Just acquired this '04 example. It supposedly has an OJ reman with a port job in it and some lowering springs. It also has a healthy exhaust leak pre-O2 sensor from a botched header install that's wreaking havoc with the low speed fueling. I have an OE manifold in hand and am waiting on gaskets to show up in the mail to address that.


Body's an 8/10. It's complete but it's been sitting outside for awhile so it's filthy and hard to really evaluate. The interior is a bit dirty, but I think it'll clean up to a 9/10 with a bit of work. It even came with some trim to replace some things that are damaged in the back seat and the trunk.



Big thanks for the stickies at the top of this n00b section. I've been able to verify several things aren't wrong with this car and I'm feeling pretty good I can straighten it out fairly quickly. There was even a bluetooth adapter wired in behind the glovebox that I got working in just a few minutes thanks to a post on here.

Goal on this car is a good knockaround town car and an occasional track toy. You can check me out on Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook @inkyracing. I'm no stranger to reviving basket case cars and having a bunch of fun with them. Looking forward to a chassis that's not fundamentally compromised in the handling area from the outset for a change.

Thanks for keeping forums alive. Facebook is literally useless for digging up solutions to already solved problems on cars like these. These places are a godsend and I'm glad this place is still up and thriving.

 

Fixed the exhaust leak, and it runs properly now!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/XGMp5B5ivtv1e7Qx7

Next up is the power steering. Based on the steering wheel being 45 degrees off center while driving straight, I'm going to venture a guess that whoever replaced the engine didn't properly mark the steering shaft and it got put together clocked wrong, the computer freaked out and they just unplugged it. Should be an adventure.

 

Hmmm, not sure about that. You don't need to touch the steering rack at all to pull the engine. Have you tried recalibrating the EPS by going lock to lock with ignition on?

 

Poor car! OJ imports eh.. get your compression tested. They talk a big game but the builds are hit and miss.

It's possible they replaced the steering rack while the engine was out. The power steering connectors under the coolant bottle are a common problem, especially if coolant dripa on them. Could be as simple as cleaning and reseating those. But the 45 degrees put thing is a bit more... physical.

 

Nice to see another Nordic Green RX-8!! Not a ton left on the road these days. Do you know any more of the car's history other than the engine work and such?

 

"need" and "did" appear to be not correlated on this car. I got the steering wheel re-clocked and I set neutral on the EPS and it reset itself, but then it threw a C1099 which led me to a blown EPS fuse. Waiting on new fuses to show up in the mail. Then we'll see. It might work, it might blow the fuse immediately and I'll just get a new rack.

I'm going to get some miles on it and see if the seals wear back in. The oil was so full of fuel the oil level was a quarter quart above the full line. If that does to apex seals what it does to piston rings, a few miles should render a dramatic improvement.

Thanks!
No history beyond the past two owners. I didn't even bother to get a carfax. I did find a run in the paint on the fender, so I think the front third has been repainted.

 

There's quite a bit of "should be" not aligning with reality on this car so far. I re-clocked the wheel. There were markings on the U-joint at the rack, so somebody did mess with it. It's close enough now I used FORscan to reset the EPS. The error changed from steering angle sensor out of range to the C1099... which I found to be a blown fuse. I don't know if the fuse blew after I reset the EPS, or if it's been blown the whole time, but I'll find out tomorrow when my bag-o-fuses shows up. If it blows immediately, I'll know the motor is shorted. If not, I should have power steering.

Yeah, I'll have to do that. It runs OK, not sure I'll do anything about it if it tests low.

Thanks! It's a pretty color. I like it. No history beyond the previous two. I found a run on the fender, so I think the front third was repainted, but don't know if it was from an accident or not. There's not damage under the panels.

 

Har! Success! Power steering works and I have a clean dash:

Now I have to get to the DMV and get it inspected and registered.

Also has a leaking master cylinder. I'll get one of those on the way and this sucker should be sorted.

 

Two days of DD duty under the belt. So far:

This engine is definitely modified internally. I've had to add 15% more fuel above 6500rpm to get the AFRs in line. That turned the area between 7000and 9000 from a sputtering mess to a scream. Daddy like. Idle is a tricky dance. It'll still stall occasionally at a stoplight, but it's better. It idles great while the warmup enrichment is in effect, so it's definitely a fueling calibration problem. I've smoothed the map out and we shall see how that fares tomorrow.

Does anybody know how to disable DFCO? I found a couple of threads on it, but it really isn't behaving the way I expect. I put the DFCO limit at 9000rpm in Versatuner, but it's still doing it, so that table doesn't behave the way I originally thought. I've emailed Versatune, but any thoughts somebody here might have are welcome. The DFCO might not have anything to do with the stall on decel, but I'd like to get it out of the picture temporarily just to eliminate the variable.

 

I know I've posted several updates to this thread, but they don't seem to be getting approved. Did I **** somebody off?

 

But this one does get approved? Don't think posts need to be approved at all here. This isn't FaceSpace. Sounds like something wrong on your end.

 

I recall a blurb in the registration process that stated clearly our first ten posts were to be moderated. Maybe you joined before that was put in place?