Hello there everyone. New RX8 owner here.
So I want to change the AIR, SSV, and VDI solenoids behind the upper intake manifold, and I can reach them just fine with it in place, but the only thing I can't do is get them unhooked to replace them. Does anyone have any tips or tricks on how to get them out without removing the UIM?

 

Unless you can recruit a 12 year old with tiny hands you need to at least loosen the UIM enough to reach in there.

 

I'm actually slender enough to get my arms right in there. I can get a good hold of them, but they just don't want to come free. There's a bunch of grit in the bay that may be making things hard to move. I'll wait till a dry day to do the fix.

Related, is there a good guide for cleaning the engine bay?

 

Google:

RX8Club cleaning engine bay

SHAZAM!

https://www.rx8club.com/series-ii-te...eaning-230738/

 

Fantastic! A big thanks to you.

 

Personally, I would just remove the upper intake manifold to gain access to the solenoids. Its a much easier job when the manifold is on the bench and less of a chance of making any errors. Pulling the intake manifold takes 15 minutes so for me its a no brainer.

 

That's the plan now. Hopefully everything will come out easily; I was trying to take a look at the air filter and couldn't even get the airbox to shift. I'll try again later with a warm engine.

 

Warming up the car will definitely help with pulling the vacuum ports out. It helps to pull out the airbox and the Vacuum port flex piece at the same time btw. Pull the flex piece from the throttle body and then up slightly. Then pop out the airbox.

Depending on how old the car is it is likely that the vacuum elbows will be very brittle, along with parts of the air box, and of course the vacuum solenoids. Being careful with flathead screwdrivers can help pop things out easier instead of using your hands or pliers.

 

I guess I should talk about the car a little. It is an 05 Brilliant Black 6spd with no mods. The body is in excellent shape, with only the tiniest bit of rust underneath the poorly-installed stock wing. Clearly it's shaken a little loose and gouged the paint underneath it. Tail lights need to be waterproofed and there's a puddle forming in the trunk because of them or the leaky screws from aforementioned wing. Interior is also in excellent shape - one tear in the leather on the side of the drivers seat but that should be easily repairable. It was showing the classic p0076 error when I bought it, so having to change the solenoids is no surprise. Wheels have clearly kissed the curb once too often on the passenger side but are otherwise still very pretty.

I have some mods in mind for it, firstly a catch can; probably something like . And an oil adapter, I know of https://www.rotaryaviation.com/store/p25/Renesis_Oil_Metering_Pump_Adapters.html and https://www.ryanrotaryperformance.com/shop/rrp_cofs_complete_kit which has a nice, but expensive, full setup. I've also started it on premix using Amsoil Interceptor oil.

Any suggestions?

 

Never saw that ryan made a clean oil injection kit. Almost everyone I've seen goes with the sohn kit which is around $300usd......Only issue with the sohn kit is that the washer fluid tank is good for about 2 squirts. This is easily remedied by just grabbing a larger tank at just about any autoparts store for cheap.

Other than adding the sohn or ryan kit main things to check are:

• engine compression using a rotary compression tester ~$300
• Condition of the ignition coils ~30k miles lifespan (many upgrade to one of the LS coil kits) Failing ignition leads to>>>>
• Condition of the Catalytic converter

These are pretty much the main failures/issues that occur
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If you go and read the sticky threads in the General Topics>New Member Forum section there are a lot of really good threads to get up to speed.

 

Okay, another question here. After I filled the gas, the solenoid engine light cleared up. After a while, another engine code came up, about the MAF. After I filled up the gas, it went away too. And a third time, I didn't even get around to checking the code before filling the gas tank cleared the error.

So what's going on here? I haven't done any repairs, so why is filling my gas clearing engine codes?

 

If you didn't clear the codes yourself it should just be the computer rechecking for the codes during startup and clearing them.

Might as well check/clean the maf since the code did pop up.

 

Is electrical contact cleaner a good choice for servicing that, or should I use something else?

Thanks for the help.

 

Electrical contact cleaner will work for cleaning the mass airflow meter. Be sure to cleanup into the meter as well as the exposed portion. You may find that you have a tiny amount of dirt, gunk or oil on the thermistor or it may be hiding up inside. I would check the intake boot to ensure there's no oil in it as well as ensure that the air filter is clean and serviceable.

 

They actually make a MAF cleaner that dries with no residue. Electric contact cleaner does work but isn’t ideal for this job.

 

Look what just arrived!

 

Thats a nice looking part!! Bet you're excited to get it installed!

 

Very! Just waiting on a few more parts to arrive and then I can make a day of it!


Why can't I find a store selling vacuum plugs? Half the people I ask don't know what I'm talking about, and the other half keep recommending the same stores that didn't have them in the first place. >(

 

My new tail light gaskets arrived and are installed, but I still have a bit of water getting into the trunk. I took out the carpet to dry it (breaking two of the three tabs in the process, damn.) so I can see that the floor of the trunk looks to be all dry; no leaks are coming in from the walls and moving along the floor. The only place that isn't dry in there is inside the lip seal, right by the locking mechanism. Suggestions on how to track this down, and repair it?

Edit: There was a small break in the trunk weatherstripping near the rear window. Because I park facing uphill, water would get into it, flow down to the little holes by the latch, and get in from there. The perfect crime! I sealed the break and the leak seems to have stopped. Now, will I have to defog the taillights, or will they naturally dry out on their own?

 

So it took a lot of wrestling, but I finally got the airbox out. There was a lot of oil in there and sprayed all over the air filter, so I took the opportunity to clean up in there and removed the two interior walls since I had it open anyway. My catch can is bone dry, so I think it was from the previous owners overfilling the oil. Regardless, airbox is clean and new filter is in.

There is a small hole in the bottom of my airbox - is this stock or did someone drill a drain?

 

I recommend removing the tail lights and then removing the bulb sockets and using compressed air to help dry out the condensation. Its tricky to get the right angle and you'll notice the water spread. It can be frustrating. A hair dryer on a low heat setting may help evaporate some of the water as well.

As far as the hole in the airbox, I'm honestly not sure I'll have to look at one of mine and let you know.

 

I've seen this hole before as well. My only thinking is that it's there to drain excess liquid if the car becomes submerged to help prevent water going into the engine.

 

Thanks! I was looking over schematics and pictures on the internet, but I couldn't tell if the hole was there or not. I sealed it up already, but I'll unplug it if there's any issues. Now I wait for the new MAF o-ring and I'll be ready to drive again.

Edit: O-ring replaced. Bonus, with the air filter and intake cleaned, there's no more RPM hunting at idle.

 

There is one final leak in my trunk - I've tracked it down but I'm not really sure the best way to tackle it. Inside the trunk, behind the passenger taillight, is a black wire clip (it holds all the taillight wires) that has an opening below it where the water seeps through. To access it from the outside I would have to remove the bumper (which I have not done before) to even begin to track it down, and if I just seal it on the inside the water may end up going who knows where. I'm not really sure how to proceed here. Suggestions?

 

The rear bumper is pretty easy to remove. There are drainage channels inside the body that could be clogged with leaves and debris. See if you can trace exactly where it goes using water and food colouring.