Hi all. I'm in the Broomfield area (15 minutes north of downtown denver). My 2004 Rx8 is about to hit 70K miles and my clutch is starting to slip. Most of the time, it feels like the tranny isn't done shifting until 5-10 seconds after my clutch pedal is released, and the RPMs spike up way too high. I've been smelling it burn more and more often.

The thought of taking my 8 to the dealer (again) makes me cringe/puke/cry. I have been looking for a while now for someone in the area who has experience working on rotaries (but I've had little luck), preferrably to do a tear down of the tranny to diagnose the issue, and then possibly install an after market clutch and probably flywheel.

Does anyone out there have any suggestions at all? Where do you guys take your 8s to get serviced besides the dealerships?

 

You should PM Charles R. Hill (Black Halo Racing) for the best prices on clutchs and flywheels. Buy the parts from him and take it to the dealer.

If you go to the Colorado Mazda Club website (www.coloradomazdaclub.com) and PM turbo99jetta he can take care of you. He is with Burt Mazda in Denver (south side) and will take care of the installation.

Good luck!

 

Awesome, thanks man, good tips. I always thought the dealer would scoff at installing non OEM parts.....

So you think they are the best ones to diagnose it too? I am just so skeptical, they always try to exaggerate the problem, I've had to get Mazda involved before.....

edit:

I see what you're saying, turbo99jetta sounds reliable down at Burt. I've actually gotten my oil changed there once, they seemed wayyy better than the closest dealer to me, just a little out of my way but sounds worth it.

Thanks again

Taylor

 

there was a thread in the aftermarket performcance section that talked about this same senario about a week ago (see below). BHR was ready to ship parts ASAP so the dealer could do the install.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-aftermarket-performance-modifications-23/clutch-worth-my-money-167537/

I have never taken my 8 to Burt (because I live in Colorado Springs), but I have heard good things about them.

 

I've been doing as much reading as I can about this issue.

I read in a thread on here that a good test for a failing clutch is to put on the e-brake while stopped, put the car in 3rd gear, and then release the clutch. I read that if the car fights to stay alive, then the clutch is going bad. I tried this test and my 8 died right away. I'm starting to think it may be something else, like air in the hydraulic line, as I read in a separate thread.

It seems like everytime I stop and get out now, I smell the burn.....never used to at all

 

Just an update for anyone who might have been following along. I ended up going through the dealer for parts and labor. I guess they sold me on the warranty factor (12k miles/12months on parts and labor). I used Sil Terhar in Broomfield because they are the closest to my house. I've had shady experiences there before, but this time they seemed to be on top of their stuff. Got it done quickly.

They ended up replacing the entire clutch kit along with the flywheel. Total after parts and labor and a 10% off coupon was $1458, yuck.

Oh well. At least it's fixed & my power is back. Might need to check my coils and plugs, it's been about 20k miles since they were changed.

 

$1,458 for a clutch kit replacement? With their equipment (read: lift) that should be no more than 6-8 hours of work. Yikes. I mean I never want to do another clutch replacement again, but DAMN...that kind of pricing would scare me enough to doing another clutch replacement.