04financialmistake

Hey guys, new RX-8 owner here, I'm aware that this car will give me a lot of problems and I'm just trying to pinpoint the exact problem here.

Car: 2004 RX-8 Base Model 6-spd manual 120k miles, NO AC as AC belt was missing when I got the car. As well as an oil catch can from previous owner.
Apparently rebuilt 10k miles ago with good compression. Rotor housing is painted red and rotary shop says its an imported JDM engine.
Compression: Bad, rebuild territory. I cannot remember from the top of my head but rotor one was 6.5, 5.3, 5.2 at 250rpm? rotor two was 5.5, 5.2, 4.9 at 250rpm? Regardless, the engine is in bad shape.
CEL's: P0139,P0336, misfires on rotor 2, CEL Flashing
Maintainance: New Oil,New Battery, New Coils, Wires, Coils, NGK and the works.

Cat is Gutted. Not sure about the CSS.

Some background info that could've contributed to the current problem at hand.

I was at the gym and I decided to rev the engine at a standstill for a bit to hear it pop, and once I reached 9k and let it pop a couple times, once I let it down to idle the car stalled. While the car was in high revs, the radiator light/coolant light started blinking. I looked at the temp gauge and it was still fine, not over heating and I didn't notice a coolant puddle anywhere. Due to low compression it has a hot start problem so I didnt start it again until I was back from the gym. I drove home and it was fine all the way home, mind you it's a 7-8 minute drive with a couple lights and stop signs. I put it in neutral throughout the journey and it was fine. Once I reach home however, the car stalls once I push in the clutch and go to neutral. The car doesn't even attempt to keep the revs up. I'm wondering if I somehow over flooded the coolant tank and the overflow ran down to the radiator fans and shorting out the connectors? The fans used to turn on after I turn off the car but I remember not hearing the fans go off after stalling the car.

About a week later I drove the car for the first time since then about 40 minutes away on the highway only (I kept an eye on the temps and the needle did not move once), and once I reached the exit ramp I didn't stop at all because of green lights, but when I first came to a full stop the car stalls. (Thank god it was in a parking lot). And again, the fans don't turn on. Once I got out of the parking lot, it died on me like 3-4 minutes later at a red light when I clutched in and put it to neutral, so I had to push it to a gas station...

Once I got it to start again, I let it idle from cold to operating temp and it stalled like 1 minute after getting to operating temp and I didn't hear the fans go off at all. I know I should check the fan fuse and relays but from what I can see the fuse is good and I think I heard the relays click but no fan action. I have not checked all of the vacuum lines but from the looks of it, the lines look all connected. The next time I tried to start it after it died due to overheating took me about an hour. I was able to move the car forward and backwards but I didn't want to let it heat up again so I just killed the engine while keeping it at 3k. It's probably flooded put I did not stick around to check to see as it was getting pretty late at night now and needed to go home. (The car is sitting at someone's house about an hour away from me right now).

Car cold starts up just fine, no hesitation. Prior to bringing it to the rotary shop the idle was so bad, going from 1.2k back to 700 with extreme vibration (this was at the gym). But after the rotary shop touched it the idle came back smooth. I'm sure it was because I didn't fully snap the wires on to the spark plugs.

Any experts able to help me out here? It would be much appreciated. I know the first act is to actually make sure the fuse and relays are working with a multi meter correct? I'm just unsure of where to go next.

Thanks for reading, -04financialmistake

jcbrx8

04, Specifically what are you asking, i.e. help with what?

You've established that the engine has:
- low compression...you have #s
- hot start issues
- idle issues
- dies when hot

To what question are you seeking assistance?

04financialmistake

I just realized I didn’t exactly ask for what I wanted, I’m sorry, anyways, I was wondering how to get my fans to start working again so I don’t overheat in traffic again. If there was a series of steps described I’d be very thankful! I just need it to last long enough to where I can get to the highway about 10 minutes from where the car is sitting from right now..

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Why do you believe your fans need attention? It sounds like the engine is at the end of its life and loses the ability to hold idlewhen hot. Not overheated, just hot, operating temp.
Has the needle moved past middle at all?

It's also possible you have a loose vacuum line. It will struggle to catch idle after revving. You can check the OBD data for fuel trims at idle. Should be near zero, if they're over 8 or so, there's a vacuum leak somewhere.

But anyway, if those compression results are real, these symptoms aren't surprising.

CaymanRotary

The overheating events likely caused the low compression in the first place. Probably your fan switch and you should change the thermostat out as well if it hasn't been done. This car has really low compression so I doubt this will help much. These engines really do not like to idle for long periods of time in hot weather even with an upgraded cooling system let alone, one that is not working optimally.

I would recommend selling it as it sits and ensure a compression test is done before purchase of another RX8. The main failure points for these cars if you are buying a new one are: ignition system, cooling system, catalyst and intake. All of these need to be working well. Even a well built Renesis will quickly become broken again if it is overheated.

04financialmistake

The needle has never moved past the middle part, I’ll check the trims when I have time thanks for the advice

CaymanRotary

The temperature gauge doesn't really tell you much. This car will overheat without the needle going past mid. Ideally, you should have a temperature gauge or monitor it through an OBD tool.

04financialmistake

Next time I start the car I’ll have my OBD on hand thanks!