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Against my better judgement, I bought an '04 today.
Has 58,000 miles on it. New engine at 44,600.
All service documented and performed at Mazda dealership.
Runs like a top.
The only significant issue is the AC and heat don't work. To be precise, the blowers don't seem to work. (checked fuses) The AC compressor def. comes on... just no fans.
Needs new tires.
Need to figure out what I'm going to do with the original stereo.
Welcome. Check the potential owners page at rx8help.com if you haven't already. A few things there you'll want to stay on top of.
Was a compression test performed?
No, no compression test. I realize that that is not ideal, but the situation did not allow for it.
I'll "baseline" the vehicle this week. Oil drain/fill, coolant drain/flush/fill, gearbox and diff drain/fill. Maybe brake fluid flush/fill. I'll also inspect rotors and pads and replace if necessary.
And pick up some tires, and probably a second set of wheels and winter tires. (It's already snowed here once this year)
And then I have to figure out the climate control. No idea where to start there.
The cabin blower is pretty deep in the dash, it's not fun to get to.. but it's also rare for the motor itself to break. The control module in the center console is known to fail. Brittle solder I think.
Do the A/C and other climate controls appear to work as they should? Lights on the buttons come on and all?
The cabin blower is pretty deep in the dash, it's not fun to get to.. but it's also rare for the motor itself to break. The control module in the center console is known to fail. Brittle solder I think.
Do the A/C and other climate controls appear to work as they should? Lights on the buttons come on and all?
yes, lights on various buttons work, ac compressor kicks on, but no fan
strangely enough, turning the fan control past the lowest setting turns the compressor off. Seems like it's probably a resistor issue somewhere.
There is a fuse for it, I replaced mine and I think it was down there right by the blower motor. They are not that awful to get to, you only have to remove the glove box.
There is a fuse for it, I replaced mine and I think it was down there right by the blower motor. They are not that awful to get to, you only have to remove the glove box.
better to use an OEM Mazda filter if possible otherwise all sounds good.
yeah this is going to be a short change interval to get a baseline established.
You want to know what filters we use in our endurace racing cars? It's a store brand "premium" filter. Gets run for about 1000 miles with Motul oil. Brake fluid is Motul 660. Our diffs and transmissions get... WalMart 75W-90 gear oil.
Did transmission with Redline MT90 and diff with Valvoline Synpower 75w-90 today. (It's nice to have a stocking Redline dealer a few mins away... Wine Country Motorsports)
Used the top-down with funnel method for both..
Got the Sohn installation kit in today, but I'm waiting on the Ryan Rotary COF adapter before I start on that.
Also got the Yatour adapter yesterday, so I might install that tomorrow.
Brake rotors and pads are in spec but the fronts are squealing like mad so I'll disassemble and grease tomorrow and see if that clears the noise up.
Heater blower fan ordered.
Progress is being made.
Last edited by ColoGator; Sep 30, 2020 at 07:24 PM.
Just filled up after the first full tank with premixing + oil change, trans/diff fluids, and new coolant.
19.8 mpg in mixed driving (probably 1/3 highway)
Ryan Rotary oil adapter arriving today!
Actually pretty decent, must have been qbout half highway driving. In the city you are lucky to hit 16mpg. Sounds like you are enjoying the car though, congrats.
