ZiG

Hey guys,

Finally decided to actually go out and LOOK at one of these fine automobiles. Test drove on 05 with about 65k miles this evening. I have to say, I was impressed. The manners of the car, interior, seating position, etc.

There were a couple issues though, mostly specific to the engine, and as I have no experience with rotaries I figured I should ask about them.

First of all (not related to the engine), I noticed the clutch was a little strange. Push on the pedal and it would move almost an inch with no resistance before it would sort of click and then there would be resistance. I'm wondering if maybe the bracket could be broken, as I have read that can happen from time to time?

And then there's the engine.. I only wound it out a few times but I noticed that at high RPM/high throttle, I could hear sort of a rattling sound, almost like marbles in a tin can but higher frequency. It could be something like a loose heat shield, maybe, but I don't know how worried I should be. No idea what a 'bad' rotary sounds like..

Also, the first time I gave it a good high throttle run, at around 7-8k it missed and caused the car to buck as if I had momentarily let off the throttle and then got back on. Could that be a sign of a bad ignition system?

I know I'll need to drive at least a couple more to get a good feel, but in the meantime if anyone has any thoughts on this one in particular, I'm all ears.

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

Welcome to the site.
Your in Calgary, maybe some Canadian friends can help out with some issues. We do have a Canadian Forum here.

To answer some questions and get you cought up on the RX8, read this thread: https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...t-here-202454/

If you wish to know what a RX8 should sound like, check out YouTube. The RX8's there are likely to be modified, so they will sound a bit different.

The clutch peddle assembly has been known to brake a some of the welds. In the US there was a government mandated replacement policy. I don't know about CA. It's not too difficult to replace. There are some vendors here that will sell a reinforcing kit or a completed upgraded assembly. Search for Black Helo Racing & Race Roots for information.

It is always a good idea to replace the coils and spark plugs on an RX8. The plugs ($20 US) every 30km give or take. The coils maybe every other time you replace the plugs.

There is a condition which has been commonly called "marbles in a can". It has been traced to air moving through the cooling system (and heater core).

ZiG

Hey, thanks for the reply. I have read through that thread already, and found it very informative.

Do you know what the symptoms of a broken clutch are? If they are similar to what I described then fair enough, but if when it breaks it just falls apart, then there's probably something else wrong here.

Would that issue with the coolant only happen at high RPM and high engine load?

alnielsen

iTrader: (4)

The clutch problem hasn't shown up in my car. The symptom is, when you press on the peddle it just doesn't work anymore. The problem is in the peddle assembly inside the cabin. Not in the hydraulics or the clutch itself.

The "marbles in a can" happens at high rpm because the coolant is moving more rapidly through the system. Unless, what you are calling it is not the same sound we are talking about. Then it could be pre-ignition. You would need to make certain that the car is filled with premium gas. Someone could have got cheap and used regular.

ZiG

Hm, fair enough. I guess I wouldn't even know if knock sounds the same in a rotary or not. Looks like I should definitely drive a few more before making a decision. This one is too much money to not be pristine, anyway. Thanks for the help!