RX-8 40th Anniversary

Hey guys, A heavy winter hit pretty bad that I had to set it aside for 2-3 months, while still saving up for a rebuild. It finally got clear today and decided to work on it, so I changed the oil out, I got a new battery as well so I installed that, took plugs out and "cleared" the combustion chamber full of crud that likes to build up, and when I started it there was a large CLUNK, wibbly wobbly for atleast a solid 30 seconds, the entire car was shaking, and it slowly went back to normal while blowing out a MASSIVE ton of white smoke. I thought I blew a coolant seal but then I started smelling oil, I was 100% sure I overfilled it. I took it out n around and after a while the smoke cleared and went away while the temp gauge didnt move up or down at all, and the pressure gauge stayed about the same. No power loss or anything weird unusual except for a no traction light. Revs just fine up the powerband and once the smoke cleared, the smell went away.

What I did to "prepare" for the winter:
Set-up jackstands
Cleaned car
Took old battery out
Put rags in tailpipes
Cover the car up
I'm wondering if theres something I missed?
The garage DID hit -18 F when the cold fronts hit

And afterwards:
Took cover off,
Rags out of tailpipes
Replaced battery and terminal
Took plugs out and "Cleared" the combustion chamber, or just did a compression test with no compression tester. (I did this because I thought when it sat for the 2 weeks, there was some condensation inside and it would clear up)
Changed the oil and filter
Put the wheels back on and did the steering wheel turning procedure before starting.

I'm awfully concerned as I tried to search the forum and I did not find any results, I'm trying to calm myself down now since it still runs just fine, but it really scared me Would anyone have an idea of what went wrong? Or if thats just something thats normal? Was it something internal or would it have been a belt clicking in or something?
I dont know if I should even be worried since it runs just fine now, I'm back to the same issue with the no-go on the hot-starts

Jerakl

Ssssshhh just forget about it

I don't have enough of a clue about these cars to try and tell you what it is.
That's an awfully involved winter storage procedure though.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Nothing should be building up in the chambers. That's not (normally) a thing. If you did see stuff come out try to identify it. It does sound like a coolant jacket breach, where coolant seeped into the chambers and needed to burn off, producing the white smoke. How us the coolant level? It's a bit harder to find oil in the chambers without catastrophic engine failure, which you don't appear to have.

The clunk can be many things. Did you happen to identify where it came from? Did you hear it only or feel it in the car body?


​​​​​​

RX-8 40th Anniversary

The coolant level is the same, Only ever slightly goes down from time to time. The clunk I wanna say sounded almost like an engine "knock" or something, but honestly I only slightly felt it. It was decently heard, Wasnt loud though. Is it possible since it was -18, That the flywheel was just engaging? When I start it up again today I'll see if it happens again. I did throw on a new battery, with it suffering from a 3-year old battery.

RX-8 40th Anniversary

It is, I really do love this car But honestly you may be right, maybe its something that just "occurred" after it hit -18 or something.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Hmm. Coolant level isn't supposed to go down ever. It's a closed system, normally. If it's not maintaining a good level below "max", there is a problem.

Since you had already spun the engine without the plugs in, I'm thinking the clunk isn't related to something waking up for the first time. Maybe if that really was coolant in the chamber, the first exhaust pulse flashed some of it to steam.

-18 is fine, unless you're not using the proper coolant mix.

It sounds like the engine is not in a good place either way :/

RX-8 40th Anniversary

Right.. Im saving up for this summer and gonna go see the Rotary doctor, He's charging 5300$ for a build with new housings, But I'm also considering a Reman from a dealership if the engine is that bad, I'm hoping it is rebuildable, It completely just feels like the seals are just going out.

I'm thinking its probably about time to change the coolant as well, but I dont know if its even worth it if its getting rebuilt this summer. I'll still continue to drive it until it completely fails to turn over IG, should only be about 4ish more months.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

If you're going to spend the money I would just go with a known good / new engine. Rebuilding your engine limits you to your engine's current condition. If it has been running around like this for a while, there probably isn't much reusable in there.

RX-8 40th Anniversary

It does make more sense in the long run. Would you recommend Remans at all? Maybe the builder might have a good one.

Deathstar24

for $4400 you can get a Banzai reman engine. Or if yours isnt badly damaged he might be able to get you out for less than that by rebuilding your core.

Thats where my 40th anniversary engine will be going as well probably. Had a buddy send him a junkyard engine he inspected and compression tested before pulling and he got out $2k cheaper than others wanted to charge with a great running engine from Banzai.
.