KDBand99

I've been only stalking on the forum for a while now, but wanted to post this shout out to everyone active on this forum for their help and expertise! My 2007 now has 85k miles on it, and I've admittedly treated it like crap the last two years due to life.

After finally saying enough is enough, I carved out and entire weekend and took care of more than I thought possible as a DIY, and saved myself a TON of money.

Here's a list of what was accomplished:

• Changed oil and replaced oil filter (done many times before)
• Changed engine air filter
• Replaced cabin air filter
• Changed all brake pads (rears were a bitch)
• Flushed and bled brake fluid
• Flushed and replaced coolant
• Replaced driver side window motor
• Replaced fog lights (OEM driver's side was cracked)
• Washed, clay bar'd, and waxed the entire body (first wax in 2.5 years...)

Thanks RX8 for helping me find the love for my car again and the knowledge to do it myself!

monchie

It's never too late than never. Anyway, if your car is still running fine without major issues, then those accomplished you did will really help your car to last longer. Good luck and keep maintaining it as long as you can.

KDBand99

Since the last update, I've now done a few more things to the 8, trying to get her back up and running to her potential!

• Seafoam'd the engine. Read up on this a lot, found all the conflicting opinions and saw no significant concerns for just trying it out. Did it, and didn't find any major performance increase. I was a bit conservative in the amount I put in. Didn't want to hydrolock the engine.
• Used PlastiX on the headlights. This I can totally vouch for, and have some pics to prove it. Will post later.
• Inspected my coolant overflow tank as I've been getting the typical coolant light on my dash for forever. Will be replacing the entire tank later.
• Wanted to do a lot more this weekend, but ended up working on the wife's care almost all day.

Still to do (in priority):

• Replace all wires, coils and plugs. First time... ever... 84k...
• Replace rear O2 sensor. Been getting a CEL on this for a while now.
• Inspect the cat while I'm down there. I'll get the warranty replacement if I can get a no-hassle swap from my dealer. If not, and depending on how bad it is, I'll swap it for a new aftermarket cat, or just gut it.
• Install new coilovers. My rear passenger strut has been broken for a while now and pops on the rebound over any bump.
• Install new brake discs. OEM ones have just about had it, but looked OK when I did the pads a couple weeks ago.
• Replace coolant overflow tank.
• Back to black all my plastic bits that have turned grey.

So far I can say that I've probably saved about $800 in labor so far, and with all the to do's left, and other projects I'll find along the way, I'd say another $1,000 in savings.
Also, bought a new OBDLink-WIFI, on it's way this week. I'll link it up to my iPad and eventual carputer project!

04RX8man

Glad you found the love again. I also was "done" with mine for a yr but after a new engine I realized I could never sell it. So I sold my Subaru lol

KDBand99

OK, here's the latest update! The car now is almost running brand new, just a couple more things to do and the repair portion of all my issues will be gone, and then it's off to performance and appearance upgrades!

• Spark plugs and ignition coils changed out. They didn't look too bad, but were way overdue anyway. No white spots, etc. I'm still looking a set of ignition wires to buy.
• Rear O2 sensor was replaced and cat was inspected. Turned out the O2 sensor just went bad (no resistance between connections). Looked in the cat, and all is well, with 85k on it! There is some blockage, but maybe 5%-10% at most. I'm switching to look for a hiflow cat some point down the line. According to the OBD, the cat is staying around 1600F.
• Back to black'd all greyed out plastic parts. Totally worked, but I'll need another application to get it 100%, especially at the exhaust shrouds.
• Replaced transmission fluid with Royal Purple 75W-90. Totally feel the difference already!
• OBDLink WiFi with DashCommand on iPad is up and running! Love having access to and understanding the trends and stats on my car. Makes it much easier to diagnose what's going on.

Still to do:

• Replace ignition wires.
• Still looking for replacement struts or coilovers. I looked at my suspect passenger rear strut and it's definitely broke. Lots of oil residue all over it.
• New coolant overflow tank is on it's way with a new sensor. No more coolant level light soon! I've unplugged the sensor wire for now and just check the fluid at gas fillups.
• Been noticing a vacuum leak somewhere around the intake manifold extension. Not enough to throw any CELs though.
• Replace differential oil.
• Replace brake discs.

Thanks again everyone for the advise, stickeys, and expertise that's allowed me to do all this myself! This is one more RX8 out there that has been saved thanks to RX8Club.
Why does the "Still To-do" list keep getting longer though...

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Nice, congrats on bringing her back into shape!

1 thing.. the RP 75w90 you put in the trans, it's GL5, correct? That stuff is fine for the diff, but there are some threads around here about it eating at the synchros. You maybe to switch the trans to another GL4 oil. 50:50 mix of RedLine MTL and MT-90 for example.

KDBand99

Wow... it's amazing that no matter how much I read and search on this site, there's still more to watch out for. I just read through the posts and will be transferring the Royal Purple oil to the diff. I did have my clutch grind from 1st to 2nd at 9k after I put the Royal Purple in, but just though I missed the pull. I probably did... but now for peace of mind, I'll just change it out eventually.

I didn't see much posting about the 50:50 mix of MTL and MT-90. What advantages are there to that setup rather than just filling 100% MT-90?

Thanks again!!!

KDBand99

So this week was a bit of an off week. Ended up working on the wife's car again most Saturday (new brake pads, bleed brake lines, and wax). Not much time for the 8, but was able to knock a few things off.

• Ignition wires came in from BHR (thanks again Charles!) and installed.
• Getting closer to selecting new struts/coilovers. Settled between Tein Basics or Koni Yellows, keeping my OE springs, and get some lowering springs eventually.
• Red Line MT-90 is on the way and should be getting that in the car mid week.
• Quotes coming back from local shops on window tinting. Probably end up going with Formula One Ceramics, 35%/15% VLC.

Still to do:

• Coolant over flow tank repair. Not too worried about this one, although the light is more annoying now that the CEL and parking brake lights are off.
• Figure out my vacuum leak. Got the SST for this, just need some time to test.
• Rotate my OBD plug. Having the OBDLink, the wires are getting in the way of the clutch. I've read up on a few DIY's, and settled on just rotating it 90 degrees CCW.

After that's done it's off to performance/appearance modifications!!! Thanks again for all the help, and sorry this is turning into more of a diary for me than a meaningful post for others to read, but like Loki chiming in above, it's better to say it and have someone comment than just think I'm doing it all correctly.

monchie

Your doing good and your really serious about it. Just keep updating us with the progress, thanks.

Are-Ex-Eight

iTrader: (1)

I need to get serious about mine.

KDBand99

Another week, and more work done to the 8. She's already feeling better than brand new (or at least as far as I can remember...)

• Changed the oil only after 1,000 miles. Noticed through the dip stick that the new oil was already black, probably because of the bad maintenance from before.
• Added the new Red Line MT-90 in the transmission. We'll see in the next week the difference, but early thoughts are that it's better than the Royal Purple 75W-90.
• Changed out the differential oil with Royal Purple 75W-90.
• Window tinting installed. Went with ceramic 35%/15%. I can't believe I went this long in Florida without tinting. Now I just need to find a replacement passenger dash where the ABS cracks keep happening. Scouring part-outs and salvage yards for a good piece.
• Used Back to Black on the rest of my car. I agree with others out in the forum that once it's on, it attracts so much dirt, it's ridiculous. Better that than faded looking black trim.

Still do to:

• Buy a suspension replacement. I just can't make my mind up on what I want to get?!?!?
• OBD rotate.
• Vacuum test intake. Didn't have enough time this weekend...
• Coolant tank.

Garage is starting to turn into a service station. Thank god I have an understanding wife!

KDBand99

Another pretty good weekend of tweaks to the 8 this weekend! A new set of Koni Yellows came in from BHR (thanks again Charles for the quick shipping)!

After driving with the Red Line MT-90 in the tranny for a week, I can totally vouch that it's performing much better that the Royal Purple 75W-90. I can only assume that it will keep it healthy longer. We'll see!

• Installed rear Koni struts. I can feel the improvement already, plus my car doesn't lift or oversteer anymore! Tried doing this without an pneumatic impact wrench with complete failure. The rear passenger strut that was blown did nothing but spin when I tried removing the top nut, even after clamping everything down. Home Depot had a Husky 500ft-lb wrench on sale for $50! Score!!! Everything came off with no issue after that, plus I'll be using that thing for so much more stuff in the future. Totally recommend getting one if you don't have one yet!
• Vacuum tested the intake manifold and got readings within normal specs of the manual. Guess I just need to get used to the sound of the idle.

Next:

• Install front Koni struts. Shouldn't be much a problem next weekend as I went through that initial learning curve this last weekend.
• OBD plug rotation.
• Looking at LED light swaps. Thinking of starting with interior lights...
• Brake discs back on the list. Any recommendations?
• Midpipe or hi-flow cat
• AEM Cold Air Intake
• Coolant tank replacement