I am the owner of a vintage 8 (July '03). A month or so before my last (70k) service, I noticed increased vibration at idle, especially when the A/C kicked in. At the service, they diagnosed faily engine mounts. The car is 9 months out of warranty and the quoted cost was astronomical. Due to my immaculate service record, Mazda took up 80% of the cost, and my proportion came to $169.95. They installed left and right mounts, as well as a new support bracket.

 

Well I guess it is only a fair go!

Good outcome.

For people who wants to feel there engine mount. Turn the wheel to the outside. Put your hand inside and find a little flap (plastic), the engine mount is just behind that!

 

Before you perform Takahashi's tip take a look at the photos of what a cracked mount looks like in this thread https://www.rx8club.com/australia-new-zealand-forum-37/cracked-engine-mount-pics-111125/

 

Thanks dude. Prob imagine what it feels like. Even I jack the car up it cant be seen clearly.

 

I'm going to get them to check it again this service, mine seems to be idling very rough when the aircon's on .. it's fine other times though.

 

Yes, that's what my symptoms were. As soon as the revs were above idle (say ~700rpm), it was fine. The guy at the service department said that they had done a few 8's with weakened engine mounts. My take is that the original polymer they used in the mounts wasn't up to the high temperatures. I have heard that one mount is close to the exhaust - is this true?

 

not to hi-jack this, but are there aftermarket mounts?

-Cody

 

https://www.rx8club.com/mazsport-104/mazsport-motor-mounts-103511/

 

The problem with the aftermarket replacement is are they made out of polyurethane or rubber?

 

I suspect that all of the cushioning in the mounts are probably polyurethane elastomers. However, there are many, many different types and formulations within those types. Getting the right degree of elasticity (not too little, not too much) together with good heat resistance and resistance to oils might be beyond smaller aftermarket manufacturers. I'd be very interested to hear whether fluorinated rubbers were starting to be used in this application, since they frequently offer very good heat and solvent resistance. They are however horrendously expensive. In the meantime, stick to OE stuff and keep your option open for warranty repairs.

 

I'm glad to hear mazda did the right thing and helped cover the repair cost.

 

I think it helped having had all services and other issues done at the same place so there was a complete service record on hand. Added to that, Grand Prix Mazda Aspley are a pretty good mob.

 

Labrat,

I would have hoped that they would have covered the lot, it is a known problem and should have be addressed through a recall.
I know I had mine done just vefore the warranty ran out just as a precaution.

Cheers,

Gibbo

 

Gibbo, I am with you on that. At a minimum, I cannot believe that this isnt a standard replacement they did do at time of service.

 

AS THEY SAY "UNITED WE STAND DIVIDED WE FALL " Mazda definetely has not been forward in their recalls on any of the faults on the RX8 , THAT SEEM ON THE INCREASE AS WE GATHER MORE KILOMETERS

 

errr, I know I'm off topic here but I touched the link under expo1's name and I've got to be honest...thats one hell of a 'bad' mother f*er head!

One of the greatest things about this forum is you get to meet some great people, and we have a great time talking with each other.

It was a true experience.....have you ever considered a career in movies???!!!

 

Labby's experience shows that driving conservatively doesn't always pay off.

By driving it like you stole it, if it's gonna break, hopefully it'll break during warranty.

Luckily, he obviously has a good relationship with his service manager and they did the right thing (sort of - I think they should have covered the lot ) but I'm betting there's quite a few other cars that have been babied that will get these probs after warranty runs out and I doubt all dealers will be quite so accommodating. And plenty of their owners who aren't enthusiasts will not know that it's a common problem and they will have to stump up serious money and then rubbish their car to their friends thus adding to the rotary's generally poor reliability image thus affecting resale (further) yada yada yada...

Exaggeration? Maybe.

 

Even though this thread has some age on it, the problem remains for some of us .....

Just had the 60,000kms service done on my 2003 RX8 only to be told that the engine mount needs to be replaced and you guessed it - Mazda Australia wash their hands of any responsibility even though it is the mount that was found to have issues and was redesigned with heat shield. Even writing a personal letter to the Managing Director of Mazda Australia and pointing out that the age of the 8 (their excuse for not replacing even though many were under warranty) had nothing to do with the mount needing to be changed as the low kms meant it was an engine vibration and heat caused failure .....

I have just about run out of options and the cost has been quoted at $1,400AUD

 

At least get the part from the US, so you only have to pay the stealership for labour...

 

Do you need a stealership to do engine mount change??

Just because I cannot find any one good in Melbourne to do in a reasonable price. Ringwood is a bit far.

 

it is pretty easy.

actually it is very easy.. you need a jack.. and common sense.

but i think your rules are like working on an aircraft in the states!

beers

 

quite a few threads are popping out due to faulty mounts i just got my car back today cuz of the same problem i got new ones put in

 

Ok I have 48 mo. 50,000 mile warranty... uh I just started my 36th month in September....I have 44k mile.... i do get some vibration from the dash... like a rrrr.rrrrrr.......rrrrr....pause......and then rrrrrrrrrrr sound.... i took it to the dealer like 1 year ago and they said they dont fix loose or vibrating dashes/clusters.....uh....they did the 26 point inspection and said everything was fine.....i still get the vibration noise....i dont feel vibration i can just hear it.....the cluster and glove box.....can it be the mounts and why wouldnt the dealer let me know>? they checked 26 poin inspection like 3 times already WTF.

 

do u have a system or drive on bad streets that probably loosened up some things but know dont thinks it's ur mounts cuz on my car and others u could actually feel the car shaking and also hear it especially from outside of the car it would shake at idle when it was in reverse and drive but doesnt do it anymore since they just put in new ones

 

if u do feel some shaking while in idle just go to the dealer and let them in the car so they can feel it and specificaly ask them to check the mounts thats what i did