Just got an 04 rx8 and the radiator light was on. After searching this forum and reviewing many threads on the topic and understanding the sensor was on the bottom of the overflow tank I decided to disconnect it until a new coolant tank was purchased.

So out comes the battery and battery box top part. I then unscrew the 2 nuts holding the overflow tank to the body. As soon as I tilt it to remove it from the studs I see the rush of coolant at the top of the radiator. My gut sinks knowing that the plastic nipple has now broken off and knowing that I am screwed to the tune of a new radiator cost plus installation I figure I might as well remove the tank to take a better look. I flip it over and see the sensor is molded into the tank and follow the wire up to what is the left side of the coolant tank.

My car is at the radiator shop now, should be ready in a couple of days and I am out ~$600 for the radiator & installation.

This excludes the cost of my rental at $50 per day since the rx8 is my only set of wheels currently.

Lesson learned here is that if you want to disconnect the radiator light sensor for the overflow coolant tank ALL YOU NEED TO DO IS LOOK FOR THE GREY CONNECTION FOUND ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE COOLANT TANK and DISCONNECT IT THERE. You DO NOT need to get to the bottom of the coolant tank.

I hope this helps someone else avoid the painful and costly lesson I learned the hard way!

 

Ouch..good lesson. The new radiator is a good move, too bad you had to do it in an emergency and pay premium prices on parts...

 

That sucks. It looks like the main coolant bottle thread has gotten so long that the key information can be hard to find.

The connector is really easy to get to. I unplugged mine, and there's enough slack in the socket that I just leave it halfway in, so nobody (not even a dealer service department looking for work) notices anything. Anyone who wants to replace the tank should look for the TSB, which gives cautions on how to reduce chances of breaking the nipple.

Anyway, welcome to RX-8 Club. Hope you can put this incident behind you and enjoy your 8. It's still a really fun car.

Ken

 

Better than it breaking and taking the engine with it

 

Update:

Car back from well respected local shop. New radiator with 3 yr warranty parts and labor.

He also found one of the connections for a fan was broken, he replaced that.

He also found that even though my air was blowing cold it only had 1/2 pound of freon, so he checked the system and refilled appropriately. Now it is a freezer!

Filled the fluids, pressure checked everything, works great!

$488 OTD! I am very happy and learned a valuable lesson.

 

For all that, it is an extremely good price, and certainly no cause for concern over what you got for your money!

 

No kidding, excellent price and warranty to boot. Don't lose their number. Good honest shops are hard to find.

 

Good info, thanks for this, I was looking for an easy way to disconnect this.