if you are out of warranty the dealer wants to charge 600 bucks to fix this issue

No kidding!, I have warranty until sept 09 so what is this a recall? I checked it again today and after some city driving the foam is gone.

if you are out of warranty the dealer wants to charge 600 bucks to fix this issue

For hmm 1 hour of work ?

No kidding!, I have warranty until sept 09 so what is this a recall? I checked it again today and after some city driving the foam is gone.

NO NEED TO PANIC !

this is NOT an issue damn it. ITs JUST freaking water condensing in your oil system. You do know that there is water around you all the time right ? Its in the AIR !

After you drive it around, the engine and oil gets hot and the water will go AWAY !

Jeeze ...

you CAN ask dealership to install the Ventilation kit for you for free(warranty item), but dealership often screw things up more than fixing it, it will be funny if they take the wrong tube out or install it the other way around.

So just leave it, its NOT an issue.

This is normal for the RX8 As in other cars this would mean a blown head gasket and all bad things... But this is a sealed chamber that will have the emission of a water droplet or steam blown off when it is running...
The dipstick is the only part that is in not direct flow... Meaning that build up will disolve the chamber itself has cooling area compartments and is designed that way to burn it off...
When the dealership puts on a new vent system they are disrupring the flow of the design and can be a good thing or not...

If you do an oil change at your house. Change your oild and your filter... Run it for 5 minutes then drain and the oil again and get a nice long funel to flush oil in the dipstick whole...
On the second change of oil after the 5 minutes i had black oil and the milky stuff gone... But with winter this will form... Summer this is not that present...

Do I get to count this as 11? Ah.....I guess I won't since it wasn't a "new" thread.
Damn it! :banghead:

it just rained here and the weather dropped to unusually cold around these parts.

I checked the oil, and lo' and behold. the milky substance.

If anything, it makes reading the dipstick easier! :)

For those that are out of warranty. There is a fellow on Ebay that is selling the breather kit that the dealership uses to alleviate the problem.

I have used this seller before, he has been awesome.

I took my car to the dealor andthey said it was normal and they would not fix it...
How do you get the dealor to fix it????

If you are under warranty, then go print this out and hand it to them and politely ask that the take care of it.


http://www.finishlineperformance.com/pdf/rx8/bulletin/01-050-06-1664.pdf


oh....and I WON'T COUNT THIS AS NUMBER 12. :)

It would be a good idea if someone could test in a laboratory the lubrication performance of that foam, and see how different it is from the original oil.
:eyetwitch

The foam is condensation from one temp to another
it happen it cold climates from 63F and colder

its completely normal and it will go away once as the engine is fully warmed up
the water temp gauge is a p.o.s so dont trust it (i know this becuse i have a scangauege II and a snap-on scanner and diagnosed it)

it reaches mid at about 155F and stays still until your about 225F

I had that TSB performed a couple of months ago and it takes care of the foam on the dipstick.

I had it even when the weather was warm. :dunno:

Not anymore. :D:

can someone post a link to the TSB from mazda about this oil foam?

can someone post a link to the TSB from mazda about this oil foam?

It's including in the TSB link stickied on th Issues & Problems forum:

http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=14453

Here's the TSB from clicking above:

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/pdf/rx8/bulletin/01-050-06-1664.pdf

click the winter thread link in my sig below:)

Guys this is normal..... I have been in contact with mazda as well as a few dealers in new england looking for one to go to to get service. They all say this is normal but in colder weather there is more milky substance on the dipstick. No worrys....

I had the TSB done when taking care of the moon roof squeaking issue.

The TSB part does fix the issue of not being able to easily read the dipstick if the thick substance gets smeared on the dipstick when removing it to check the level.

There is not any milky substance on the dipstick in cold weather now. ;)

Now that's using your dipstick Jimmy!

quick question wouldn't a oil catch can fix this issue???

quick question wouldn't a oil catch can fix this issue???
No it doesn't. But its not a big deal so after six years of gunk on the stick I don't worry about it.

Tried the catch can it is not anywhere near as effective as the TSB.

Although on FI app I recommend having one.

sounds good thanks for the info guys

maybe it has to do with the type of oil we use? maybe regular oil doesnt have a problem but people running synthetic do? or maybe the different weight other then dealer approved like using other than 5w20? just a thought.

maybe it has to do with the type of oil we use? maybe regular oil doesnt have a problem but people running synthetic do? or maybe the different weight other then dealer approved like using other than 5w20? just a thought.

no

http://www.finishlineperformance.com/pdf/rx8/bulletin/01-050-06-1664.pdf

This is just the nature of the Rotary engine. It goes away when the temps warm up.

For those that are out of warranty. There is a fellow on Ebay that is selling the breather kit that the dealership uses to alleviate the problem.

I have used this seller before, he has been awesome.

is this still on ebay? if so what do i search?

The only place I can find the kit now is from onlinemazdaparts search for the part number N3Y113S80A

I'm new to this with my son's '04.

I'm also fresh off a intake gasket repair on a 3.1L Chevy with Dex Cool disease.

Just did an oil change today and hopefully, with the summer months ahead, this will get better.

i have this, too. thanks for everyone being so helpful. my 2004 ran out of warranty and it occured for the first time today. living in alaska, 60sF usually. About 75 today though. i'm glad it doesn't cause long term problems cause my warranty ran out this past January

:fingersx:I Have 2 RX8's a 2004 230 and a 2006 Evolve both have the same problem making it hard to read the oil level until the dipstick has been taken out several times and cleaned.
I took them to my local mazda dealer who told me to take em out on a long run and hit the rev limiter a few times. Too many short runs of less than 100 miles causes condensation in the engine which he reassured me is quite normal!

Hi im new to the site and have had the gunk problem since i purchased my 2004 RX-8 in may of 2007. I had no other problems til this winter. I've noticed the smell of coolant after I take the car for a drive, even on shorter trips. If i get it to temperture it always smells of coolant. There is no visible leak that i can see on the ground or anywhere else. There is also a brownish tint to the coolant in the overflow bottle, which i assume to be oil. The other problem i have is when idleing at stop the rpm's go down close to 500 and nearly kills the car. Other than that it still drives well.
Any suggestions or tips?

Also i was wondering how i can tell if the recall work has been done. There is a green streak of paint on drivers side door, and also on enginge cover there is a white 18K and a yellow
B18-1. Does that mean anything?


Oh and car has 51013 miles on it now. In 2007 it had about 42000

Looks like I better go for a long drive :)

Hi All,

Am a relatively new RX8 owner - have a 2005 231 and absolutely love the thing.

Was alarmed recently with the creamy gunk I have noticed on my dipstick, which seems to fit the pattern a lot of you are experiencing.

Haven't yet seen a resolution to the problem - do I ignore or should I take some action?

Many thanks in advance

i have the same problem with my 8 and i tought it was a cheap oil treatment i used but i change the oil and the problem still the same. i tryed regular oil and synthetic too and still the same. this only happen when the engine is too cold but my only consern its that the engine light comes on and the engine shakes for a lil while. is this normal? my car has 106,000 miles do i still need to use the 5w20 oil? or other? thanks guys for any help

As I recommend to all that ask about the dreaded CGOD (creamy gunk on dipstick); Run DO NOT WALK to your nearest dealer and BEG them to run procedure MNAO; 010.234b. This is critical for the health of your motor. If the synthetic hypertrophy initiated in the CGOD formation reaches your rotors, your seals will swell and displace the apex springs.

As I recommend to all that ask about the dreaded CGOD (creamy gunk on dipstick); Run DO NOT WALK to your nearest dealer and BEG them to run procedure MNAO; 010.234b. This is critical for the health of your motor. If the synthetic hypertrophy initiated in the CGOD formation reaches your rotors, your seals will swell and displace the apex springs.
http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/6374/notsureifserious.jpg

i have the same problem with my 8 and i tought it was a cheap oil treatment i used but i change the oil and the problem still the same. i tryed regular oil and synthetic too and still the same. this only happen when the engine is too cold but my only consern its that the engine light comes on and the engine shakes for a lil while. is this normal? my car has 106,000 miles do i still need to use the 5w20 oil? or other? thanks guys for any help

The "Gunk" is normal-ish (in that quite a few people have it). It is basically water that has mixed with the oil. I discussed this the local Mazda tech in the summer and he said it is condensation from the pressure crankcase vent. I went on long drives on the highway in an attempt to boil it off. Was I successful? I don't know, but it was an excuse to go drive hard on the weekends :)

As for your CEL and shaking, that's not normal at all and I would recommend pulling the code for the CEL and/or getting your car checked out in detail.

:fingersx:I Have 2 RX8's a 2004 230 and a 2006 Evolve both have the same problem making it hard to read the oil level until the dipstick has been taken out several times and cleaned.
I took them to my local mazda dealer who told me to take em out on a long run and hit the rev limiter a few times. Too many short runs of less than 100 miles causes condensation in the engine which he reassured me is quite normal!

No amount of hard driving made this go away for me, but you won't see anywhere near the cold temperatures that I do. Mazda installed the kit under warranty and the problem went away (although I had to take it back because the mechanic interchanged the colored solenoids, and left a hose unattached. Got a CEL and two trouble codes shortly after leaving the shop)

Yeah same thing's happening to me, does the top most part of the "milky oil" show that that's the oil level, or should i be looking for the black oil...it's about 6 degrees.

I've always gone with the oil level and ignored the foam, never had a problem in 6 years. Run the dip stick in and out several times, wiping it down every time, and you should eventually get a clean reading.

I had the same issue while living in Saratoga Springs, New York . I saw this white milky substance and somewhat freaked out when i saw it. At the time it was around fall/winter. Highest temp i saw was 65F lowest was around -5F o_O. I looked online for some sort of resolution and sadly i didn't find any. Partly b/c i was way too busy at work. Then i moved to San Diego and no more milky substance. approx. 30k miles later no problems with the engine. So I would suggest a warmer climate. ; )

So its not just long drives but also "drive it like you stole it" or "1 redline a day keeps bad stuff away" that I see people post everywhere?

So its not just long drives but also "drive it like you stole it" or "1 redline a day keeps bad stuff away" that I see people post everywhere?

The "gunk" is basically water in your oil. The idea behind the long drive "like you stole it", is that the water will boil off eventually. Now the problem lies in the fact that there isn't anywhere convenient for this water vapor to go if it really does boil. So for the most part, I think it just goes back into your oil etc.

There's only two sure bets:

Move somewhere warm
Modify your PCV Valve. This prevents water condensing in your oil in the first place

With respect to the PCV thing, Mazda can do it for you but obviously it's not cheap.

I did also see this on the oil dipstick, however the temperature dropped from 16 degrees Celcius to -2, in two days. ( Yes I'm from Sweden ) :tank:

Ofcourse it doesn't have to go from warm to cold, but that could also be a reason. I would think that the difference between the temperature during the day compared to temperature during night is the bad guy here.

Having been alarmed by this problem earlier today and (after getting my heart back into my chest) finding this thread . . .

The "gunk" is basically water in your oil. The idea behind the long drive "like you stole it", is that the water will boil off eventually. Now the problem lies in the fact that there isn't anywhere convenient for this water vapor to go if it really does boil.

If this is true, perhaps taking the oil cap off after a long drive would help get the water vapor out?

Having been alarmed by this problem earlier today and (after getting my heart back into my chest) finding this thread . . .



If this is true, perhaps taking the oil cap off after a long drive would help get the water vapor out?

It might help. But I would think you're just as likely to allow more to get in. Feel free to try it and report back though.

Thank you for searching frezik :bigok:

You get 10000 internetz.


Taking your cap off may or may not make a difference, but it's a waste of time. The milky shit on the dipstick isn't gonna hurt anything. It just makes checking your oil take longer. An insulated dipstick tube would make the problem go away, but it more work than it's worth imho. Just make sure you check and change your oil consistently and you'll be fine.

I actually found gunk on my dip stick for the first time today. Its weird because in Houston ive always ran 5w-20 (old and new engine) and the only thing ive done different is switched from 5w-20 to 5w-30. Same area still. Yay i guess :rock:

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/8859/picsay1325287974.jpg

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/2774/picsay1325286536.jpg

My RX-8 has had this issue in the past and present. My theory is that it is merely caused by cold temperatures, warm up time or not, completely full or half empty oil, it just doesn't like the cold much, so it foams at the mouth.

Sure could use some reassurance here.

I backed my 8 out of the garage and did the fog light rewire. I started the engine a couple of times to make sure I did the for light rewire job right. I waited about 10 to 15 minutes and checked the oil level. I pulled the dip stick out, wiped it, re-inserted and pulled it out again. The dip stick had white foam with the oil all over it. I did the procedure again with similar results. The bottom bent end of the dip stick had a drop of foaming looking oil on it as well. The oil smelled like it had gasoline in it. The outside air temp was around 54 degrees.

The 8 has about 1500 miles on it. Oil level was 1/2 quart low. The car had been driving 24 hours earlier.

I would suspect if I were getting water into the oil the oil level would rise.

I'm hoping this condition is caused by cool temperature and no warm up.

Can anyone out there help?

Mine is an amber color not white. An oil change @ about 2.5K [with filter] does the trick. I think it's def. condensation. Would love to know the inlet source . Prob. the air box [K&N] and then to the coldest part of the motor or any sect. of rotor with vacuum in it when motor is turned off. My guess would be the "resin material intake" . Then start the motor and it prob. pulls all that moisture in & "blenders" it to a amber foam . Exhaust entre seems non believable.-too long and h20 wouldn't like the hot converter. My 8 [04] always produces moisture from exhaust until @ temp or b 4. Moisture will always condense on cold surfaces [in respect to warmer parts], so makes sence to me. I put some of the "goop" on a glass slide and warmed it up with a hair dryer & it did seperate but not completely. I also had to change the rusted oil pan @93K due to internal rust. Water is heaver than oil so it prob. sat in pan [while I slept, LOL] and formed a rust leak. Well thats my two cents. Hope it helps. I got lazy with the oil changes, sooo....

I actually found gunk on my dip stick for the first time today...

http://img845.imageshack.us/img845/8859/picsay1325287974.jpg

http://img683.imageshack.us/img683/2774/picsay1325286536.jpg


Oh boy, how many miles do you have on your engine? That is a lot, the reason I asked is beacuase that's what mine looked like when I noticed a sweet smell out of the exhaust in addition to brown sediment/particles in the reservour.

I have read the pages but still not much reassured, called jiffy lube told them whats up the guy said it might be be water mixed with the oil and the oil level might be low already that's why it's making that "white foam" on the dipstick or you guys call it CGOD right? But I just checked it on cold temp wiped it several times to get a clean look , it was only about 1/8 away from the max ..is it because I'm using 5-w30 ? Its been 510 miles since I put oil in it, car has 70k miles on it '04 year. Thanks I appreciate an answer lol

Its not because your using 5w-30. Its simple heat transfer thermodynamics. Where the dip stick is located is at a cooler temperature then the oil actually in the engine. this causes naturally occuring moisture in the oil to congeale there at the dipstick. There is mulitple threads here covering that aspect of the design in even more detail. You can have a completely full and still see this. However if you need more reassurance you can always take an oil sample the next time you change your oil and send it off to blackstone for analysis that should give you the warm fuzzy you are looking for lol.

Okay thanks, thats good hahah :) thx a lot zoomiezoom I thought it was a bad thing, I should as well visit a rotary specialist to get a check up, haven't had it for my 8 since I bought it.... 2 months ago :p

Okay thanks, thats good hahah :) thx a lot zoomiezoom I thought it was a bad thing, I should as well visit a rotary specialist to get a check up, haven't had it for my 8 since I bought it.... 2 months ago :p

Its ok its all part of the new to rotary paranoia. So much negative press out there every little nuiance and were scared to death we are gonna be one of the unlucky ones. Two easy indicators to look for to tell you if you got a problem brewing is the idle is off or your power profile changes those two are you generally your first indicators something is amiss.

I have the same problem with cream on the dipstck.
I live in the UK and I like your rx8 club.
If I have a problem with my car this site is the first place I look.
I am thinking of putting a pipe on the tube,and run it to a small plastic bottle.
If you have a better way let me know.
Philip Mansell uk

If no one's said it recently, there's a Mazda TSB for this:
http://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=183774

Go to post #8 and click MILKY SUBSTANCE ON OIL LEVEL GAUGE.

I know about the TSB; however, right around 155,000 miles is when I initially noticed the sweet smell out of my exhaust, then the low coolant fluid leve,l and the sediments in the tank... And the "GUNK".

As Easy E1 and Jedi said:

You've lost a coolant seal. Time is limited before it fails to start at all. But you put on some impressive mileage. :)
We have a local that got 134,000.

your motor is on borrowed time.