Surasonac

Got my mint condition RX8 Kuro today. 38k miles, perfect interior and exterior. Brilliant car. Then a bottle of engine oil in the boot fell over and leaked when I was driving it home and has soaked the carpet with 5w30 (previous owners choice of oil personally i'm switching to 10w30).
I cleaned the bulk of it up with wet wipes. Then sprayed loads of kitchen cleaner spray into the carpet and dried it out, repeated that twice. The carpet looks fine since its black but I can feel its greasy still.
Anyone have a good way of getting oil out of a carpet?

Also while i'm writing here i'll explain another small issue. Even with the clutch fully pressed it slightly grinds when I shift gear. Also with the clutch fully pressed the engine rpm bogs a tiny but when pushing the stick towards a gear. I'm pressure sure the clutch pedal needs loosening. Anyone have a good video showing how to do that?

Cheers

Loki

iTrader: (1)

For the clutch pedal adjustment, check the DIY section. There is a DIY on that.

Getting oil out of carpet: yeah that's not great. The usual saw dust or kitty litter should get a lot of it, followed by degreaser. Wet wipes and kitchen cleaner aren't really meant to pick up oil.

phantom_8

Did you try a grease cutting detergent like Dawn? I did use it once on oil. Doesn't do a great job but should help. Be sure to put a little soap, a lot of water, and blot - don't spread it around. Hope that helps! So sad that it got on your new car.

NotAPreppie

It's going to take you a while to remove a significant amount of oil from the carpet. You'll think you've got it and then a week later it will slowly seep up from the padding underneath.

Your best bet is to remove the carpet and clean it thoroughly with dish detergent and lots of water. Repeat as necessary.

Incidentally, there's very little functional difference between 5w-30 and 10w-30. Both are 30 weight oils, it's just one flows better when cold.

Surasonac

Actually 5w is thinner than 10w. The last number '30' refers to the temperature difference for the oil. 10w30 will make the engine last much longer. 5w30 that Mazda recommends isn't thick enough to lubricate some bearings properly. There is loads of information on this forum on the differences. But pretty much every rotary workshop will recommend the switch.

NotAPreppie

That's not how oil viscosities work.

Surasonac

Well I might be wrong, I admit that. But from what i've seen on this forum all over the place, and what all rotary garages suggest. 10w40 is what you want for the RX-8.
I'll probably change the transmission oil at the same time for some redline mt-90.

But back to the original issue, i'm going to attack the oily carpet with my carpet shampooer with its handheld upholstery attachment.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

I think you missed his point: you need to remove the carpet and clean under it, that's where you oio has soaked through. You can also just another carpet entirely. Might be easier. They can't be that expensive at junk yards.

NotAPreppie

https://wiki.anton-paar.com/en/engine-oil/

Have a look at the dynamic and kinematic viscosities at 90°C or 100°C for each Xw-40 grade. Then look at the same temps for Xw-30 and Xw-60.

Depends on where you live. If you see <10°F temperatures, you may want to consider a 5w- or 0w- oil rather than a 10w-. However, if it never goes below 40°F then a 20w- isn't out of the question.

I still recommend you remove the carpet from the trunk to clean it. It's not difficult and will make your life easier.

Surasonac

I live in the south of the UK, so it never gets below -5c or 25f even in the dead of winter. Winter temps are usually between 0-5c

Also I removed the carpet now. The oil is absolutely everywhere. Between the metal and the carpet. Soaked into the underlay. Soaked into the carpet. And all over that box that houses the jack. So I pinned the carpet to my clothes line out the back of my house, put loads of engine de-greaser on it and let it sit. Then went at it with the garden hose. Its still kind of oily but its the best I can do. I was washing that thing for 40 mins straight with degreaser and dish soap. I cleaned all the oil off the metal under the carpet though. And I decreased the jack box.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Well at least its rust-proofed now!

Surasonac

Yep, that it is. Its at a point where I can put stuff on the carpet without it getting greasy. But if I rub my hand on the carpet I can feel there is residue still in the carpet. I'm letting the carpet dry outside before I put it back in later.

NotAPreppie

You're probably going to need to agitate (scrub) in the presence of a detergent to get it so that it doesn't feel oily to the touch. Think of a clothes washing machine. Just putting the detergent in the water with the clothes isn't enough.

Surasonac

Yeah I did scrub it pretty good with a brush before I hosed it off. Also when I was using the carpet shampooer in the car, the upholstery attachment has a big brush on it which you drag along. But the carpet is back in the car now and it doesn't feel that greasy any more, I expect that sitting in a hot car for a few more weeks will allow the rest of the oil to evaporate. I put a dehumidifier in there with it just to keep the moisture from washing it down. It was pretty dry when I put it back in though.

NotAPreppie

Motor oil isn't going to evaporate.

It might attract so much dust and dirt that it doesn't feel "wet" but it isn't going to evaporate.

New Yorker

Surasonac

I might keep a look out, thanks for the suggestion. Its at a point where its not really bothering me anymore. I have to really rub my hand on the carpet to get any kind of oil onto my fingers. Its only slightly oily now. If somehow more oil seeps though from deep in the carpet I might try the old talc powder trick. You know, throw a load of talc on it to absorb the oil then vacuum it off.

UnknownJinX

It's a myth.

If it's true, then we'd be using gearbox oil(which is something like 75W-90) in the engine now.

I run 5W-20 in mine and I did a UOA last year. Results show that the oil is just fine.

The lower viscosity oil will have issues with breaking down when you are in a hotter climate/run engine at a higher temperature, but the only way to tell is doing a UOA and let the numbers tell you what to use.

Meanwhile, oil change interval is much more important.

Read this if you want to learn more about oil:

https://540ratblog.wordpress.com/201...-test-ranking/

NotAPreppie

Actually 75w-90 gear oil is roughly equivalent to 10w-40 motor oil in terms of viscosity (additive packages are another story).

Don't ask me why but the SAE decided to have different scales for different lube oils.