So i baught this rx8. The guy had overheated the car. He didnt know why it overheated, took to mazda they said new motor he said its for sale. Well i found the source of wjy it overheated amd that is because the radiator cracked on top right under the air cleaner. So i was checking amd checkin and noticed water running through the seals on the rotor housings. It is on both housings against the mid plate. Is this motor still rebuildable or is that a pretty good indication the housings got warped?

 

No one knows until it is taken apart and the parts are checked.

 

Cool thanks 9k all i wanted to know is if there was still hope. Yoyou seem to be one of the more knowledgeable people on this forum and are very involved

 

Actually in the process of doing that now. After seeing what was under the beautifull engine cover of this car i understand how the motor got the way it has. I have read alot of the DIYs on the engine pull and what to be aware of and watch out for. I manged to pull the while wire harness and not break one connector. There were a couple broken ones from what i assume were previous people attenpting the same thing. I am also surprised the car ran at all considering how many vacuum lines were busted and or not connected. The thermostat looks like the orignal as with the coils. There was a fuel leak under the intake from one injector and one of the black fuel hoses that goes into a little plate was also snapped off. This var has been abused and neglected for many years and it finally time that it gets some love. I am glad i checked all the bushings and suspension parts amd they are all atleast in really good shape.

 

I took alot of pictures of certain connections and placements of wires and hoses fir reference when its time to install the motor again.

 

This is where i was when i discovered the leaky radiater. And noticed the water coming from the sides of the housings

 

This is where i packed it in for the night 3.5hrs later

 

Sounds like a blown coolant seal. When a coolant seal goes, you'll usually get water inside the engine, not outside. The seal could be completely blown out I suppose, causing the external water leak. Do you have a pic of where the coolant was seeping from. That would be interesting to see.

 

Yeah as soon as i pull the motor the rest of the way out i will be able to take a clear picture of where the water is coming from. I also found out that not only is it leaking from the side of the engine but when i filled the cooling system with just straight water it also filled the entire engine with probably half a gallon haha. There is some pretty serious damage i just hope the internals are usable and not ruined. I sprayed a crap ton of wd40 in there to help but hopefully the damage wasnt already done prior to me purchasing the thing.

 

Made a little more progress only had about 2 hrs of free time today

 

You can pull the engine with the lower intake manifold still attached... No idea how you were able to remove it with the engine still in the car. Or is this a 4 port engine with auto trans?

 

Its a 4 port auto car the lower intake was a real pain in the rear. The only reason i stripped the motor down so much is because i am waiting for my brother to bring back my engine hoist. But only thing left to unbolt is the exhaust and unbolt the ac compressor from the block and tie it off to the side somewhere.

 

You can pull the engine with the compressor in place. Just unbolt the two lines from it and it will come out with the engine. Or you can unbolt the four compressor bolts and leave it hang. Either is fine.

 

Yeah i dont want to just open the system up to the atmosphere and i dont have an evac pump for the freon so i will just remove the 4 bolts and hild it off to the side as i pull the motor out.

 

Good idea. If the system were drained you could do either. Glad your a/c is still operational. The evaporator core went bad on my 04 and when I pulled the engine, I left the compressor and removed the compressor after the engine was pulled for inspection.

 

I finally got the engine out today after getting my engine hoist back. Still cant tear into the engine to see how bad the damage is because the front hub bolt wont break lose. Tried impact and breaker bar just wasnt going to happen gonna take it to work tomorrow and use a torch to put sone heat on it.

 

For anyone watching this or wondering what i am referring to these are the seals that the water is leaking through. I will hipefully get the engine opened up tomorrow and hope it is salvageable. Can anyone tell me when i check the housings for warpage what are exceptable number differences?

 

You need special tools and the engine workshop manual for specs.

 

All you need is a good impact gun as that eccentric shaft bolt is torqued up to 261 ft/lbs. That will zip the eccentric bolt off. Its a 19mm. On the manual transmission models, the flywheel nut is held in place with a 54mm nut torqued to somewhere near 360 ft/lbs. I have a nice 20V DeWalt electric impact gun that I use for the heavy stuff at home. I have an older Snap-On and a new Matco impact gun that I use at work. The Matco has 1350 ft/lbs of break away torque and 800 ft/lbs of constant torque and will make short work of those two stubborn fasteners, lol. If you were closer I'd be happy to assist with the tear down. Can't wait to see what you find out!

 

op i think its great that we are seeing more and more people restoring 8s that were beat to death but honestly i really dont think a 04-05 four port auto is worth the hassle

 

The one on my FC engine took more than 1000lbft to get off with an Oxyacetylene torch and no loctite (wierdly). They can be a beast.

 

Yep, I have seen a 900ft/lb IR not budge one. Most builder have a 1" impact for just that bolt.