I recently bought an rx-8 from copart and it has some issues so I am planning on rebuilding the engine, while inspecting it I found a couple of things I'm unsure of, in the back left top section of the engine there is a plastic container with a clear pipe which I believe to be premix. There is also a small plastic bottle inside the car with similar coloured fluid in and a line drawn about half way up. Anyone with more knowledge than me commenting on this would be very much appreciated since I am very new to rotary engines and have no idea what I'm doing.

 

Not quite premix, but similar, the car should have a Sohn adapter between the oil injection pump and the block, where the clear plastic tube from this container feeds 2 stroke oil. This is somewhat common, replaces the original design that injects engine oil. You'll want to make sure that container never runs dry or your rotors will not be lubricated.

Why do you feel a rebuild is necessary? Has it had a compression test?

 

Thank you for the reply, I just found that it's a Sohn adaptor kit as you said, I used an OBD2 scanner and it came back saying there is a fault with the catalyst sensor I think and a misfire in cylinder 2. The car has 70000 miles and I know they tend to need a rebuild between 60-100k miles so it's in that range, I believe it also used to be raced because it has a lot of stickers on it and a gopro mount, I cannot contact the previous owner and have no information about it other than what I can see on the car. I have a compression test kit but it's not at my house right now, I'll be able to use it on Friday and then I'll know if it needs a rebuild or not hopefully, as I said before I have very limited knowledge about rotary engines so I appreciate any advice

 

Is yours a rotary comp tester? Ideally you have one of those. Compression also varies with rpm, so you'll want to note the rpm of your readings.

If it's restarting fine when warmed up I wouldn't rush into a rebuild. It's unlikely you will rebuild it better than it is now, it's not like a piston engine wherw you swap seals and gaskets and go.

The number one weakness of these engines is ignition coils, which fail silently and can kill the cat. If you still have a cat, you'll want to drop it and check for internal damage. If you don't have a cat, that explains the p0420. If you don't know how old the ignition coils, plugs and wires are, change them (once you know the compression numbers and want to continue to invest...

Have a read at rx8help.com, it's compiled from knowledge on this forum for new owners.

 

Being raced is not a bad thing if it wasn't overheated. These engines die fastest when grandma driven.