t.swain

I've scowered the Internet pretty deeply and can't find the answer/solution to my problem.
I've got an 04 with 70k and never had any issues with it I'm the year I've owned it.
However, now my oil is disappearing.
I know the car burns oil as part of its combustion process but it should not be burning it at the rate at which I'm losing it.

The car doesn't appear to be leaking, due to my driveway being spot free.
And it doesnt smell as if it's burning it, but that's my assumption of where it's all going.

I got an oil change and in less then 100 miles there's was almost no oil I'm the vehicle.
Filled the oil to a little above the second line on the dipstick, drove 10 miles, and oil is now halfway between the two lines.

Anyone else run into anything like this?
I can't really afford to pay Mazda the money to figure out what's wrong with it, let alone fix it at this point in time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you

ZOOM-I-DO

I know you said that their was no oil spots on the driveway but sound like you have an oil cooler/line leak.
If you look under the hood and under the nose you see no oil film at all?
Start the car and look under the car for drips etc..
It has to be going somewhere. What color is your exhaust?

bse50

Removing the undertray may help seeing where the car leaks.

However... are you completely sure about your oil level? it's possible that the dealership didn't fully refill your car and then you measured when hot\cold after pouring yours.
That kind of a massive leak would be noticed either underneath or in the form of blue smoke out of the exhaust.
Depending on the quantity it may be your OMP being stuck open, a line leak or worse but..
Try adding some oil with the car still warm, let it cool down... drive and see what happens 10\15 minutes after shutting it off.

Chris

iTrader: (10)

there would be oil everywhere if you were losing as much as you think you are.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

1 quart of burn every 300 miles leaves an oil smoke haze when driving, oil soot shooting out the tail pipe. I have a car that does that right now. Your claimed rate is 15 times more. It would look like an incoming disaster.

If you are leaking it, it will be visibly coating the bottom of the car and easy to detect at that rate.

It's more likely that you aren't checking and filling with the car at the same state each time (hot but off for 5-10 minutes is far different reading than cold overnight sitting or while running)

Chris

iTrader: (10)

just like above, oil settles which is why adding oil to a cold car then driving hot then stopping and checking again the oil will have dropped on dip stick. Which is what it sounds like from the OP.

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

It's not so easy to see the oil level on the dipstick immediately after an oil change. Are you sure you're just not seeing it? Were it that low, an oil level light should be coming on too.

t.swain

My oil light came in a few days after leaving the dealership.
Now that the oil is between the two lines, the light has gone off.

There is no oil in the engine bay anywhere and I can't see any dripping while it runs. The exhaust is a cream color until heated up and then it turns to normal.

As far as the state of the car when I check it. I'm fairly consistent. But I'll check it in the morning for the next few days.

How do I check my oil cooler/lines to check for a leak?

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

If a fitting on the oil cooler itself is leaking, it may not leave a trace in the engine compartment. Remove the front section of the front fender liners (the one with the air vents) and peek in there.

VOODOO8

There is a known issue with the oil cooler lines rusting out in the Series 1 RX8. Canada has a factory repair TSB for it, that TSB has not yet been replicated in the US (to the best of my knowledge). Living in New England, where road salts and seacoast conditions can accelerate the issue, I used the Canadian TSB to get my lines rebuilt a couple of years back - materials per the Canadian TSB were covered and all I had to do was pay labor. They have been fine ever since with no signs of rust reoccurring. If you have a perforated oil cooler line someplace, it will show up easily just by looking under the front of the car in the vicinity of the cooler(s) next to the radiator. Oil will be everywhere, especially if you are loosing anywhere near the amount of oil you think you are.

t.swain

Just an update since everyone seems to think I'm retarded when it comes ro the amount of oil I'm leaving. Two weeks ago I took my car to the dealer. Had an oil change. Mentioned my problem. They said come back when the light comes on.
Well today, 146 miles later the light came on.
I've been under my car twice in the last week to change the starter and the plugs. No signs of oil. Although I did not intentionally look around, I didn't see any.

I've dropped a lot of money in the last month to figure out my hot start issue. The dealer hrs sucks and continues to rip me off. I'd rather figure the problem out and solve it on my own.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Where are you located? Might be worth finding a local knowledgeable to see if they can help you in person?

t.swain

I'm in Saratoga Springs, NY
About 25 minutes north of Albany

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Hmm, almost 4 hours north of me.

Trying to think of who might be up your way...

t.swain

There has to be something going on because all of my spark plugs were black.
I have no idea when any of them we're changed last. Same for the coils and wires. I just assumed the dealer took care of all that prior to selling the car. I've only put 10k miles on the car since I've owned it.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Are the inside of your exhaust tips covered in soot?

Can you take a clean white paper towel and hold it in front of one tip and rev the engine (someone to help you with one or the other that is). Hard. Brief full throttle to the floor to redline. Only going to take a split second. Watch for any soot getting blasted on the paper towel, either on the throttle on or throttle off.

If you still don't get any, but the inside of the tips are covered in soot, then it's probably only happening on high load throttle or high vacuum of in-gear deceleration.

Are you willing to pull off the upper intake manifold? Several 10mm bolts, 2 12mm bolts, after getting the air box, accordion, and throttle body. All there on top of the engine bay.

A few possibilities still exist.

1) Oil control ring failure inside the engine, and you are dumping oil and burning oil like crazy.

2) Your oil sump is getting pressurized, and it's ejecting the oil into the intake, where it is getting dumped into the engine. A quart+ in 88 miles is incredibly high.

3) something failed with your OMP in a way that it's basically an open vacuum from your oil sump through the oil lines and injectors

The plugs being black is an indication that you are certainly burning it.

t.swain

There is a bunch of soot on the exhaust tips. But it didn't spray anything onto the napkin.

What am I looking for on the upper intake manifold? And I have to take off the accordion, air box and throttle body.

Any way to check the oil ring, oil sump, or OMP?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

You are looking for any oil beyond a "light residue". Any accumulation, puddling, air filter soaked, etc.

The oil control rings are internal to the engine, one per side of each rotor, so no way to "check" them without tearing down the engine.

Oil sump pressurizing is something you can theoretically check, but if this is happening, you should have oil all through the intake.

OMP failure is going to be a challenge to check, but if we rule out everything else, we can worry about that.

t.swain

An accumulation of oil in the upper intake manifold will point to it being the oil sump?

Sorry. Not too inclined much past basic maintenance.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

If the oil sump is being pressurized, then the oil would be getting ejected into the intake. If you find lots of oil there, then it points to the pressurization as a problem. WHY it's being pressurized would be the next question we have to answer.

t.swain

Okay that makes sense. And the quickest way to check this is the upper intake manifold?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

The UIM is the farthest you would have to check. If this is indeed happening, then you will probably find oil earlier than that, in the accordion. But it's not a sure thing, so if those are clean, it's worth pulling the UIM to validate that is clean as well.

t.swain

All of those are clean. The only thing I found was grease in the accordion which I'll assume is suppose to be there judging by the way it was applied between each crevice. They were all relatively clean. No excessive amount of oil. Will follow up with pictures after a quick shower.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Well, if it's not spilling out or leaking out, and there is indication that it's being burned, and it isn't in the intake, the only real likely option is oil control rings.

If you had a midpipe, I'd say you should see the oil smoke, but I guess the cat is stripping it.

The OMP failure doing a full dump is an improbability. Not sure how to test for it.

Going to get another guy in here to get another mind on the problem.

t.swain

If it does end up being the oil rings, they are an internal part of the engine, therefore would it be covered under the warranty?
If so, I've only got a month left until mine is up.