karmin_karma

Hey guys! I bought my first RX-8 about a week ago, and I know very little about rotary engines. Mine is a 2004 Mazda RX-8, six speed.

It ran fine the first day I drove it, got pulled over for not having a tag 15 minutes after I bought it, and I haven't drove it since to avoid being harassed by cops.

I was told to be sure to crank it a little every day and I maybe hadn't cranked it one day.

I finally get the papers switched over and I drove it not even a mile and the car would stall out at every red light (and I had a hard time trying to get it to crank back up as well) even with the clutch pushed down and when I put it in neutral to make sure it was not my foot slipping off the clutch.

After I stopped and waited a minute I popped the hood and tapped the throttle body and it never idled out and ran fine after that.

The smell of gas was pretty strong and it was like the car didn't want to crank back up. Almost as if the engine was flooded with gas.

It needs a little work and I plan for this car to be my daily. Does anyone have any advice or has anyone experienced any issues with the idling or throttle body?

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Get a compression test at a Mazda dealer. Lots of dead engine RX-8s are dumped on used car dealers, which then catch new ignorant owners out badly. Usually the first thing a new owner that bought a bad engine'ed 8 complains about is stalling at lights/stopsigns.

Other possibilities, but it is the most likely.

See the new owner's thread here: https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...t-here-202454/

karmin_karma

Thank you so much! I bought it through a private owner, and he claimed he just had it serviced.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

Usually, that only means "an oil change". Most failure methods for this motor have nothing to do with oil changes. Many owners also have no idea how healthy their RX-8 is.

If the engine wasn't compression tested with a rotary compression tester, then you have AT BEST a marginally vague idea of how healthy the engine was. And even this can only be reached with a deliberate test of starting times hot vs cold.

The fact that you are stalling at lights says that something is NOT right. The top of the list is compression loss. It is best to find out what you are working with before throwing good money after bad.

Also possible are:
- Vacuum leak
- Fuel trim problem
- fouled spark plugs
- failing plug wires
- failing ignition coils
- bad electrical grounds
- carbon caked engine
- front O2 sensor failure
- dirty MAF

... plus more rarer ones.

RIWWP

iTrader: (2)

For proper "Service", refer to this list. Dealers don't recognize most of it, but it is all critical:

I am buying it! What should I address first?

04Green

iTrader: (1)

Welcome.

There are a lot of options here. I would start with the items in the congrats thread below (anything with "clean" next to it).

Also, they do NOT need to be turned over a little every day. That is an invitation to flooding.

After the list, the next thing is to figure out how old the ignition is. Chances are, that is next on the list. I would start with plugs, wires and OE coils (parts store will have them). Then disconnect the battery for 5 minutes to clear the fuel trims. Reconnect, 20 brake stomp for ESS reset (you never know what the person before did, and cleaning the ESS could change stuff). Then start it cold and let is idle all by itself until it warms up. Not just by the temp gauge, until you see coolant running into the coolant tank. This will reset a lot of stuff and let the computer re-learn how to run the car. I have noticed that mine will actually pop the throttle a bit when when then settle down to an 800 rpm idle when complete. Then drive away. Doing it again the next day is not bad either.

Then you have all the pieces like they should be and can troubleshoot any remaining problems.

I have a feeling that those instructions will soon become a part of the congrats thread.

karmin_karma

Thank you so much! After doing a little more research I think it needs an oil change and I ran some codes with my dad and it looks like an O2 censor might be bad. I really appreciate all the feed back! It has made a world of a difference!

pumacorp

Yeah the Maf gets oil spit on it from the oil vent line coming off the oil cap area..Easy fix is put a catch can in between ..I did never a problem since ..

karmin_karma

The issue was resolved after an oil change. However, after my newest oil change, I parked my RX8, and it has been dead since. The fuel pump went out, after it was replaced, the fuel pump fuse kept popping. At one point we were able to get it to crank, and drove it, when we brought it back home, after I parked it the fuel pump fuse blew and we have not gotten it to crank since. It's not the apex seal, the engine itself runs like a champ. We think this may be a result of a bad O2 sensor.