jlemm45

Hey guys. I have an 04 Rx8 GT with 90,000 miles. The car has been having some trouble starting. I will go to start it and it will take like 10-15 seconds to start. It will just keep turning over until eventually starting. Then it starts missing and has no power for like 30 seconds or so. Sometimes I have to give it a lot of gas to keep it running. Occasionally it has shot out some white smoke. The weird thing is its all random when it seems to do all of it. Sometimes it will just start right up. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Smileynh

Plugs and coils. I'm trying to find someone to do the work. You can get the parts on e-bay reasonably. The dealer will rape you.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

If it is coils plugs or wires it will almost always be the trailing ones because they are dominant over leading for startup and idle

White smoke is not good though and could indicate an internal coolant seal leak that can cause or contribute to these symptoms as well

Harlan

iTrader: (3)

When the car is cold remove the coolant reservoir cap and start the engine. If you see the small line that goes in the top surging and bubbling/spitting you have a bad coolant seal. I can almost bet that's what's wrong, I have seen these identical symptoms before. If your warranty is still good take it to a dealer.

jlemm45

Well I called mazda to check my warranty and I guess it went up last year in November. Is there any way to replace the broken seal as I'm pretty sure too thats what the problem is. I think the current motor in the car has about 60,000 miles on it as it was replaced at 30000.

Harlan

iTrader: (3)

Sure you can replace the seal, it involves removing the engine, tearing it down and rebuilding it. The RX7 guys have had mixed results using alumaseal to fix the cooling jacket, so that's also a possibility if you are desperate to buy some time, but it's far from permanent and can clog your radiator/heater. Or you could buy a used low miles engine and swap them.

I went with the low miles engine, and replaced it myself. If I ever get around to it I'm gonna rebuild the original, right now it's a garage ornament.

jlemm45

Well I ended up dumping some of that alumseal in and well see what happens. I let it run for a while and then went and drove it. I'm letting it sit for a while now and then well see what happens when it starts back up.

wcs

iTrader: (2)

Harlan

iTrader: (3)

Good luck, some guys have run with the stuff from tens of thousands of miles until the next rebuild, some just plugged their heaters, and some had it work for a week. I tried it and it didn't help much at all, but that engine was gone.

Changji Lu

Hi,

Can I ask how do you add the Alumaseal please? Did you add through the Coolant Reservoir? Or You added through radiator? How much did you pour? And what's your result after adding in those Alumaseal fluid? I am planning to add into my RX-8 too.

Thanks!