As of right now, Canton, Akron, Cleve. West, and Cleve. East don't have an RX8.

I have, as well as a few other people at my request, have requested that Pull-A-Part bring in an RX-8. I'm going to call them again today and request an manual trans rx8.

The way I see it is if they get enough requests, maybe they'll bring one in

So hang tight, and as soon as I hear something I'll let you know.

 

Signed off and promoted to Time Trialing Competition at NASA for the weekend!!!! Everybody stay off the grass........

 

William, I wish I would have remembered that you needed those leveling sensors last time you made the trip. I have the front and rear off the donor if you want them.

Sucks about losing the synchro brian... When you open it up I'd like to be there to learn, I've never messed with trans internals before.

 

Hey, Steve, Don't forget my care package!

 

Yea, I have your fuel pump tool, some fender liners... what else did you need? I think I have a window switch cover also for you.

 

So I've been getting random misfire code 0301 on and off for the past few days. Runs like **** for a minute or so and then goes right back to normal. Going to pull & clean the plugs and check all the plug wires to see if anything is loose.....aahhh a summer afternoon project....


I'm around - I'm still interested.

 

Looks like I classify into TTD. Bill Brees (National Champ from around here) is shaking in his racing shoes......

 

So the 8 refused to start this morning after driving to the Whole Foods. Drove for a while and it was well up to temp. Came out after 10 minutes and nothing. Cranked it and did all the 'flooding' tricks I could in the parking lot until the battery was finished. Had it flat-bedded back to home. Battery on a charger, 'SSV wire' still in place (Jon!), wires on coils tight. BTW Love AAA Plus - didn't cost me a thing - should be standard equipment on all 8s.

Took the wheel off and pulled the plugs and They were DIRTY DIRTY. Not oily or full of gas so no flooding I guess from running so long with that bad front O2 sensor (?) and the tons of miles I drive regularly they were just so fouled they would barely spark.

So took some Seafoam and a toothbrush to the plugs and <BAM> running like a dream. So I'm thinking the misfire codes I was getting the other day were a result of dirty fouled plugs. When I got it running again it threw a code 0171 (running lean) but that cleared after two driving cycles. I did do the "tap the brake 20 times in 8 seconds until oil gauge sweeps" to reset things before it gave the 0171. Have gone for 3 drives this afternoon and it's working better than it has for a while.

Two years ago I would have had it towed to the stealership and forked over hundreds of dollars for something I figured out in 45 minutes and didn't cost me a thing. So thanks to EVERYONE for the information and lessons I have learned on our little corner of the forum.

 

That still kills me...

 

hey guys it's been awhile. I'm game for the transmission rebuild. I'll try to keep in touch for it.

 

Here we go again. AAA to the rescue. Sputtered to a stop a mile from home. Blinking CEL. Codes - running lean, catalyst below efficiency (Bank 1) random misfire. Just flat-bedded back to my garage. There was also some smoke from under the car - thinking the CAT was REALLY hot.

I'm thinking:
1) issues with the front O2 sensor (making it run lean)
2) the RP Super Cat
3) at 120k miles the car is just giving up

As soon as the car (and me) are cooled off enough I'm going to have a look.

Stay tuned.....

 

Last I checked yesterday was supposed to be cooler...like in the 70's...and high chance of rain. I have a party to be at in the evening but if you want I can stop over tomorrow and try and help you out. I can even bring over my cat for you to borrow if you want to at least rule out your supercat.

 

That might be good....Thanks a bunch..any time after 11:30 is good over here..Yea it is HOT out today! I think I lost 3 pounds just getting the thing up on jack stands this afternoon.

I still have my OEM gutted CAT, too.

The smoke was from the connector for the rear O2 sensor melting. It came off the little bracket and was too close to the CAT. (photos to follow) I pried it all apart and surprisingly it looks like the wires and the connectors will still work. The rear O2 sensor is the original one to the car so I think that is on the list to replace.

I was also thinking the mass air flow sensor may be bad? The combo of an old O2 and a bad MAF seems like they could cause these kinds of problems.

 

The rear O2 sensor is used only as a check and balance to verify the state of the cat as far as I know...if it is not throw a CEL for the failure it should be fine. I would check your plugs again and see how bad they are now since you cleaned them the other day. Checking/Cleaning the MAF sensor and doing a SeaFoam probably wouldn't hurt, but I don't think either would cause a lean code. Jon do you agree?

 

Stig... go after the obvious first, swap out the cat.
If not that, then focus on what causes lean conditions and "catalyst below efficiency" codes.

What causes a lean condition?
When the STFT or LTFT under closed-loop is more than is should (basically), it'll throw this kind of code.
Things that can cause this condition:

• Front O2 Sensor
• Excessive air getting into the intake
• Exhaust leak
• MAF sensor
• Ignition (coils, wires, plugs)
• Compression

Then you got the "catalyst below efficiency" code... what causes that?
The input voltage from the RO2S and the output current from the FO2S is monitored during a curtain condition.
If a input voltage change is large, it throws this kind of code.
If swapping the cat doesn't fix this, and you know the FOS2 is good, and there are no exhaust leaks, then look at the monitoring conditions to see if there is a malfunction there:

• ECT (engine coolant temp)
• Cat temp
• Engine speed (ESSP)
• Engine load
• Purge control system

Sometimes you can find something similar between the two (or more) codes to help narrow it down.
Obviously you have the cat and sensor.
You also have the purge system, which if left open can cause an intake leak.
Now you can see the troubleshooting benefits of owning an AccessPORT since many items listed can be determined by monitoring them.
Isn't troubleshooting fun!

 

Jon - Speculating here...and I know how you hate that...but might give Stig something easy to check. Is it possible that when the O2 sensor wire melted to the cat that it shorted enough to throw the second code? Or would that short throw the Rear O2 failed code? If I go over there I'll have my AP but won't know what specifically to look at/for. Is there something I should log other that what I have to log for Jeff that would help you or Brian diagnose it further?

 

I would be surprised if the RO2S alone is the culprit for all off Stig's recent "events"

 

I would agree with ya there...just wondering if it might be an unrelated CEL.

 

Great... this storm keeps taking out my power...
Its possible they could be unrelated, but I wanted to point out that you should always look at all the codes and try to find something similar that could help narrow it down.

 

Because of the work I do we are constantly looking for similarities in incidents to relate them...but at the same time we look for differences to prove that they are unrelated. And I know speculation proves nothing...but I am hoping to eliminate options along the way. If Stig can clear the code after weatherproofing the connection we can either prove it wasn't the O2 sensor or we can prove it is related and move on with little effort.

As for what to log...any suggestions?

Stig - Is there a limit to how far you can safely drive before your car dies? Is there anything special you need to do to start the car later?

 

Good luck with that.

Its useful to monitor it live... in person.
Data from logging might suggest one thing, but then you use that to monitor something else and/or under a different condition.
Usually can't narrow something down completely based off of one log, under one condition, in closed loop.

 

Then I guess he will have to wait for someone that knows what they are looking at to stop over.

 

The AP is just a tool... many people troubleshoot without it...
Troubleshoot the exhaust system, the ignition system, the intake assembly (including the purge system).
Obviously the compression testing would have to come from me.
But you can still figure it out without the AP... its just the AP might help you along the way.

 

AP would be a great tool if I knew what I was looking at. It might as well be in Chinese at this point for me. Intake and exhaust I can help inspect though...ignition...well...I can only handle the basics.

 

Hi, first post here. I currently own a 06 mazda 3i but im in the market for a new used car. I'm having a hard time finding something i really want, especially for the price i want. I really like this 2008 VW GTI i saw but its the highest price i'm willing to go. I'm also considering a 2005 RX-8. My only concern though is how i'll get around during the winter. I'll probably keep my 15" steelies from my mazda 3 since i upgraded to the 17" alloys which i'll sell with the car. If i put some winter tires on those 15 steel wheels and put them on the RX-8 would it be safe to drive during the winter?

I go to work 4 days a week and i have to drive through the city and high way to get there. I probably won't be able to afford a beater for the winter and i already understand it's a bad idea to drive a RWD sports car during the winter, plus i hate the wear and tear winter takes on cars. Any advice?

if it makes any difference, it'll be a manual transmission. i have a budget of $15,000.