blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

Difficult going into any gear and greater than normal vibration. I pulled the gearbox and flywheel off to replace the clutch and flywheel. Found this behind the flywheel. There appears to be metal damage to the bearing sleeve around the flywheel. Not sure what to do now?

I thought the vibration was either motor mounts, or some part of my clutch stuck to the flywheel throwing it out of balance. Mounts are fine and I did not see anything stuck to the flywheel...

Is it possible to pull and replace the rear main bearing with the engine in the car?

I'm hoping I don't need to pull the engine out and send it for a complete rebuild due to time and $$$$

This is a series 2 motor. Seemed to be running fine, aside from the vibration and difficulty going into gear. Still had power low down.

Thanks for any help!

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

Can't really see what is going on in the pic, but if there's internal damage the engine has to come out.

Just pulling some rabbits out of the hat; maybe check e-shaft end play, oil analysis, oil filter inspection, compression test.

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the quick reply. Clearly there is some damage to the bearing. I guess I am hoping I can try just replacing that and then check the oil and compression to see if it is running well, rather than going for a complete engine out rebuild right now.

I am learning as I go with this one though. e-shaft was a good clue I was searching for crankshaft and not finding much.

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

So I'm actually looking at the rear stationary gear bearing: Rear stationary gear...bearing worn. - RX7Club.com

I guess I can remove the rear stationary gear to start with... Need to figure out how to do that.

Nice horror story here: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tec...ailure-231801/

I guess I better check the oil for metal pieces...

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Not sure what you are seeing either. Someone replaced the rear seal and hit the flange a bit...that isn't an issue at all. There is no way that the rear bearing would be bad enough that you would get a vibration...and the motor would still run correctly
Pull the rear seal and see what is in there...I likely have a stationary gear bearing I can take a picture of if it if it would help.....

I think the rear seal is about $10 FYI

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

OK, well I think I am going to go and cry now

There is a piece of the bearing missing and I guess that is what caused the score in the e-shaft. I can also feel the e-shaft is not smooth where you see the copper showing through... It is also apparent that the e-shaft was moving inside the bearing as it has flattened the metal out towards the edge.

Not sure why the bearing would do this? But I think it is time to start looking for an engine builder, or a replacement engine...

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

That's not so good

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

Seems to be a crack in the eccentric shaft. I guess that is what caused the bearing to fail and also why the engine was vibrating and the clutch dragging (since the engine mounts and clutch all looked good).

Nadrealista

wow, engine is still under warranty, no? let it self destruct, then claim the warranty...

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

I don't think trying to damage it more is a good idea. It's dead enough as it is. I am going to call a dealer and see what they say about fixing it under warranty. It does seem like a freak occurrence.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

If it is still under warranty you should have left it alone, hopefully they don't deny it because you tore it apart.

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

Quick update here. The power train is a month out of the 5 year factory warranty. Turns out the RX-8 Rotary Engine Core Limited Warranty Extension does not apply to my VIN (perhaps not to any series 2 RX-8?). I spoke to two separate dealers and Mazda themselves to confirm this.

Despite that, both the dealer and Mazda NA offered me "assistance" due to it being just one month out and still under the mileage. However, not knowing what that would amount to, and given that I have a bunch of track days on this car and the engine is already half way out, I have decided to take this on myself.

From all accounts, it is an unusual failure despite the track time, so if I can identify the reason I will report back.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Contact Mazda - Mazda USA -

scroll down to the lower left column:
Yours must have something unique that excludes it.

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

^thanks for the info. Ugh, now I have some uncertainty. For the cars that this applies to, does the extension show up if you call Mazda or a dealer, give them the VIN, and ask them to look up the warranty?

Nadrealista

call mazda usa or use their chat function toward the bottom of this page, you will have answer in 2 min (they just need your vin #), but I see no reason why you would not have extended engine warranty:

Contact Mazda - Mazda USA -

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

There are 3 'normal' causes for not even having the warranty:

1) Your VIN is not a US or Canadian VIN. The longer warranty was only offered in north america.

2) It had the warranty at one point, and Mazda deliberately voided the warranty. There would be a reason for this that Mazda should be able to give you, and it may not be something you did, but a prior owner. The most common reason for voiding is salvage titling, followed by dealer-discovered abuse.

3) The car was originally purchased through Mazda Motorsports purchase program, which offers big discounts for track only cars in exchange for killing any warranties on it.

blu3dragon

iTrader: (1)

So I called Mazda NA back. This time (my 4th call to a 4th different person) I am told it does apply. Not sure what to think at this point.

Bladecutter

Get that person to talk to your dealer, and get the car covered.

BC.