2004 RX-8 burning rich and hard to start
 

I just bought a 2004 Mazda RX-8 with 80,000 miles on it, the motor was replaced at 23,000 miles. When trying to start it, it takes 3-5 seconds of cranking for it to start, When it does start, it runs fine, but if its in neutral and i rev it up, it misses a little bit until i get to 3k rpms. After running for a while it starts to run very Rich. when it is parked and running and standing outside the car, its so rich it burns my eyes. All Help is greatly appreciated. Thank You in Advance..
:mchase:

Also, I run 93 Octane pump gas in it.. This is my first RX-8 and know nothing about it.. someone told me that when shutting the car off, to rev it up to 6k rpms and shut it off while rpms are high. And also that if when cruising if I am below 3k RPMs to shift down a gear. If there is anything I need to know about the car and how to care for the car, please let me know. It Did not come with owners manual so I in the dark here lol

I ordered new plugs today, and got the low bank o2 sensor because my CEL is on, do you think this will fix the problem? Please help

Don't listen to whoever told you to rev to 6000 rpm before shutting down.

Sign up in the owner's section at mazdausa.com. You can then download the owner's manual and the quick tips guide.

Read the stickies on this site, especially

https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-forum-197/new-potential-owners-start-here-202454/

Are you sure your eyes are burning from it running rich, and not from a clogged cat? Does the code for the CEL correspond to a bad O2 sensor?

Ken

Not sure if its the cat or not, and yes the CEL is because of the o2 sensor.

I'm at the shop now getting the o2 and oil changed, they said the cat can not be knocked out, so I'm looking at 1700 from the dealer for a cat =\ does anyone know of a cheaper aftermarket cat?

Do some searches there are quite a few options relating to the CAT.
If you live in a state with no emissions test, you can knock the honeycomb out of the CAT and be fine, but I think you would still have the CEL.
Same thing goes if you delete the CAT entirely and just have a midpipe.


You mention "shop" and not the dealer. I don't think a dealer would actually knock the honeycomb out, but a shop should be able unless like I said.........you need it for emissions?

A shop can't knock the honeycomb out. It's a federal law, doesn't depend on whether there's emission testing. Odds of getting caught may be low, but it's too much to ask a shop to do.

Rock Auto has a cat for under $300. Not legal in California, but should be OK everywhere else.

Ken

Oh, yeah................forgot that fact. Thanks Ken.............Sorry for the mis-information.
Perhaps Billy-Bob's shop out in the sticks would do it, but you'd be better of doing it yourself.

exactly what cel did you get?

you could get 2 cel's that are related to that rear o2 sensor, one could mean it's detecting the catalyst is below efficiency (in which case you'd replace the cat) or the other could mean the o2 sensor itself is failing.

you replaced your o2 and now want to replace your cat? what if the problem was the cat failing and your o2 sensor doing it's job and reporting it by turning on your CEL? so you'd then have replaced your o2 sensor for nothing....

I replaced the o2 and the CEL is off. Still acting the same. I got out and put my hand infront on the exst tip while it was idling and it wasn't blowing steady, it was like it was trying but couldn't. I'm not the.smartest when it comes to this. But I don't trust our local dealer, the said I needed a new motor in my mvp when really it needed a tune up

Does this sound like a engine failure at all to you all? With everyone that's on this site, there's more knowledge then any dealership

I took to my local shop, they will knock cats, but said they can't knock mine because its shaped odd.. I looked at it and it has a bend in the pipe. How would I knock it?

Do a search for the DIY article in the other section of the forum for gutting the convertor.

Also, since you just bought your car recently, have you checked the condition of the spark plugs and ignition coils yet? Do you know how long it has been since they were last replaced?

That might be part of your problem, the ignition system is too weak to ignite the fuel, causing you issues that you can smell, and that burns your eyes.

BC.

Changing out the ignition coils might help the hard starting and the miss. Coils have been a problem with RX8s. If your CEL went out after replacing your O2 sensor, then knocking out the CAT won't help you. If it's running as rich as you describe, the fuel mileage should be horribly bad - should be easy to check. Lastly, the engine runs real rich during start and cold running. After it warms up, the computer will adjust the mixture back to normal (which is still kind of rich). To do that, it relies on the coolant temperature sensor. If that's bad, the computer thinks your car is always running cold. I'd look at the easy things first before you start thinking about replacing the motor.

UPDATE: We checked the Cat, Its clear, we shined a light all the way thru it. Its all white on the inside (IDK if thats good or bad) The CEL is still on for a clogged Cat tho... Im going to replace the Plugs, Plug wires, Fuel Filter, Air Filter and Coils tomorrow. Should I Change anything else??

look for signs of "melting" material in the front of the cat (side that's facing the engine)

if no signs of melting, the cat should be good.

what exactly is your CEL anyway ?

another thing is, you should replace plugs, plug wires, coils and air filter. you CANNOT replace fuel filter, I mean you can, but it's not worth the hassle cuz it sits at the bottom of your fuel pump ... and Mazda does NOT sell this part for S1 separately. at 80K miles, I suggest you to replace your fuel pump. Mazda updated the pump a few times, I mean it still suck (fixed in S2) but better than having an aging old style fuel pump that's on it's way south.

Should I get a compression test done? I don't want to waste almost 200 bucks for one from Mazda if its not needed, or should I just replace the above metioned stuff first. Please reply soon as I am going to take it to Mazda in the am if no reply

unless they charge 200 bux per labor hour. it should NEVER cost 200 bux.

the test takes less than 15 minutes to do, and they better know that they have to do it when the engine is HOT, when I say HOT, it means the car has been driven for at least 20 minutes under SLOW speed and they do the test right away.

if you're around NYC area I can do it for you for cheap. cuz I have the Mazda's compression tester

if you don't live near NYC then ... yes you should do it BUT :

- Make sure you're still in their 8yr/100 K engine warranty, cuz if it fails, it will be covered by the warranty, cost 0 dollars to you.
- Do all the plugs/coils/wires before you go in WITH proof
- Prepare your oil change receipts

My warranty is expired by time not miles. Already checked into that, they told me the test is 180 at the Mazda dealer. I am located in southern wv..

rofl lmao 180 bux? wow, there is another thread about Mazda in North America is rated at the bottom of customer service.

the warranty is over? by how "long" ? if it's just a month or so you might be able to beg Mazda and see if they would cover at least some of the cost. it has happened, so try your luck.

So should I go in the am and get the test done? Before replacing all the parts? How much is a rebuild for one and around how much would it cost me labor. I drive this car everyday, 72 miles one way to work and 72 back home. It runs fine except for low rpms in 1st gear, smells as if its burning rich, and today, I was going down hill (a steep grade) I was in 6th gear cruising at 75 at the top of the hill, I let off th gas and I slowly start to loss speed(around 1mph every 2 seconds, and it pops off when slowing down, not loud but it does.

I have the Carfax on the car infront of me, purchase date was 9-8-03 with 22 miles. Motor was replaced once at 23,000 miles. I just added that up, 8 years isn't up until 9-8-2011, correct? And the Rx8 has a 8 year, 100k mile warranty, correct? Do they go by first purchase date or manufacture date

Purchase date! :)

I called Mazda again today, they are saying the car was delivered on Aug. 9th, but the Carfax says if was titled on Sept 9th I'm confused