hello everyone I just bought my first RX-8 a couple of days ago I live in the Portland metro area and unfortunately the old girl isn't in the best condition ever not very well maintained by the previous owner so I require some help finding reliable places to get work done on her I'm hoping to avoid an engine rebuild for the time being but as things stand right now I have a hot start issue aftermarket exhaust that they never put in a tune for the o2 sensor delete just removed them and left it bad struts in the rear, torn carpeting, cracked plastic on the passenger side and just all around badly maintained so any help at all would be a godsend right now XD so any rx8 owners in portland that know good shops or have good advice please share.

 

Welcome to the forum!! Lots of great threads to read through. Hard starting when at normal operating temperature is indicative of a low compression engine. The first thing to do is get a compression test with a rotary compression tester. See where the engine stands. No reason in throwing money at a tired engine attempting to mask the symptoms.

Even with a rebuilt engine installed, you will want to make sure you have good ignition components, a good 2kw starter, and a good battery. New fluids and an air filter are on the list as are belts and hoses. A proper exhaust system is recommended as well.

You simply can't remove the oxygen sensor. It is required for the engine to run properly and to go into closed loop. Get a proper exhaust with a good midpipe that has a bung for the oxygen sensor and install both.

In order for the car to run properly and to last, you must take care of it better than the previous owner. If not, it will be a frustrating experience. You will also want to learn to repair the car yourself,, and if not, at least learn how to properly perform the basic maintenance.

 

Deleting the O2 sensor is really unnecessary especially for a stock RX8. Only buy OEM or Denso and definitely put it back on the exhaust. My hope is that there is a bung still on the aftermarket midpipe (hopefully the midpipe is stock and only the downpipe is aftermarket).

 

Thank you for the information. Thankfully I do know how to perform basic maintenance, and I can do some more in depth maintenance and repairs. I will have to jack up the car this weekend and check the exhaust, and cross my fingers that I can reinstall the o2 sensors. I’ll also try to get in touch with a rotary repair shop to get the compression tested this weekend. I already planned on getting all the fluids replaced over this weekend because the oil looks awful in the car, and is definitely in need of replacement. Thankfully the engine runs very strong during normal use —so crossing my fingers it passes compression and is just in dire need of some maintenance (but not going to get my hopes up). I did plan ahead and saved some money before purchasing the car to get it rebuilt —just need to get a little bit more saved up. I read that a good rebuild will set me back at least $4K, so that’s what my fiancé and I are shooting for with our savings for the car.

 

Sounds like you have a good plan thus far! You can invest in a rotary compression tester for just over $300 at https://www.rotarycompressiontester.com/

Having your own compression tester will save you time and money and will give you peace of mind knowing you're engine's health!

Keep us posted on how things go. Also, would love to see pictures of the car!

 

i will definitely look into getting a compression tester and ill be updating photos over the weekend and ill keep updating them throughout the process of restoring her its going to be a long process but I'm excited to get started I'm already in love with the car and cant wait to get my hands dirty doing some repairs.