Dannyboy444

Hi I've recently got an 06 rx8 off my brother as it is now struggling to run!
I tried to start it first off and just seemed to flood, after deflooding I was getting backfires.
I removed the plugs and they were gunked up so we cleaned them and they looked brand new. Put them in an a good jump battery connected and within a minute or so it fired and run quite well with only a very slight stutter about 6k.
After a small run it started to struggle so we stripped the coils and 3 were burnt so put 4 new ones on today and it won't start on the starter but will bump.
If you put it in deflooding mode you can hear it backfiring and sometimes comes back up to the airbox.
It started to smoke and run rough once it was running and a oily scented smoke was coming from the car and the catalytic was glowing really red!
The compression in the engine is good.
No mil light
Full service history at Mazda to 61k
Only done 66k
I've been going through the internet for about a week now and the only 2 possibilities I'm left with is blocked cat or engine failure!
Am I missing anything else?
Also if I just disconnect the cat would the engine run?
Any help would be greatly appreciated
Also any tips
Thanks
Dan

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

The car will run without the cat, but super loud.
Drop it, inspect it, if it's bad, gut it.
Start from there.
*édit* I mean loud with no cat, open pipe, not too bad if you gut it and reattach it. If it's just clogged, that's ok, just gut it off the car, being careful to not damage the 02 sensor,(removing it first is s good idea) if the back half is broken up, you'll have to be sure none got into your exhaust pipe or muffler.

Dannyboy444

Thank you very much that is the answer I really wanted to hear lol!
Hopefully it will fire up and then just break the cat out!
If not I'm guessing it's a goosed engine
Cheers
Dan

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

If you had a good rotary specific compression test, (2 sets of 3 numbers) then I would think it would be unlikely it's the engine, unless you had some kind of catastrophic failure.
If it's been flooded, it most likely had misfires which often destroy the cats.
Did you have any flashing CELs?
It would be a good idea to get the OBD scanned to see if you have any stored or pending codes, if you can.
Good luck!

Mysterion

It also couldn't hurt to read the following Really carefully.


https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/

gwilliams6

When you say the compression in the engine is good, is that backed up by the six numbers of a rotary engine compression test, or just your feeling. A failing engine may still seem to have good compression. You need to have those numbers to really know the true condition of your engine, and it is not only related to mileage, but related to proper maintenance and a healthy ignition system all of which can lead to cat and engine damage. Flooding, smoking and running rough are symptoms of engine and/or ignition issues. Cat glowing red speaks for itself about your cat's condition. All these critical areas need a thorough check.

Dannyboy444

Not got any figures for the compression so I'll look into that further, the cat was empty. Nothing inside.
It did not start even with the cat removed but stil backfired!
Could this also be a result of a bad starter as when it's turning over it dosent seem very fast, needle barely moves from zero on rpm?
Cheers
Dan

Mysterion

First thing you should be doing is pull the plugs and see if they are clean and in good order. *NOTE* there are 2 different styles of plugs used so be careful not to mix them up. If those check out OK, check the leads to the plugs to make certain they are in the right order and fit snugly at both ends. (diagram for order below)

Next, as to the starter: have you checked the battery to make sure it is not on it's last leg? A surface voltage test will be a good place to start and is easily done with a standard multimeter. However, to be dead sure it isn't dying, a load test is in order and that can be performed by any service shop without even having the car present. If you go to have the load test done, make sure the battery is fully charged as they will probably charge you extra to charge it first as the battery must be fully charged to do a proper load test. Once the load test is done, reinstall the battery or it's replacement and, while doing so, trace and check all the cables for signs of damage and to make sure ALL connections are clean and tight, If, after all this and if the battery checked out OK under load, the starter still sounds too slow, pull the starter and take it to a starter repair shop to be bench tested. That way, if the starter tests as faulty, you can obtain a repair/replacement while you are there.

The who;e logic of this exercise is to try to get the car to turn over cleanly without backfiring and turning over fast enough (250 RPM) to do a proper compression test. Getting the test done, alone, will run you around $100 so the last thing you'll need is to have the car farting like crazy prompting the dealer to start throwing parts (and your hard-earned money) at it trying to smooth out the starting enough to do a proper test.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Be sure your battery is good first, get it tested.
Are you sure you have the right OEM style coils?
You might try pulling the plugs out and cranking it without the fuel pump fuse to expel any excess fuel.
Before spending money on parts you may not need, it would be a good idea to get a rotary specific compression test.
No sense wasting money changing parts if you need a new engine.
Good luck!

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

There's also a troubleshooting process you could follow, you can probably find it pretty easily, a downloadable PDF service manual is available.
A few other things you could check before spending any money, check to ser if you may have too much oil in you engine, pull your air box to be sure you don't have oil in your intake, clean your ESS & MAF sensor.

Mysterion

As to that: below is an engine manual link. Ignition starts on pg 216

http://jmp.sh/wmBjaSc

Dannyboy444

Cheers guys I swapped the battery for a known good one so it's not that that's the problem, I've had the plugs out and cleaned them up with a wire brush to be safe but the gaps where correct and looked new, I'm goner get a set of leads to try but think it may be goosed.
Thanks for the link also I will have a good read through tonight
Regards
Dan