RobGraz

I would if it were just pads, not experienced on replacing rotors and lines though. I'm about five
minutes from the hobby shop too. $2 to use the lift there.

jl1rx7

iTrader: (2)

They can point you on how to do that at the hobby shop. Plus read the DIY on here and they will give great step by step instructions.

scollister

Hi all,

I'm in Northern Virginia and am looking for a good and inexpensive mechanic to replace the clutch on my 2004 RX8. Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Scott

Jriggs7

There used to be a place in Chantilly that did rx's and miatas

Suave177

Seems to be more action here than the hampton roads thread. Kind of new to the area just seeing if there are any get togethers or people to share knowledge with. Scollister, if you buy the clutch it comes with the alignment tool needed. If you have any mechanical skills it really isnt that hard to change out your clutch. Mating the tranny back to the engine can be a little hard but nothing you and a buddy cant handle. Best of luck

Sway

https://www.facebook.com/Rx8VirginiaChapter?fref=ts <--- our FB page.

The club is going through changes right now...and the dude now in charge has his car in the shop getting his clutch replaced. I want to do more meets and what not but he's in charge of doing that....soooo I don't know when the next meet will be.

Suave177

Ok I see. I thought this was the same as the Hampton roads crew.needless to say I joined the page. Hopefully we can get a meet going. The weather pretty much killed it for the Williamsburg meet.

battlehawk77

iTrader: (1)

I thought I'd poke my head in here, since it appears to be a little more active than the HR thread. Got my green beauty this past Friday, and I think I'm in love.
I know Hampton Roads has a lot of 8s, as there were two others besides mine in the service lane at Hall Mazda in VB when I came in to get my oil changed, and there was another one that I saw in the bay on a lift.

zachs9909

iTrader: (1)

Just checked that Facebook page. Looking like he's trying to set up a meet for the 23rd of June. Time and place still unknown.

Sway

Yea...we are still talking about where we are going to set up the meet.

I know a mechanic that will do work on 8's if you have any trouble but I'm in Richmond.

Sway

Okay, so the first meet up place will be in Williamsburg at apple bees. 1640 Richmond road, Williamsburg va 23185. Time will be 4:30pm so maybe we can cruise around after wards and take some pictures.

battlehawk77

iTrader: (1)

I'm liking the sound of that. Sundays are about the only days I have open, so that should work nicely. It would be good to meet up with other 8 owners in the area and swap tips and lies.
I'll hop over the the FB page and join up.

Sway

That was the problem for most ppl.....so we set it up for a Sunday at first. To gage how many ppl would actually come. It's not going to be set up for every Sunday but it's a good start.

zachs9909

iTrader: (1)

I'm gonna head down from Woodbridge, VA if anyone from Northern VA wants to head down with me.

battlehawk77

iTrader: (1)

Just a reminder that the meetup is a week from Sunday, the 23rd.
If there's anyone here from the Southside Hampton Roads area that wants to go up as a group, drop me a PM. I'm looking to leave around 3pm.

battlehawk77

iTrader: (1)

Tomorrow is the day! We're gathering at 4:30 in the parking lot of the Food Lion down the street from Applebees. The address for the Food Lion is 5601 Richmond Rd in Williamsburg.
See you there!

battlehawk77

iTrader: (1)

Also, if anyone on here is in the Hampton Roads area and wants to roll up as a group, drop me a PM. I'm looking to leave the VB area around 3.

battlehawk77

iTrader: (1)

Pics from the meet-up are posted as an album on my profile.

puryearn

After several months of noticing my RX-8 becoming more sluggish, and getting some hints from friends as to what the possible cause was, the local dealership just confirmed a low compression issue in rotor 1. They, of course, want me to get a brand new engine (when the compression is not that bad, but does fall below Mazda's "compression threshold," or whatever you want to call it). So I died just a little inside when I thought about the options, and realized it might be time to look for a more reliable car... because I don't care to dish out $7,000 for a new engine anytime soon.

With that being said, I'd like to do everything possible to hang on to the 8, so that would probably mean fixing the bad compression in the engine I already have. However, I don't know of ANYONE out this way (SW VA) who is even qualified to work on rotary engines.

I'm living in Blacksburg now, but I could just as easily get the work done around the Richmond/Petersburg area, and I'd be willing to take the car anywhere between the SW VA area and the Richmond area (and maybe even farther away).

Any recommendations/suggestions?

7andan8

There is a rotary shop in Roanoke. I don't know anything about them, but they've been on my list of shops to check out as I'm in the same boat as you. My recent addition of an upgraded starter solved my hard start issues, but it's only a matter of time.

Rotary Life and Full Performance ... 3301 Melrose Ave NW, Roanoke, VA 24017
They have a FB page as well.

Suave177

There's no way $7k is accurate. A remanufactured block is about $2k from mazda. Rotary resurrection can sell u a remand factored block for about 1500-2k as well. As far as damage though, you won't know until you open it up. Could be carbon locked. Do you happen to remember the compression numbers they gave you? I'm in Newport News and I rebuilt my own engine down and I didn't spend anywhere near 7k and I ended up with a spare block! If I had to do it over again I would definitely just go with a remanufactured block though.

7andan8

To help you with this info, RotaryResurrection (spelled w/o a gap) is here on the forum and has a shop around Knoxville, TN. Not a bad distance compared to what you were willing to travel going East.

puryearn

7andan8, yeah, I think I might have to talk to RotartyResurrection. I've looked at the info on their website, and I might be interested in going that route in the future. I'm just curious what I should do in my current situation.

The compression numbers were (taken at 247 RPM):

Rotor 1: (7.0) (6.9) (6.3)
Rotor 2: (7.4) (7.4) (7.5)

I'd like to try everything I can to a) save as much money as possible and b) keep driving my 8 as long as possible. With compression numbers like these, what do you guys think? Am I driving on borrowed time, or could I have another 30,000 miles out of this engine if I take GREAT care of it? The worst part of it all is that I just ran out of Mazda's warranty early this year, when I started having issues with the engine. If those issues just started a few months and a few miles sooner, I might have had a new engine paid for by Mazda...

Such is life...

Suave177

Your numbers aren't horrible. You are on the lower end of the acceptable compression spectrum but ur engine, if you maintain it well, I.e. ensure it's fully warmed up before driving, ensure oil and coolant levels are good, good spark plugs an coils etc, should be ok. I would definitely start saving and looking into options for the fatal day but I wouldn't be completely losing sleep like it will croak tomorrow. Save ur money and research shops or possibly doing the work your self. Sounds like a big job but hey they teach monkeys to go in space! Good luck

chromez

This thread still good for meetups?