I know that water is normal on the oil dipstick, but my dipstick not only has water but is brown and looks like a milkshake, which usually means headgasket on a normal car, which would mean seals then on the RX8?

Also, the car will overheat if it sits for more than a few min at idle but wll remain normal when driving. Also, when I add the coolant, it sucks it pretty much right away. How bad is it? It also feels like its got no power at the beginning and the trans is having a hard time downshifting sometimes and sometimes it wont shift on time, the motor is reving real high and then it would finally upshit. This is pretty much at normail driving.

 

No problem at all. It's a typical thing with the RX8. If you would type the words "Milky Dipstick" into the search box. It's right up there under the top of the page header. You'd be amazed at the abundance of information you could find. Have a nice day.

 

thanks, I realized there are some threads about this but im getting mixed answers. Some say normal and some say new engine, however, my problem is im also loosing coolant which means NEW ENGINE.... huh? However, car does drive fine (temperatue wise) as long as im NOT stopped?

 

i also read on here that if its a little milky its fine, but if the whole oil looks like a milk shake then its bad? correct? Im doin an oil chance tomorrow to see exacty, i know this has probably been covered to, but what oil and oil grade should I use. I read that 5W-20 is bad and the dealer told me synthetic is bad for the seals, so what should I use? I prob wouldnt want to spend all the money on synthetic if this motor is bad and its just going to mix with coolant again

 

describe your low power. its normal to lack some power in the low end with our engines, they gotta rev high. especially with a 4 speed at. i don't really feel my car's power until I pass 4k rpms up through redline.

Also, the at's shifting is quite annoying i agree. I actually keep mine in manual mode just about every time I'm accelerating from a stop, just so I can hold it in gear longer. In either mode, shifting is sluggish when the engine is cold. You'll read on here most ppl like to keep the engine under 4k rpms while she's warming up

Sorry about your overheating issue. If the car's new, I'd take it into the dealer just to get it checked out anyway and start building your service record.

 

I'd definitely be worried a bit about the overheating problem. I accidently left my car running for 1.5 hours last night in the driveway. I had to move it a few feet, so I left it run for a bit because I'm scared to death of flooding it (although I never have, even after shutting off after only 30 seconds). Then I forgot all about it until a neighbor came over and told me it was still running. D'oh! After all that time, the temp. needle was still less than half way up the guage. Is your cooling fan running? Does your exhaust smell funny?

 

not sure about the fan, it should turn on while its heating up for sure, right? Well, when I add coolant, it literally disappears right away and the raidator light will come on.

 

OK your first post was a little vague. You said "but my dipstick not only has water but is brown and looks like a milkshake". Now that lead me to believe you were having the typical condensation on the top of the dipstick. Like everyone else does when the weather cools off.
Now if you were to have said, My engine oil looks like a milk shake . That would have made it a little easier to figure out what you were trying to tell the class. And thus my response would have been the following.

Now if the engine oil, on your dipstick, is looking like a chocolate milkshake, you sir have trouble.
You have warranty if your under 100,000 miles, on the block itself. And this is where the issue is coming from.
Take it to the dealer and show them the engine oil on your dipstick. Tell them you had to add coolant the other day because the radiator light came on.

 

Dooohhh those bloody seals!

You're under 100k miles, right? D:

 

no warranty for me,

 

well im going to the oil change today, so if all of the oil i drained is MILKY, than im in trouble? Real quick, what oil should I use? Im not putting anything expensive since this is pretty much a test to see the milky, 5W-30 castrol non-synthetic?

 

Sorry about no warranty. Just use 5W30 Castrol.

 

one more question. If I drive the car for about 10min and i turn it off, it usually wont start right back up, but instead I have to wait about 10min? should I slap in new plugs or are the plugs prob filled with oil or coolant or something which is why it cant generate spark?

 

^could be low compression on hard starting when hot.....if ur using lots of coolant and it's not leaking out it sounds like a new motor.....

 

I use 5w-20 Penzoil with no problems but then again, thats just me.

We have quite a few issues here huh? Cold outside, shifting is a bit slower than usual, normal, waiting 10min to turn your car back on is not normal, well IMO if you are stock lol. I mean, you can change your spark plugs/coils/wires/even the starter, lol whole new ignition setup, but before any of that, get it checked out ASAP, if it is a major concern. Like Easy E1 said, "Now if the engine oil, on your dipstick, is looking like a chocolate milkshake, you sir have trouble". ASAP, I would take the car in to the dealership or some sort, and get the engine diagnostic test or something and then have the mechanics deal with every single concern of yours. I'm kind of unsure and also don't want to assume its your engine but could be. Keep us posted.

Good Luck

 

I see the milky stuff on my dipstick occasionally. No concern as it seems pretty common.

The overheating from just idling would concern me. Is your coolant leaking? Fan working?

 

coolant leaking somwhere since its not outside and not sure if the fan is working, when would it turn on? right away?

 

fan would turn on at a certain coolant temp....but can quite remember the temp right now

 

If the coolant is leaking into your engine block, your engine is dying, and as stated, it will turn your oil into a milkshake. If the oil you drain is fine, normal used oil looking, thenit is just a condesation problem, but the problems as you describe them sound alot like a coolant leak into the block with loss of compression, issues that historically have been "new engine / engine rebuild".

If you really are out of the 100,000 mile warranty, or did something else to void it, then that sucks, and rebuilding is probably a good option. Several vendors here, and several non-vendors, rebuild rotaries, and you will probably get a good price on it.

 

^also a good chance to put in 3mm seals and throw a huge turbo on it haha....j/k..

 

^lol

 

Are you just trying to keep it going as long as you can? It's a dead soldier. You have water in your oil, hard starting = low compression. How much longer can it go? As it sits now you might be able to rebuild it. If you keep driving it you will destroy it.

What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?

 

well, im doing the oil change tomorrow which ill know for sure. We still might have hope here, since ive NOT seen the electric fan work. Hopefully the old oil isnt bad tomorrow, (doubt it tho). However, any car with a blown head gasket would NOT be able to drive at all for more than about 5min. You can actually drive this car for hours on the highway but once you stop thats when it heats up. so thats the weird part

 

Why don't you find a good mechanic in the area and take it in for a diagnostic? Check out the regional forum on here and see who people like in the Chicago area.

 

how many miles are on your engine? the engine is warrantied for 8 years/100k miles.

and if you just bought the car, im sorry.