Getting a new engine -- free

8_wannabe · 12-11-2004, 02:33 PM

Well, this is a bummer. About one year ago I posted a long saga about a broken ring gear that resulted in me getting a new transmission. I had left my car overnight in the garage; the next day it wouldn't start.

Deja vu all over again. I just got an F-150, so my poor '8 sat in my garage for about 4 days. On Friday I go to start it up, and nuttin. The starter spins, but no way is the engine catching. I get it towed to John Hine Mazda (San Diego) and after a few hours they call to tell me I'm getting zero compression.

They'd like to pull the engine apart to see wazzup but Mazda won't let them. Mazda wants the A-team in Japan to personally dissect the engine back at the factory. So they are expediting a brand-new engine to John Hine and it'll go in next week or so.

The service manager said he suspected a broken apex seal, but I dunno. First, how could that happen? Second, wouldn't I have heard something? I had literally no warning or indication of the problem.

So anyway, I can weave a silver lining out of this. My '8 is already listed for sale here plus it went into Autotrader today (this was long planned when I got the truck.) Check out the ad, but anyone picking up this car with 23K miles on it will get a brand-new Renesis, and the tranny with only 10K miles on it. Practically brand new!

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rotten42 · 12-11-2004, 04:13 PM

Join the club....mine lost compression about 1.5 months after I bought it. Same thing happened, they sent a guy out to check it over and next thing I know I'm getting a new engine from Japan. The old one was shipped back to Japan. Since then my car has been working flawless.

DMRH · 12-11-2004, 04:14 PM

The A-team in Japan want to learn from real life experiences on these engines. You can only go so far with expert tech's that know how to treat the engiens right.

Nothing like real world testing to go outside the bubble you see.

Your engine will find its way from your dealership back to Mazda HQ at Irvine, CAL then packed in a container when it gets to a certain number of dead engines for shipping back.

I was at Irvine HQ in SEP & they had around 20 engines sitting in the corner. Most died from leaking water & overheating. Caused by thrashing them when cold. Something many first time rotary owners do a lot

alphapenguin · 12-11-2004, 06:10 PM

you would think that since the car was first out in japan, they should have already figured out most of the kinks.

8_wannabe · 12-12-2004, 02:22 PM

They didn't have that much head start on us in Japan.

Slims8 · 12-12-2004, 08:52 PM

WTF? They are giving Engines out and I can't even get a clutch?

It sounds like you are having some bad luck with the car. A tranny and an engine? Wow!

8_wannabe · 12-12-2004, 10:23 PM

Bad luck or good, depending on your perspective. They are rebuilding my car for free piece by piece. If they've made any improvements in the Renesis over the last 18 months I should be getting them. For one thing, nothing I have done (and I've tried everything) has improved my mileage above 16.7 mpg. I have high hopes that the new engine may do the trick.

8_wannabe · 12-22-2004, 06:26 PM

Update -- No new engine. They decided there is a TSB which applies to my car related to carboning up, preventing ignition. They cleaned it out somehow, and now it runs good as new. I just run at higher revs now to avoid carbon build up.

rx8cited · 12-22-2004, 10:32 PM

So are you going to keep it or still selling it?

ScottishRX · 12-22-2004, 11:42 PM

I've just got one question......... Why the hell are you swapping your eight for an F150? It's not like theyy can pull the same loads?????

8_wannabe · 12-23-2004, 12:23 AM

Nah, I can tow a bit more in the 150. Truthfully, it was the perforated shades that did it for me. The '8 goes. :-)

snap-on · 12-23-2004, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 8_wannabe

Nah, I can tow a bit more in the 150. Truthfully, it was the perforated shades that did it for me. The '8 goes. :-)

You were the first to slam me for my grammer..12/03

As an "old timer" I really hate to see you go.

8_wannabe · 12-23-2004, 12:35 AM

lol, whatta memory. Ahh.... those were the good ol' days. When our only gripe was "What's holding up our cars at the port!?" I remember when the first video was shot, the cars coming off the ship in Tacoma, and we were able for the first time to hear that distinctive "Hummmmmm." I guess we were more easily entertained in those long-ago days...

rotten42 · 12-23-2004, 01:27 AM

Too bad about the new engine......I noticed such a differece between the original engine and the replacement they sent from Japan.

The first engine was not as smooth...it sounded different (more of that turbine sound)...it got worse gas mileage.....and it didn't rev as smoothly though the 6K rpm range and up.

This new engine is great.....made me forget about the three weeks it sat in the shop.

rpm_pwr · 12-23-2004, 03:31 AM

Rotten42, sounds like you just had a dud. The perils of hand-built stuff I'm afraid. You must be pretty relieved now!