ndamix

I am the brand new owner of a 2004 gray RX8 manual transmission. I am completely new to the rotary engine community. The car I acquired was not being taken care of very well, I am in the process of giving it some TLC. I have spent the last couple of days researching as much as I can on this vehicle must of it coming from here. Disclaimer: I am also new to the forum world so I want to apologize ahead of time for any newbie mistakes.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Welcome.
With that many miles, and if it wasn't maintained properly, the first thing you should do is to get a rotary specific compression test before you sink any money into it.
Edit* I had another new member's mileage stuck in my head.
Sorry
0_o

ndamix

Thanks. I'm taking it to the dealership tomorrow for a complete diagnostic.

ndamix

So I just did my 60k and I asked them to do a compression test. The paperwork claims one was done with a figure of 8 now I'm no genius, but in sure that there should be more to the test. Any help will be appreciated.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

You should have a printout showing you 2 sets of 3 numbers for each rotor face at ideally 250rpm, and possibly normalized to altitude.
If they show you anything else, they're either misleading you, or incompetent.

ndamix

Big Cajun. Is it possible they did it manually? Like with a regular compression tester for piston engines that just bounces the needle? Is there a digital tester I can buy to test it myself that perhaps hooks up to my laptop? I just want to make sure I take good care of this car so that it last me a long time. Thanks again for you help.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

If you took it to a Mazda dealership, they should have the rotary specific tester, hence my comments.
Did they charge you for a compression test?
If it is a Mazda dealer, and they can't/won't produce that test, there's something wrong.
Is your engine still under warranty?
*Edit* '04 is out of manufacturer's warranty.
Unless you bought an extended warranty, it's not covered.

ndamix

This is what I got.


They did not charge me for the test because I was having other things done at the same time but here is a picture of what they claimed they did.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Idk, you might want to call them and ask them how they tested it.
Ask them why it's not broken down to 2 sets of 3 #s.
Highly unlikely each rotor face is above 8s on an '04, imo.

ndamix

Thanks

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Go to the new owner's stickies and read up on the rotary compression test, there are graphs and explanations there that explain it in better detail than I can.

There are many dealer horror stories out there, and many years ago I worked for an unethical shop owner.
I take a lot of things with a grain of salt.
For instance, I could see an unethical service manager want to keep a failing test from someone so they could charge them to change a bunch of parts that may make it run better temporarily.
If they tell someone the motor is failing, especially on a 10+ year old car, and the owner decides they don't want to spend $5k on a dealer rebuild, they may lose that business.

I'm not saying that's the case,
jus sayin.