Was told by dealer my RX8 engine with 78k miles needs to be replaced. Asked a friend who is certified mechanic and he questioned why the Apex seals and gaskets couldn't be replaced on the engine instead of replacing whole engine. I thought with less moving parts engine would be easily repaired. Any suggestions.

Thanks,

 

Where are you and what year is your 8 ?You may be covered by mazda warranty

 

Mazda reman will actually be cheaper than rebuilding with new seals.

But at the same time Mazda remans are one of the lowest quality new engines. If your under warranty get it replaced through Mazda, if its not under warranty their are a lot of reputable rebuilders. I personally recommend Pettit motors, but you have to do the swap yourself with them.

Search around and do some research on the right rebuilder for you though don't go off one member, at the end of the day it's your car it's your call.

Goodluck and welcome to the club, also would recommend reading these!
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...t-here-202454/
https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discuss...rx-8-a-233937/

 

Under most circumstances no dealer actually replaces any bottom end parts (referring to piston engines of course) in the repair shops these days. Always straight replacement and core is sent back to the dealer, especially the rotary. More cost & time effective that way

 

To answer the question. I am located in the Myrtle Beach area. The 96 months time warranty expired in Sept 2012. Thanks for the helpful answers. Looks like a new or rebilt engine is going to cost the same about $5500.

 

First, what symptoms are you experiencing that lead the dealer to recommend a replacement, and what are the compression numbers on the engine?

 

your not far from Florida.
drive down. drop your engine off at Pettit & pick up one of their quality built engines.

 

I began to have trouble restarting RX8 when making short errand runs to food store, bank, gas fillup. Would take maybe 5 minutes to get car restarted.

The compression numbers were around 5 to 5.4 on both rotors.