pistonhater

The question: if your engine "fails" a compression test, and you are at the end of your warranty period but the local Mazda deader gives you hell about it (as usual); is it worth fighting with the local Dealer? My personal answer is NO.

Six months ago I asked Charles R. Hill from BHR here in AZ to do a compression test on my 2008 just for the heck of it. These were my numbers:

Front Rotor


Rear Rotor


Not the highest numbers I wanted to see for a low mile car, but the car was running great - still does - and had no signs of low compression whatsoever.
Took the car to the dealership for another test 6 months later. Apparently it had "low" compression and I then faced the typical dealership BS associated with these engine replacement stories.

Jastreb

iTrader: (1)

I think you made the right decision. Here are my 2c, based on my experience with a warranty engine replacement.

Dealer BS. There's a minimum spec, if it fails - that is ground for a warranty claim. MNAO would have sided with you on this.

Maybe they require evidence, but the standard does not seem to be too stringent. It seems sufficient for service writer to put "loss of power" in the paperwork.

This is more BS. They most certainly do not require a de-carb.

Looks like there were doing everything they could to make you go away. I guess they just didn't want to do the job.

Great advice there. I got 4 compression tests done, and the results were different each time. First it failed on one rotor, then it passed, then it failed both rotors, then it failed 1 rotor face. Different compression testers can give wildly different results, especially if they have fallen out of calibration. Regarding point B, in my case it took 2 mazda remans for my car to have a working engine. A Canadian member had 2 dealer-installed remans fail within a few hundred miles, before he got one that worked. The quality of the installation is a variable too. I have a leak in the LIM gasket that is causing issues for me still. Post-install the dealer muddied the water, dug in their heels and refused to do proper diagnosis. At the end of the day, I might eventually get my car running great and have good compression, but I am having more issues now than I did with my original engine.

pistonhater

Thanks for your reply and the feedback.

Your situation is interesting, I don't hear of those dramatic engine stories from Series 2 very often. So how many miles did you have in your original Series 2 engine before you got your first reman.?

Jastreb

iTrader: (1)

I had close to 100k miles on the original engine. Like you, asked for a compression check because the warranty was about to run out (on miles). Car ran fine except for an occasional miss at idle, but that was nothing compared to the vacuum leak (oscillating idle) symptoms I'm seeing now. (I've got a separate thread about my car in SII section...) The first reman I never even got to drive - it had low oil pressure and made horrible noises, so the dealer sent it back to Mazda and I had to wait 2 more weeks for another engine to arrive.

pistonhater

What an ordeal you went through. That's exactly what I'm trying to avoid. Hopefully the engine you have now will hold you up for a while. You got a bunch of miles on the factory engine BTW

jsemerica

Which dealership in AZ? I've been going to Chapman Mazda on Bell RD. It seems like there's a new service writer every time and I've gotten wildly different compression results from them so I got an aftermarket one. Let me know if you need to use it. Also don't forget to factor in the altitude since we're like 1300ft above sea level.

pistonhater

Berge Mazda in Gilbert. They used to be a decent place to go when a guy named Vincent was the service advisor (manager? Dunno). Then he left and things are drastically different.

Thanks for the offer. I am actually local to BHR, and Charles R. Hill has taken good care of my car. He has an original Mazda tester. I did NOT need another compression test - but curiosity got the best of me. That was a mistake (getting the test), and I ended up extremely frustrated and annoyed.

But one day us children will learn

gwilliams6

Yes pistonhater was right to take Charles' advice.

My Dealer, Turnersville Mazda in New Jersey (Part of Maple Shade Mazda dealerships) did my compression test with two weeks to go on my warranty. My numbers came up just borderline (and they had our RX8 Club compression test chart as well as Mazda's minimum numbers to go by).

They failed the engine, no hassles (with no BS, decarb or coil changes ordered ) and ordered a reman. I should tell you I had complete oil change and maintenance service records and a BHR ignition (which I kept for the reman).

Reman took about a week to come. I chose to replace the clutch after inspecting it with engine out. Dealer charged no labor to replace the clutch, I just paid for the clutch parts. I had dealer replace the accessory belts, inspected the cat ,checked the oil metering lines and inspect the intake valving while stuff was apart. I just paid for the belts

I kept my lower temp thermostat I had gotten from Mazmart. ( a new stock thermostat comes with reman engine)

I have bought a few Mazdas from this dealer in the past and I bought my new 40th Anniversary Edition from this dealer back in May 2008. I have a great relationship with the service managers and mechanics, built up over many years. This Maple Shade family of Mazda dealers has learned to treat their customers well and has replaced a fair number of Renesis engines for their RX8 owners, so they know what they are doing. They consistently get high customer service marks in Mazda surveys. I am lucky to have them as my local Mazda dealership. I know sadly that they are the exception, not the norm across America.

I know the pitfalls with remans and I fully intend to flush the cooling system often and replace it completely (as per the sage adivce of our moderator RIWWP) in the first few thousand miles to alleviate the issue with reman engine sealant slowly clogging the cooling system. I also got an OBD2 bluetooth and added the Torque app to my Android phone for accurate realtime monitoring of temps.

Only 300 miles so far on the reman. I am following breakin procedures for the first 1000 miles and premixing as usual.

Like Pistonhater, my RX8 ran great,with no indications of low compression. For me, since my dealer confirmed there would be no charge for the reman and they also covered the failing compression test costs under warranty, it made sense just to have it done and do my best with a reman. I was out of time with my warranty.

The reman has a 12,000 mile/12 month warranty so I will keep on top of it. If I ever need a rebuilt engine out of warranty, I will have Charles in Arizona, JPR Imports in New Jersey, Pettit Racing in Florida, or Racing Beat in California build me one. These are all folks I trust and have had experience with for my three RX7s and one RX8.

pistonhater

That's great man. You definitely got a good dealership there. It seems like it's a hit/miss with dealerships, but yours is certainly an exception seems like!

If you shop around, you can get some pretty cool upgrades for your cooling system. Probably the best thing you can start with is a temperature gauge that can help you keep an eye on your coolant temperature. As I mentioned in our conversation, I use the Scangauge 2, which is a pretty cool device. There are cheaper options now with smart phones and a bluetooth obd2 connector like the one you have. It doesn't really matter, as long as you get live data from your car's computer that's all you need. But there are certainly better options than these two.

What is your average coolant temperature now with the humid hot summer over there?

gwilliams6

During the first 1000 miles of break in on the reman engine I am not going over 4000 rpm. I have mostly done short drives, not more than one hour. My temp is staying between 170-200 degrees F with the AC on, and the ambient temps in the 80s up to low 90s. On the highway at higher speeds (still only max 4000 rpm) I notice the coolant temp drops slightly as the velocity of the forced air over the radiator increases.