diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/mapping/get/TransportGetMappingsAction.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/mapping/get/TransportGetMappingsAction.java
index 17ff5f2362a..c134a862d0e 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/mapping/get/TransportGetMappingsAction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/admin/indices/mapping/get/TransportGetMappingsAction.java
@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ public class TransportGetMappingsAction extends TransportClusterInfoAction<GetMa
 
     @Override
     protected void doMasterOperation(final GetMappingsRequest request, final ClusterState state, final ActionListener<GetMappingsResponse> listener) throws ElasticSearchException {
+        logger.debug("Serving getMapping request based on version {}", state.version());
         ImmutableMap<String, ImmutableMap<String, MappingMetaData>> result = state.metaData().findMappings(
                 request.indices(), request.types()
         );
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/TransportMasterNodeOperationAction.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/TransportMasterNodeOperationAction.java
index e0912301dc7..66b3045df97 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/TransportMasterNodeOperationAction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/action/support/master/TransportMasterNodeOperationAction.java
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ public abstract class TransportMasterNodeOperationAction<Request extends MasterN
                     @Override
                     public void run() {
                         try {
-                            masterOperation(request, clusterState, listener);
+                            masterOperation(request, clusterService.state(), listener);
                         } catch (Throwable e) {
                             listener.onFailure(e);
                         }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetaDataMappingService.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetaDataMappingService.java
index f0d74a4a86f..19cfd36d660 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetaDataMappingService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/metadata/MetaDataMappingService.java
@@ -294,6 +294,7 @@ public class MetaDataMappingService extends AbstractComponent {
 
     public void removeMapping(final RemoveRequest request, final Listener listener) {
         clusterService.submitStateUpdateTask("remove-mapping [" + request.mappingType + "]", Priority.HIGH, new TimeoutClusterStateUpdateTask() {
+
             @Override
             public TimeValue timeout() {
                 return request.masterTimeout;
@@ -342,8 +343,11 @@ public class MetaDataMappingService extends AbstractComponent {
     }
 
     public void putMapping(final PutRequest request, final Listener listener) {
-        final AtomicBoolean notifyOnPostProcess = new AtomicBoolean();
+
         clusterService.submitStateUpdateTask("put-mapping [" + request.mappingType + "]", Priority.HIGH, new TimeoutClusterStateUpdateTask() {
+
+            CountDownListener countDownListener; // used to count ack responses before confirming operation is complete
+
             @Override
             public TimeValue timeout() {
                 return request.masterTimeout;
@@ -479,8 +483,8 @@ public class MetaDataMappingService extends AbstractComponent {
 
                     ClusterState updatedState = newClusterStateBuilder().state(currentState).metaData(builder).build();
 
-                    // wait for responses from other nodes if needed
-                    int counter = 0;
+                    // counter the number of nodes participating so we can wait for responses from other nodes if needed
+                    int counter = 1; // this mast node
                     for (String index : request.indices) {
                         IndexRoutingTable indexRoutingTable = updatedState.routingTable().index(index);
                         if (indexRoutingTable != null) {
@@ -488,11 +492,9 @@ public class MetaDataMappingService extends AbstractComponent {
                         }
                     }
 
-                    if (counter == 0) {
-                        notifyOnPostProcess.set(true);
-                        return updatedState;
-                    }
-                    mappingCreatedAction.add(new CountDownListener(counter, listener), request.timeout);
+                    countDownListener = new CountDownListener(counter, listener);
+                    mappingCreatedAction.add(countDownListener, request.timeout);
+
                     return updatedState;
                 } finally {
                     for (String index : indicesToClose) {
@@ -503,8 +505,9 @@ public class MetaDataMappingService extends AbstractComponent {
 
             @Override
             public void clusterStateProcessed(String source, ClusterState oldState, ClusterState newState) {
-                if (notifyOnPostProcess.get()) {
-                    listener.onResponse(new Response(true));
+                if (countDownListener != null) {
+                    // notify we did stuff on our end.
+                    countDownListener.onNodeMappingCreated(null);
                 }
             }
         });
@@ -594,6 +597,8 @@ public class MetaDataMappingService extends AbstractComponent {
 
         @Override
         public void onNodeMappingCreated(NodeMappingCreatedAction.NodeMappingCreatedResponse response) {
+            // response may be null - see clusterStateProcessed implementation in {@link MetaDataMappingService#putMapping}
+
             if (countDown.decrementAndGet() == 0) {
                 mappingCreatedAction.remove(this);
                 if (notified.compareAndSet(false, true)) {
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/service/InternalClusterService.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/service/InternalClusterService.java
index 40e447a4dd3..f19218af271 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/service/InternalClusterService.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/cluster/service/InternalClusterService.java
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ public class InternalClusterService extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<ClusterSe
                 UpdateTask updateTask = (UpdateTask) pending.task;
                 source = updateTask.source;
                 timeInQueue = now - updateTask.addedAt;
-            }  else {
+            } else {
                 source = "unknown";
                 timeInQueue = -1;
             }
@@ -367,10 +367,12 @@ public class InternalClusterService extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<ClusterSe
                 // we publish here before we send a notification to all the listeners, since if it fails
                 // we don't want to notify
                 if (newClusterState.nodes().localNodeMaster()) {
+                    logger.debug("Publishing cluster state version {}", newClusterState.version());
                     discoveryService.publish(newClusterState);
                 }
 
                 // update the current cluster state
+                logger.debug("Updating cluster state version {}: {}", newClusterState.version(), newClusterState);
                 clusterState = newClusterState;
 
                 for (ClusterStateListener listener : priorityClusterStateListeners) {
@@ -406,6 +408,7 @@ public class InternalClusterService extends AbstractLifecycleComponent<ClusterSe
                 sb.append(newClusterState.routingTable().prettyPrint());
                 sb.append(newClusterState.readOnlyRoutingNodes().prettyPrint());
                 logger.warn(sb.toString(), e);
+                // TODO: do we want to call updateTask.onFailure here?
             }
         }
     }
diff --git a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/zen/publish/PublishClusterStateAction.java b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/zen/publish/PublishClusterStateAction.java
index 9f77e5687a3..f95b60c1651 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/zen/publish/PublishClusterStateAction.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/elasticsearch/discovery/zen/publish/PublishClusterStateAction.java
@@ -149,6 +149,7 @@ public class PublishClusterStateAction extends AbstractComponent {
             }
             in.setVersion(request.version);
             ClusterState clusterState = ClusterState.Builder.readFrom(in, nodesProvider.nodes().localNode());
+            logger.debug("Received clusterstate version {}", clusterState.version());
             listener.onNewClusterState(clusterState);
             channel.sendResponse(TransportResponse.Empty.INSTANCE);
         }
diff --git a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/integration/indices/mapping/UpdateMappingTests.java b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/integration/indices/mapping/UpdateMappingTests.java
index 16a102f532d..d856355e3bc 100644
--- a/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/integration/indices/mapping/UpdateMappingTests.java
+++ b/src/test/java/org/elasticsearch/test/integration/indices/mapping/UpdateMappingTests.java
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 package org.elasticsearch.test.integration.indices.mapping;
 
-import org.apache.lucene.util.LuceneTestCase.AwaitsFix;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.mapping.get.GetMappingsResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.mapping.put.PutMappingResponse;
 import org.elasticsearch.action.admin.indices.refresh.RefreshResponse;
@@ -112,51 +111,65 @@ public class UpdateMappingTests extends AbstractSharedClusterTest {
 
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
     @Test
-    @AwaitsFix(bugUrl="too flaky - bleskes is on it?")
     public void updateDefaultMappingSettings() throws Exception {
 
         // TODO: bleskes: move back to combined index and mapping creation (pending bug fix concerning concurrent not-acked mapping requests)
         createIndex("test");
-        client().admin().indices().preparePutMapping("test").setType(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).setSource(
+
+        logger.info("Creating _default_ mappings");
+        PutMappingResponse putResponse = client().admin().indices().preparePutMapping("test").setType(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).setSource(
                 JsonXContent.contentBuilder().startObject().startObject(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING)
                         .field("date_detection", false)
                         .endObject().endObject()
         ).get();
 
-        GetMappingsResponse response = client().admin().indices().prepareGetMappings("test").addTypes(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).get();
-        Map<String, Object> defaultMapping = response.getMappings().get("test").get(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).sourceAsMap();
+        assertThat(putResponse.isAcknowledged(), equalTo(true));
+        logger.info("DONE: Creating _default_ mappings");
+
+        GetMappingsResponse getResponse = client().admin().indices().prepareGetMappings("test").addTypes(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).get();
+        Map<String, Object> defaultMapping = getResponse.getMappings().get("test").get(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).sourceAsMap();
         assertThat(defaultMapping, hasKey("date_detection"));
 
 
+        logger.info("Emptying _default_ mappings");
         // now remove it
-        client().admin().indices().preparePutMapping("test").setType(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).setSource(
+        putResponse = client().admin().indices().preparePutMapping("test").setType(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).setSource(
                 JsonXContent.contentBuilder().startObject().startObject(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING)
                         .endObject().endObject()
         ).get();
+        assertThat(putResponse.isAcknowledged(), equalTo(true));
+        logger.info("Done Emptying _default_ mappings");
 
-        response = client().admin().indices().prepareGetMappings("test").addTypes(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).get();
-        defaultMapping = response.getMappings().get("test").get(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).sourceAsMap();
+        getResponse = client().admin().indices().prepareGetMappings("test").addTypes(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).get();
+        defaultMapping = getResponse.getMappings().get("test").get(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).sourceAsMap();
         assertThat(defaultMapping, not(hasKey("date_detection")));
 
         // now test you can change stuff that are normally unchangable
-        client().admin().indices().preparePutMapping("test").setType(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).setSource(
+        logger.info("Creating _default_ mappings with an analyzed field");
+        putResponse = client().admin().indices().preparePutMapping("test").setType(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).setSource(
                 JsonXContent.contentBuilder().startObject().startObject(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING)
                         .startObject("properties").startObject("f").field("type", "string").field("index", "analyzed").endObject().endObject()
                         .endObject().endObject()
         ).get();
+        assertThat(putResponse.isAcknowledged(), equalTo(true));
 
 
-        client().admin().indices().preparePutMapping("test").setType(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).setSource(
+        logger.info("Changing _default_ mappings field from analyzed to non-analyzed");
+        putResponse = client().admin().indices().preparePutMapping("test").setType(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).setSource(
                 JsonXContent.contentBuilder().startObject().startObject(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING)
                         .startObject("properties").startObject("f").field("type", "string").field("index", "not_analyzed").endObject().endObject()
                         .endObject().endObject()
         ).get();
-        response = client().admin().indices().prepareGetMappings("test").addTypes(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).get();
-        defaultMapping = response.getMappings().get("test").get(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).sourceAsMap();
+        assertThat(putResponse.isAcknowledged(), equalTo(true));
+        logger.info("Done changing _default_ mappings field from analyzed to non-analyzed");
+
+        getResponse = client().admin().indices().prepareGetMappings("test").addTypes(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).get();
+        defaultMapping = getResponse.getMappings().get("test").get(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).sourceAsMap();
         Map<String, Object> fieldSettings = (Map<String, Object>) ((Map) defaultMapping.get("properties")).get("f");
         assertThat(fieldSettings, hasEntry("index", (Object) "not_analyzed"));
 
         // but we still validate the _default_ type
+        logger.info("Confirming _default_ mappings validation");
         assertThrows(client().admin().indices().preparePutMapping("test").setType(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING).setSource(
                 JsonXContent.contentBuilder().startObject().startObject(MapperService.DEFAULT_MAPPING)
                         .startObject("properties").startObject("f").field("type", "DOESNT_EXIST").endObject().endObject()