McGridDLe

Long story short, I had the fairly common problem where overtime a seal wears out and leaks coolant into the oil. Without any real warning I overheated and blew my seals. It was a big sludgy mess in there.

I called it in and it turns out that my 2006 with ~92,000 miles is still just barely within the mazda core, internal engine components, and gaskets & seals coverage.

I'll be dropping it off at the end of this week for the "official" diagnosis. After a couple conversations over the phone, I have my doubts about the local dealer knowing anything about a rotary engine. But If it's under warranty then I obviously have to take that route.

I'm just wondering if anyone has any tips or things that I should definitely do before I drop it off to give them less push back. Because I know they are going to try their hardest not to cover it.

I've already drained everything I can out of the engine since it was full of coolant. I pressure washed the engine bay to get most of the crap out of there from when the seals went. It hasn't ever needed any real maintenance since I've owned it for less than 10k miles. The only things I've done are oil changes and replaced the plugs/wires. Since I did it all myself I don't have any real maintenance record to show.

Any input is much appreciated,
Thanks

Brigdh

iTrader: (1)

Put it back to stock. They can't blame your aftermarket intake if you bring it in with the stock one.

Your experience will likely vary. When I had mine done, I went to a small dealership that I had a bit of a relationship with. I didn't use their service department much, but I bought a lot of parts from them. I doubt they had much rotary experience, but when I dropped my car off, there was 2 other RX-8s (not sure if that was a good or bad sign). I was concerned, because the Service Manager mentioned I'd probably need a history of all the oil changes since the last engine, which I didn't have.

They spend a day diagnosing it (concluded low compression - altitude might have helped a lot with that). The service writer told me that the tech was on the phone most of the time talking to Mazda - so I imagine it doesn't matter too much if the dealership doesn't have much rotary experience since they can call for assistance. As far as I know, they never cracked open the engine.

As far as getting the warranty work approved, I just had to answer a short survey over the phone. The questions I remember were at what mileage did I change the oil, when did I shift, and how long did I let the car warm up before going.

It took maybe a week to get the reman in, and a couple of days to do the work.

I've read that others have had different experiences.

rotaryduff

I agree put back the oem parts, surely they will blame the aftermarket parts just to void your warranty. Another thing try to consult with other dealers for 2nd opinion.

McGridDLe

Thanks for the input guys, I appreciate it.

Only upgrades are wheels/tires, suspension, and exhaust so I don't think they will have much to go off of there. My old cat was rusted out so I tossed it when I got the new exhaust. It will just have to go in as is.

That's good to hear. I read on another thread that they may ask for the oil change records and stuff of that nature. I always did my own oil changes so I don't have anything to go off of other than my notes in the glove box. I doubt they would count that as a valid source though.

Again, thanks for the tips!

robrecht

I keep an Excel file on my phone which calculates gas mileage and lists when I change the oil and other maintenance. I emailed that to the dealer right after I got of the phone with the service manager. Mazda accepted that as sufficient documentation. It probably helped that the dealer parts department had a record of the oil filters I bought from them.