Cody Red

subscribed. i need to do this. i'm also another '04 with original coils and will def need some after this weekend (PCA!).

pics please!

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

Jeezus! You couldn't even be bothered to read the first post in this thread, let alone the dozen or so others about the coils?

munche187

lol

chetrickerman

thats hilarious, im gonna be changing mine soon along with wires and plugs. 33,000 miles, so i might as well.

pussywillow1972

Wouldn't coils be covered under warranty?

chetrickerman

ok, so taking these out to check them turned out to be more of a b!tch than i thought, so im gonna have to wait til this weekend.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

it is.

but the thing is that, its really hard to tell if its really giving up. it could be still within the spec while its failing.

Coop '04

I replaced the Plugs and Coils yesterday and it fixed the problem, starts and runs smooth again. I tried to get it done under warranty but they denied saying it was a maintenance item. I have 50,750 miles on mine. The wanted over 600 to do the work , it took me an hour and found the parts cheaper on my own.

Also, you don't ned to remove the airbox. I was able to disconnect the bellows from the throttle body and move it up out of the way to get enough room.

I used a 12" extension and a wobble joint to get the plugs out.

chetrickerman

yea, the throttle body is the biggest thing in the way.

shaunv74

Wow. I wouldn't recommend going back to that dealer. Now that you've done them yourself I would complain to the service manager. That's a ridiculous amount of money.

Rotor Kreuzer

Great DIY write up, managed to do this in a couple of hours. Had the same 'white' burn marks on the old coils. 3 years old, 64k kms on the clock. Rough idle and shuddering while in reverse gear is now gone.

Brettus

iTrader: (2)

What they do is get the youngest apprentice in the shop to take your car out for a drive . I'm not sure what the apprentice does but he always comes back with a smile on his face and there is a faint burning aroma around the car

chetrickerman

so i changed my coils out, and boy did it make a difference. she started up on the first crank. the acceleration is a lot smoother now, and one wierd thing is that the sound changed. it sounds more refined and even sounds faster.

7andan8

Great info! Looks like this will be my project next weekend. I took the car in for hard starts and my first answer from the service writer was "You need a new engine!" After asking for my proofs of oil changes and service (which I normally do my own) they have backed up to "You need new plugs and coils, which will be around $500!" They are currently checking on coils under warranty so we'll see how much I have to do.

Chamberlin

iTrader: (1)

glad you guys are finding it useful! anything to help you all stay away from the stealership!!! It is also good to know some of the basics of the ins and outs of the Renesis; knowledge can only help with making sure your motor lasts and lasts and lasts... which it will.

meladdin

I am really mechanically challenged. Is there any guide with pictures for coil replacement?

Chamberlin

iTrader: (1)

I didn't take photos of this operation, but you may want to search for some of mazdamaniac's coil mods posts, he had his engine all apart when he made that thread.
It is really not needing of pics though, if you just print off the DIY and open the hood and go at it....If you can't feel comfortable without pics (in this case), I probably wouldn't recommend wrenching on your car in the first place...

DarkBrew

One picture of coil replacement
https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tech-garage-22/plugs-coils-131681/

meladdin

thanks. I am mechanically challenged, but i have a grease monkey friend who should have little trouble once he gets pointed in the right direction.

~0zzygirl~

I will be replacing coils, wires and plugs at the same time. I know the wires are marked for leading and trailing plugs, but how do you know which wire goes to each coil? Or does it matter?

Chamberlin

iTrader: (1)

I think my first post says to mark each wire first with a black marker 1-4.
If not, just do one at a time, that way, nothing can get mixed up...

~0zzygirl~

Thanks for the reply...
Yeah, it does say to number them, which makes perfect sense if you are only swapping the coils. Then you go on to say, "The coils are the same for trailing and leading" so I'm just wondering if you start from scratch, which plug goes to what coil.
I am probably being confusing or just not understanding something, because I talked about this to my husband last night and felt like I was talking to a wall. But then again, that's also normal...

shaunv74

You want to make sure you don't put the wires on the wrong coil because of the firing order. They fire at different times so you need to make sure the right coil is connected to the right spark plug.

The best way is to replace things one at a time. Only pull off and replace one wire at a time and you won't mix them up.

~0zzygirl~

Gotcha. Thanks guys.

~0zzygirl~

I found what I was looking for here: http://smrmicro.com/rx8servicemanual/

Engine Specs, Page 216-222 covers coils/plugs/wires with diagrams. Looks like a simple job, and an easy way to save yourself some major bucks in labor charges.