthetics and build quality inside and out the drive train and handling are great. Not the most powerful engine but always willing to run and it’s probably one of the only cars in its class that doesn’t get out of shape when the roads turns curvy. Pretty fun package to take on a road trip. Overall satisfying vehicle purchase.
little car??
@@zbigniewbohdanowicz8897While it's not technically a small car, it behaves like one. I have the 2018 CX5 and it handles extremely well. Even in snow Mazda lets your inner juvenile delinquent have fun and will let you kick the tail out (AWD version) before the stability system activates to bring it back in line.
I was surprised because in Europe it is considered a big car :)
I have Mazda 3 sedan, and even this is not really small for me, just the right size
Agreed but the stock tires really hold it back. Put some good tires on and see what it can really do.
@@zbigniewbohdanowicz8897 here in the States it's one of the smaller SUV's you'll come across, aside from things like the Nissan Juke which I question the practicality of.
Have a first generation skyactiv Mazda 3 hatch, had it for 10 years at this point and it’s been impeccable. Driven 140k at this point with zero issues, definitely became a big Mazda fan over the years.
As a long time Mazda driver (literally the past 13 years or so), I’ve been waiting for this. Thank you SO much!
im alsot a long time mazda driver for almost 23 years lol love my mazda
i got a 2021 mazda 3 hatch and a 2022 cx5 beautiful vehicles fun to drive
A very simple and elegant engine design. Very refreshing to see after that BMW HOT-V N63 teardown. BMW could learn a few things from Mazda about engine design.
Well they're two different beasts. V8 and inline 4. Bmw does inline engines pretty wells especially the i6
yet they never will because "german engineering" lol
They should start by learning how to design non-leaking oil pan, valve cover, and filter housing gaskets.
We'll see how Mazda's new straight 6 stacks up
@@sylouigiven their success with other engines, I'd be genuinely amazed if they managed to fuck an I6 up lol
I would have to agree these 2.5 skyactive engines are one of the better 4 cylinder options since the late 2010s. No oil burn great fuel economy and a decent amount of power for a lightweight economic chassis. Love the 2.5SA in my 3 with the 6 speed auto. Car feels very complete. 30+mpg with a heavy foot and sGT trim additional weight, best car I've owned in terms of being a "good car".
How much bhp does the engine make?
@@Lofi.z34 believe it's rated at 184hp and 184tq, around there. The 2.0s are around 155/148
@@Lofi.z34 they make 190ish ps mx-5 makes 184 not sure what the rest of the American market gets tho
Sadly the 2.0 versions we get here in Europe are a little bit anemic. Especially with automatic transmission.
@@EnhancedNightmareyeah. I have the e 186x 2liter or whatever they are calling it, six speed. Great car, unbelievable handling. But feels like it has half the horsepower...
A relative of mine here in Australia had his fail in a similar manner and it came from the crankcase venting system failing partially open and as the engine works as a partial diesel the crankcase has more blow by than lower compression engines. The oil mist being fed into the inlet manifold led to carboned up piston rings and engine failure through overheat. The inlet ports on your engine all looked wet with oil. I don't know where the crankcase breather feeds into the engine but maybe it favors 3 and 4 cylinders. This same problem was found on quite a few of the first series of four cylinder high revving turbocharged direct injection diesel pick up engines around 2009 to 2013 here before manufacturers got on top of it.
As a former dealer guy for ~6years, they have a incidence, low, but every dealer will see a couple, of porous/microcracking of head castings. 99.999% sure that is what happened here. MazdaTSB 01-013/21
Engineering of the SkyActiv family of engines is superb, as is, generally, quality control. Very premature drive belt failure is critical. Fortunately the water pump has its own belt, but AC and Alt belts never make 50K miles. Replace them before that or face a tow in.
😅 my 2016 Mazda 6 still has the original belts it has 135,000 miles all I’ve done is regular oil changes, brakes, spark plugs, transmission fluid it’s manual and replaced the coolant and 1 battery it still runs good 😊
I think that tsb is for the turbo version. Too much weight on just six 8mm exhaust studs. Cracking around studs. The fix is the revised head and a different exhaust gasket
What was that drive off the front of the camshaft for it appeared to be geared to increase rpm
@@caseymuzio7609 i think it controls the timing, my car has something attached to it with a connector
@@ReviewingTech101 I replaced belts at 100K and they looked brand new- no cracking or anything.
I have a 2015 Mazda 6 with the 2.5. For a non turbo 4cyl it has balls. The 13 to 1 compression really shows. Close to 70k and no issues.
I love my 2015 Mazda6. It has 171k currently. Regular maintenance and tranny oil changes. But everything is original minus spark plugs and top engine mount recently. It still drives like new and gets 40 mpg on the highway when i do the speed limit.
The non turbo Mazdas are great.
Same, I love it. 2016 with the 6 speed manual and a few goodies. I have no complaints nor the car complain about anything.
I’ve heard people complain about the 2.5 naturally aspirated engines on their power but I find this to not be a problem for me. I think it has plenty of pep and 187 horse power for a four cylinder is pretty impressive in my book. Mine is a 2023 CX5 and it’s been a blast to drive.
do they require premium fuel with that compression ratio?
I just purchased the 2024 Mazda CX-30's carbon edition Skyactiv®-G 2.5 Turbo .” And have heard great reviews “
a very well done and explained tear down. thanks for showing us. here in NZ we have loads of these on our roads and its great to see how they work. cheers NZ
The first car I bought for myself was an '04 Mazda 6. I had it for about ten years and never had a problem with it. It was a great car.
Years mean jack shit mileage/hours is everything. What mileage purchased at? What mileage sold at?
The “hours” part is important, but may be hard to track. Industrial engines often have hour meters on them. With all the electronicals monitoring the system it would not be hard to track that, but I honestly don’t know if they do that. The fact that my Honda Element runs so well after 17 years and 230k miles is probably related to somewhere between 30% to 40% being highway miles, ticking along at about 1,900 - 2,100 rpm in high gear full warmed up.
I have a 2.0 in my 2016 Mazda3. It was perfect at 110k miles, until a Mazda dealer Tech forgot to put oil back into my engine. They replaced it, no charge, but talk about oil starvation.
Very impressed by this engine. Lots of really good engineering here and nothing that is done in some off-the-wall crazy manner. Just good solid design work. Its also a simple engine as well, likely lending itself to the reliability.
Steve from near Tampa, Florida here. I watch your videos and it reminds me of the days back in the 80s when I worked at a shop pulling engines from cars, tearing the engine down, sending the block out to be bored and honed, then I would rebuild the motor after all new pistons, rings, timing chain, gears, lifters pushrods and an in house job on the heads was done. Recently I have become a fan of the 2GR-FE engine and want one that I can rebuild.
Thanks again, always like your Saturday night shows. I've had three Miatas, currently own a 21 RF GT. The engineering and build quality are impressive and driving the car is a real joy.
Really impressed by how clean the engine was internally, except for the chocolate shake in the pan. Nice to see perfect bearings & crank.
I own a 2016 Mazda 6 GT and this is cool seeing someone tear apart this motor. Keep it up!
Can we take a moment to marvel at Mazda engine tech over the years? The Wankel, tiny displacement K series V6s, the Miller Cycle, the dual and triple rotor turbos, the proposed Amati W12, the compression ignition Skyactivs...
I was surprised to see this engine pop up as a teardown, as they (and the modern Mazdas they power) seem to be some of the most low maintenance, robust cars available in the past 10 years. Just make sure you replace rear shocks regularly...
Knowing how rental cars are used, I'm going to make an educated guess that the cooling system was punctured due to an impact of some sort and the car was driven until it overheated. The engine was a casualty, not a cause.
I see so many Mazda3s and 6s still just roaming around today. My 180k miles Mazda3 still chugs fine, and in offered in a manual too!
They have had some cooling system leak issues recently with these tho. They do have a lot of great engines though. Lot of firsts in the industry too like active intake runners and sequential turbos and hcci
wankel, rotory,,2nd ww..german..
@@confuzionn4843 remember to do that timing chain before 200k and it’ll go for 250+
@@HierarchyOfWeeds thanks for the heads up.
Have a 2013 Mazda 3 with the 2.0 skyactiv engine. I think Is one of the best engines in the market. It Is responsive, Easy yo work on and reliable af. Mine has 164k on it and still going strong. I recently replace the Valve cover gasket, and inside that engine looks as good as this one.
Have you taken your intake manifold off and looked at your valves for carbon? This one with 30k had carbon and if still ran should have the carbon removed.
@@onenikkione the last Time the mechanic checked, told me it didn't need cleening. I'm planning to do it as preventive maintenance in the next maitenance
30 seconds in and feeling pretty good about my Mazda 2.5 😆 I did a lot of research before buying this car fresh off its first lease, since I tend to hang onto my cars until they're basically undrivable. 4 years and 50k miles later I'm yet to be disappointed. Hopefully it'll stay that way for awhile.
Great video. If I'm not mistaken there should be a tapered plastic sleeve in the cooling jacket around the cylinders to modulate cooling up the cylinder wall and focus it around the combustion chamber. If this is missing, as it appears to be in the video, then the head temperatures could exceed the gasket design.
These engines drive so nice for only 186/194 horse power. They make almost all there peak torque from 2k rpm to 4k rpm. During normal driving it feels really nice. You can take big hills even without having to downshift.
Much better then the early ford/mazda 2.3s those were gutless dogs drove a 95 ranger with one from Colorado to California and man the hills beat it up would pin it at 85mph at the bottom of a hill and by the top we might be going 50mph getting passed by big Riggs
A 2.5 liter is above average in displacement for a 4 cylinder, so expect better torque for sure.
@@Jihadbearzwithgunz before my 2016 Mazda 6 GT I had a Mazda 3 with the 2.0 and that thing would fly around easily
@@Jihadbearzwithgunz My old roommate had a 2008 Escape with the 2.3L and the 4 speed auto. Gutless dog is honestly generous to that powertrain.
We even used our 2016 CX-5 to tow a pop up camper that was in the 1600 lb range. Car did pretty damn well for a little 4 banger. Everything we've ever thrown at the vehicle it just keeps on going. It is just a happy little SUV.
I’ve been waiting to see a Skyactiv 2.5! Thanks for giving me a view into the engine that powers my CX5.
How do you like the CX5?
My wife is wanting one to replace her 2018 Ford Fusion SE 1.8 Ecoboost that is at 105k miles.
@@supertruckertom I love mine. I've got the NA version, and really enjoy driving it, I've heard lots of good things about the Turbo versions too. Turbo version has a lot more power of course. Overall a great vehicle in my opinion.
i'm at 335k km on my 2012 2.0 skyactiv and still going strong. very neat teardown
Hi Eric…
I was browsing for the review of CX 60 recently launched in ME. I’m glad to see such an amazing video.
My first car was a 1990 YM Mazda 929 5 speed MT. I never had any problems with that. I was using it for quite long, about 20 years. After that I was using different types. Now I’m planning to go for a CX 60 2.5 Skyactive G RWD AWD. I’m not happy with the options of available trims. Waiting for the new trims to come.
Your video helped me to learn more about the Skyactive G technology.
Awaiting your next videos…
Thanks.
Thanks for this teardown Eric. I like many others on here have been curious to see the innards of a Skyactiv engine. Nice to see Mazda banished all the Ford defects of the MZR series. Shows Mazda still has the knowhow when there's no outside interference.
I'd love to see you get your hands on a K-series engine. I still have a 323 hatch with the factory 2.0 KF V6. Such a sweet engine that just loves to be revved like crazy.
I'm so jealous. That little V6 sounds amazing.
@spamcan9208 they really do. It's not real fast by modern standards, but I love the sound every time I put my foot into it. Was originally going to sell it, but after driving it again full time for the last 9 months, I'm not sure I can bring myself to.
Mazda as a company has remained committed to the ICE, they have not gone EV. They have really pushed ICE technology to get good performance and emissions. I still drive a 2002 Protege 5 I bought new off the lot, 162k miles and still ticking. I'll drive a Mazda for the rest of my life.
I have a 2004 mazda 3 2.3l with about 143k. Still as strong as the day I got in 2011
Not true! Mazda already has an EV SUV on sale and more coming. Every manufacturer on the planet knows they need to offer EV’s or go the way of the dinosaurs.
Well... Mazda doesn't really have a choice. They don't have the resources like Honda or Toyota to invest in hybrid architectures, much less full electrics. That's why they're pushing internal combustion as far as they can.
I bought my first Mazda in 2010, a 5. No problems yet at 210000. Miles. The transmission fluid had to be changes and oil of course. I did have a plastic part break for water distribution on the block. That could cause an overheat fir sure
@@Bigdikus Your vehicle was almost 100% made in Japan
I got suggested this probably because I've been watching a lot of CX-30 videos. Now I'm subbed and bingeing.
New sub! Thanks to the algorithm for dropping your channel in my feed. Greater credit goes to the good content. Look forward to seeing more. Thanks!
"i dont know why i do these things " because its fun eric ! and youd still do it even if no-one was there with you , so would i ...
thank you for your content
finally after many videos of requesting you finally tore one apart. Great video and can't wait to see other engines you teardown
Same I was genuinely excited to see the notification. This is the only video on the entire internet as far as I know of this engine being disassembled.
@@thetechlibrarian could not find another one myself either. Rare to see these torn town. Was great to finally see one.
Wow, cool to hear about you being a Mazda fan. I've owned 4 1988-89 MX-6 GT Turbo manuals back in the days. Upgraded them to about 250whp and smoked a bunch of cars back in the late 90's and early 2000's. Missed them, still looking to find a nice clean original example.
HolyCrap! finally got one of these?! Never thought you would lol. These Engines are AMAZING!
Been asking in the comments for years now lol. 2.5T is really great too, despite the recent gasket issues.
140,000 miles on my 2018 CX-9.
Could be a manufacture defect: head bolt wasn't tightened enough, causing the coolant leak. You'd have to check the head and deck flatness both to know if the head or block are warped.
No. TSB's have been flying out of head office to the dealers for a couple years now about porous head castings.
Bolt Torque is not a factor. If it *appears* to be it's because the cracking let the head deform.
I was hoping that he would put a straight edge on the head to check for any warping. I have heard these newer aluminum engines are prone to warping if overheated.
I was hoping that he would put a straight edge on the head to check for any warping. I have heard these newer aluminum engines are prone to warping if overheated.
@@ccrider8483 Any alloy head is.
Even iron heads are capable of warping; they're just more likely to crack first in an overheat situation.
I was thinking porous material when I saw that strange exterior coolant leak in the video; there is usually a channel carved on either the block or the head if one or the other warps enough to unseal an MLS gasket, but nothing obvious on this engine.
Good teardown, I always wanted to see how these engines looked on the inside. They look like a very well designed engine. Thanks. 👍
Modern version of a Ford PROCO ?
Very interesting, indeed freaky pistons, odd to have sharp edges on top. Anyway, I trust Mazda to know what they are doing. Nearly bought one of these engines in a new CX-5, and researched this engine in depth, so really enjoyed the teardown. As a diesel guy a lot of this engine makes sense now in how it is designed to work, and it's always interesting to see "different" engine designs, you can never know too much.
Google SkyActiv-x pistons.These are for the newer spark controlled compression engine.Runs 16:1 on 87 RON.🏴☠
@@Z4Zander sharp edges anywhere in a combustion chamber become hot spots and can lead to preignition, especially at high compression! Perhaps that's the plan, who knows..
This is awesome (for lack of a better term)! I own a 2019 cx5 with 30k miles and absolutely love the car but it’s crazy to see the engine like this.
side note, also a Mazda fan, as a teenager in high school I had the coupe mx6, 1990 was a great fun car to drive!
I've owned three different vehicles with the Skyactiv-G engine and currently drive a 2022 Miata. At least one was a Mazda 3 with the 2.5 G series engine like you have here. I am very intrigued by this! I love seeing engines I've actually used torn down.
After watching the rest of the video, this is how my 2001 Protege from Mazda failed. Overheated (my radiator reservoir burst on the highway and my temperature gauge was maxed before I knew what happened), and the head gasket warped, effectively broke seal, and started pouring coolant into the cylinders.
That was my guess for this engine ... something went through the radiator on the highway.
@@seanthompson8071 Probably. My particular case was just an old radiator with brittle old plastic, but still produced very similar results to what an impact to the radiator might if it is bad enough.
That was an amazing teardown. I am on my 5 mazda 3 and they are brilliant cars. I have a 2L Skyactiv X in mine and its such a good driving car especially on the motorway. Lots of torque for a 2L.All your teardowns are simply fab. Cheers Mate.
How is the X? I was a salesperson for mazda in the states, but we never got much information on them
@@yuriteixeira5816 The X is a great engine. It has a different compression set up to the G. It uses both petrol and diesel qualities. Its a 2L with 186 Hp. We only get the lower power engines here in the UK. Its a great car for the motorway its a mile muncher. The torque is also strong for a 2L and very tractable. Pulls well from just over 1.5K. Its also very economical. I get approx 40 around town and 50 on the motorway using the uk's imperial gallon. say -10 or so for the us measurements.
Good to hear that these motors don't seem to fail often. Slightly different to the 2.0 L in my '22 Miata but similar enough. Very interesting to see the differences between this and older Mazda engines
I love your knowledge of engines, your tear downs are really interesting thanks
My wife and I just replaced our 2015 BMW 428i with the new 2024 CX-30 because the constant maintenance issues with the BMW and high cost of replacement parts. We bought the CX-30 for the very reasons outlined by others:, it is easier to work on, parts cost less, and this is a high quality car. I appreciate you putting out this video so I could see how this engine is put together. It does look easier to work on.
No surprise that a company run by engineers builds a great engine. I've had 3's with the 2l and the 2.5l NA Skyactiv-G's and they were both bulletproof. Easy to maintain, never missed a beat, and always beat the fuel economy ratings. Mazda builds some of the best cars and engines out there, and definitely the best at their price point.
This is good to hear and see, I have a 2021 Mazda CX-30 with the 2.5L Skyactiv-G non-turbo like the engine in the video. I hope that the transmission and other components last a long time, recently the cooling fan for the drivers side headlight went out and it costs over $1,000 + labor to replace but it’s covered under warranty. I hope ones the new part is replaced it won’t fail again (my car is less than 2 years old)
Had to subscribe because your a fellow Mazda guy. I've always admired them but never owned one until buying my wife a brand new Mazda 6 with this same engine in 2018. Since getting it my collection has expanded to include a '96 Miata, '09 RX-8 bought with just over 7k miles and now just over 15k, '08 Miata and '82 RX-7 derelict I hope to save (have 2 parts cars to go with it). I found your video searching on Skyactiv G because the 2018 after over 107k trouble free miles gave us our first scare with a failing coil pack a couple weeks ago. So as it moves on into aging hooptie territory it's time to learn more about it. This video helped a lot.
This engine looks exceptionally well made with a lot of thought gone into it's design. It's a shame this engine encountered a trauma so early in it's service life.
@@seventystix6964 Some components are probably made in other nations, but those engines are built in Japan.
As mentioned above, the 2.0l version does not have the balancer shaft and my car has clear engine vibrations. It is also completely torqueless, cannot compete with 1.5l turbo engines. Fuel economy, especially in high load, is also worse than in 1.5 turbo engines.
So of course, Skyactive is not such a bad engine, but I think it is just a (disappointing) way to save on adding the turbo. This is cutting the corners.
A random youtube car mechanic knows how to make an internal combustion engine, so a global corporation such as Mazda certainly knows everything about building any internal combustion engine. They make choices based on making the cheapest acceptable engine, and it seems current Skyactive has been such a choice. The highly publicised high compression of Skyactive G simply does not compensate the lack of power at low rpm, as compared to the small turbo engine.
@@euregiojam your experience is with the 2.0L only - the one in the Miata, which was made for high revs. Don't confuse it with the 2.5L in this video.
@@ericfranke1637 I suppose that 2.5L is a quite different engine, especially that it has a balancer shaft so it probably does not vibrate like a smoothie mixer. I did not drive the 2.5l version, but at 192hp you will also need to rev it for acceleration in Mazda6, I don't think it will produce 100hp below 3000 or 3200 rpm, the power comes only at high rpm. With 1.5l Ecoboost you get 100hp around 2700rpm, so it will probably still feel stronger than the 2.5l Skyactvie-G for most of "normal" rev range, and will only be weaker at high rpm. You don't buy Mazda6 for racing, and maybe these naturally aspirated engines are better suited for automatic transmissions, where one does not have to worry about gear reduction at roaring rpms. You know, it is nice to rev the engine, but an engine life certainly does depend on this revving quite a lot, it is certainly heathier to be around 2000 rpm most of the time.
Having that said, I test driven the 2022 2.0L Ecoblue Kuga 150hp, ST Line X, which is nearly the highest trim. The engine has the pull of the diesel, but the noise, vibrations, and the overall impression were much worse than these in 2.0L Skyactive-G. I remember smooth 2.2L diesels in 2007 Accord and in 2012 Mazda6, this Ecoblue is nothing like that, it sounds and feels like an engine from Transit.
Hey, thanks for that great video! It confirms for us Mazda fans why we love our cars so much!
By the way, looking at that engine, I suspect foul play. We have 2 Skyactiv 3's with well over 100 000 on the clock, and no carbon, no rust, nothing! They are super reliable.
Great video. I own a 2020 CX-5 and your analysis was very informative.
Keep of the great content Eric. This channel is easily my favorite. Any chance we could see a 2.7 Ecoboost in the future? I was glad to see the Northstar a while back.
I was surprised being a Mazda fan myself, that you didn't show the M3 hatchback. I had a 2004 manual, quite honestly the most fun to drive of all my mazda's. the MX3 v6 was a fun car too.
My 2023 CX-5 AWD has been great. This has been one of the best 4 cylinder engine cars I've owned. Look forward to putting many, many miles on it.
Greetings, I'm new to Mazda world and will be acquiring a 2021 cx5 signature with 18k miles, 1 previous owner clean throughout certified for approx $23k. My question to you, have experienced any problems or issues suspension, cabin noise or body sway?
@@emissionfreeworld Mind you...I have a 2023 so I cannot comment on the 2021 version but I have not experienced any of those issues.
Do you have the 2.5 or smaller engine?
Thank you Eric!
Hope you get well👍
I have a 2.0 sky active on my Mazda and I love it, iv put it through hell and back and she still purrs every time I start her up ❤️ of course maint. Is always up to date and prev. Maint. Is done regularly.
My 2016 Mx-5 is still purring along at 70k miles, absolutely love it. It'll always be my little Red Barchetta, hoping it runs well past 300k. Awesome breakdown, these are great engines!
Love the Rush reference 😊
love my 2016 Mazda 6 GT with the non turbo SkyActiv, such a reliable engine. Glad I went with Mazda. Currently at 110k miles and rolling along.
Congrats on the CarBuzz article on this video, glad I watched it first. Please give us an update on the vette. I have been working on my 88vette with the old Nash 4+3 manual.
I own a '16 mazda6, my wife has a '20 CX5, our oldest daughter drives a '10 mazda6. Not a single repair needed. Just maintain and they get you there and back! Cool video, and always wanted to see inside the engine.
For some unknown reason everytime I see oiling lines I think way back to the old Toyota land Cruiser they supposedly based it on the Chevrolet inline 6 but perfected the weak points and made them better than Chevrolet by adding overhead oilers and better valve seals. That's why I enjoy the teardown it shows the good and gooderer!
Thanks for the entertainment
Cool how the balance cartridge kinda resembles a supercharger, but in the oil pan. 😂
I was very excited to see you tearing this down. I have had Toyota Tacoma’s for the last 25 years but just recently gave my current Tacoma to my son when he turned 16. I needed a newer vehicle and due to high truck prices and fuel cost decided to go with the CX-5 non turbo 2.5. I had a 1st Gen RX-7 when I was 16. Blew the motor and bought a street ported 13B with Mikuni side draft carb headers with silencer and almost straight pipes. It was loud. Lol. I loved this car but it was like driving a go kart on the road. 230 hp in a 2000 lb car. It was fun. My current 2.5 is not fast but a very good engine and I did a ton of research before buying. I liked the X3 BMW and the Subaru but I’m a mechanic and know too much about BMW to think that it will last the 300,000 my Toyota’s typically do and I’m not terribly familiar with the Subaru engines either. So I am hoping my new Mazda lasts a very long time. I change the oil every 7500 as I have with every vehicle I’ve owned. The Mazda is by far the easiest so far. Once again I’m very glad to see the inside of the 2.5 sky active motor. Mine is a 2021 as well. So thank you.
Thank you for doing this. I have a 21' cx-30 and a 22' 3 and it's so hard to find information on these engines 👍
The SkyActiv motors are really really good. Very impressed with how reliable they are. I feel like not enough people are talking about them
It amazes me that Mazda sales aren't higher. Every person I know who gets one ends up loving it, whatever the model. Mazda dealer techs where I work also work on other cars from the used car sales side too supplement hours, as the Mazdas alone don't come in for service repairs beyond basic maintenance to keep the techs fed.
@@conordevery2306 that's an interesting take. Haven't seen many people complain about the build quality. What makes you say that?
@@conordevery2306 If you want to see bad build quality try a Dacia or a lower end Renault :D 50k km in and the drivers seat will just quite literally fall apart (no tears in the seat just the insides will crumble), the engine will start to burn oil, first rust spots will appear, doors will start to feel saggy, the airbags may fail to deploy in a 60kmh crash (60kmh after braking from 150...personal experience with a Dokker :D) causing very "pleasant" pain in your neck for the next 2 weeks.... thankfully not my money and not my cars but still, theyre quite crap.
@@conordevery2306 It can do 185 with the 1.3 turbo engine :D it just goes left and right randomly but it is possible to keep it on the road
Good, keeps them cheap for us.
The Skyactiv engines are so cool. Inside the intake cam gear is supposed to spin like that because there is a EVVT (Electronic Variable Valve Timing) module that sits in there and will obviously control timing but I absolutely love these engines. So easy to tear down. Great video!
I've had our SKYACTIV-D 2.2LTR (SH) DIESEL ENGINE from our CX-5 blow a head gasket revently. Been trying to find a solution as apparently it is a very big job and is likely an engine out deal.
They have had a recall on this type of engine but it unfortunately doesn't extend to the headgasket side of things. They were only covering some vaccum issues and some accociated issues with direct injection. The joys.
Keep doing your thang! Love all the videos!
Own a 20 CX30 and I will NEVER tear down a 2.5. But it is great to see how well it's built.
2nd gen MX6 was so good, love the sound of that KLDE
Also spotted you in the Miata group last night!
I had a 1994 626 2.5 V6 with a 5 speed. It was a rev happy engine.
I adore mazda. On my second one now. Love them. Stunning reliability.
Very interesting very thorough tear down. Now I almost understand the skyactive. My granddaughter has an M3 and it runs so smooth. Thank you.
Just one good professional rectification job, re assambling with all pistons, gaskets and so on new and back to life again. Greetings from Costa Rica
Really neat little engine. You’ve struck the perfect balance between exploring engine design and relishing in catastrophic damage. The channel just keeps getting better!
Awesome. Thank you. Have this in my current car. No problems and runs great actually love the engine driving characteristics. Hoping for a long happy experience. Thank you again was wondering what this looked like inside.
I have a 2018 CX5. GREAT car with the exception of fatiguing lurching under moderate acceleration. Mazda changed the fuel pump under a campaign but the lurching continues. I figured out that Premium fuel gets the car to run as expected. Mazda says this "behavior is common to the 2.5."
@@scottoakley3206 Haven't experienced it myself but thanks for the tip if it should happen.
"Carnage and debris". Two of my fav words. Really enjoy these tear downs! Thx!
My wife drives a 2018 6 with a 2.5 turbo and it’s great. I’ve flogged it like a beater for 5 years and it’s oil is still clear and no issues with 100k on the odo. Maybe we got a good one, but it’s a fantastically good family hauler.
Some of the 2.2li skyactiv D engines have had head-gasket problems. Might be a similar issue. As for my 1.5 turbo diesel Mazda 2, runs like a dream after 70K. 50-60 mpg (US) and 600-700 miles per tank for $45. That's a gnats hair off electric costs per mile and when prices return to normal, it will be the same and its a $20,000 car, not a $50,000 4-wheeled-hair-dryer. Diesel rules.
I have a 1995 Miata. I got it shortly before it turned 222,222 miles. 1.8 Rebuilt for boost at 232k. It has just under 239k now. I'll get around to boosting it this winter hopefully.
I imagine Mazda is the kind of company that wants a failed engine back for analysis most of the time.
not always
on our third CX-9, the second one with this engine. have also previously owned an MPV and a 2nd-gen RX-7. this engine teardown was well-executed. for as much abuse as this engine took on, it looked surprisingly in-tact. the current version puts out 250hp and 320lbft torque with full-time AWD.
I like that they went back to a steel pan. My wife's CX-5 had an aluminum pan and the steel drain screw pulled the threads out of it after two oil changes using a torque wrench to tighten the plug, so I helicoiled it. No trouble after that, but it was just annoying to have to do that.
I have always wanted a Mazda (since the 1st RX-7) as they always do things different than anyone else. I have a feeling that they have designed their engines to run at peak fuel mixture combustion temps. This may work better if the crankshaft was offset a little. Peak usually occurs too close to TDC which would explain the detonation marks in all 4 cylinders.
Peak cylinder pressure is usually about 14 degrees after TDC, depends on actual stroke and connecting rod length and seems to be misunderstood by almost everyone (including many engineers)
Really interesting to see the engineering in these engines vs the L3/L5 engines, some similarities (balance cassette) and a few differences. I'm aware of a small number of Skyactive engines going bad prematurely in Australian delivered CX-30's that seemed to expire from an overheat situation, all of them seemed to be around summer 2020-2021 and summer 2021-2022 (high ambient temps and seemingly bad engines from a small VIN number range). If I remember correctly there was a Mzda service bulletin regarding a potentiasl issue around that time and it did get media attention at the time as well.
Great video! My 1st Mazda was a used 5-speed manual '86 626 Turbo Hatchback. It towed a 19 ft fishing boat between the Keys, Fort Lauderdale and Naples several times. 2nd Mazda was a used 2011 CX-9, and have thus far put over 185k miles on it w/original engine & tranny (normal maint). My great experiences with the brand prompted me to buy another used Mazda last week (2021.5 CX-5 Signature). I'm sold!
I am always amazed at a engine master surgeon. Gd amazing.
Even though there wasn't any carnage, it was interesting to see how the Skyactive engine was engineered and built. I have to say I'm impressed. I'm especially impressed with how they managed to run the gear train so simply. Like Elon Musk, I subscribe to the "best part is no part" philosophy. No wonder a previous poster said that the engines are easy to work on. Compare that to one of the BMWs or Audis you have had to tear apart! As usual, a lot of fun. Keep 'em coming!
Just gonna say, I've got a thing for these little motors. They're just more appealing to me for some reason. They have to get maximum power from a minimal package.
You just sold me on this engine.
With proper periodic maintenance, this is an extremely reliable setup.
I believe my truck was a 73 C10, 350 engine, I had all the tools for working on it, timing light and dwell meter. It was my first car in the navy, bought used in 1978, had nice chrome side pipes and mag tires.
Mazda’s, hands down the best cars out there right now.
I have over 310k miles on my 2015 Mazda6 non-turbo. Still running strong!!
Wow! Congratulations! You've got me curious, though, what are you doing with the car to rack up that many miles?
@@CrimsonLegacy Just used it as a commuter for many years. It required countless oil changes needless to say and I exclusively used Mobil 1 synthetic.
had 2 CX-5's with Skyactive-D 2.2 turbo. both started using their radiator as an exhaust system around 130,000km. both replaced under warranty.
Thanks for sharing your family history of owning Mazdas. I've owned a 2010 Mazda 3 for less than a year now and I'm already a diehard fan of this brand. I love how they combine innovation with simplicity and reliability, while making cars which are fun to drive. Also, they are constantly among the safest cars in N/A according to IIHS, outperforming other Japanese brands in terms of safety.