Greetings,

I am seeking advice for a 2004 GT. The car was purchased two years ago and now has 91,xxx miles. The car since has received new coils, wires, spark plugs, air filter, and transmission oil. It also has tein suspension and enkei wheels plus exhaust.

Recently the car had a power cut during acceleration so it was taken to a Mazda mechanic, who returned a laundry list of repairs needed that are daunting to say the least. My question to the 8 gurus here is whether these repairs are typical of rx8's this age, or is the car a lemon? Also:

Can any of the repairs can be ignored (if any)?
Are the prices for the repairs reasonable?
Should I fork over the cash and get her fixed (she's paid off)
Or hold I go in debt and get a 2009 GT or another more reliable/newer car?

Here's the list, and thank you for sharing your wisdom and insight.


Labor Service - Check engine light on, pull codes & reset computer. >> P0661 = intake manifold tuning valve control circuit low - Bank 1 (cause of power cut)

Recommended Repairs and Services:
• 6/2012: Front cover gasket and o-ring are leaking -- Level was low when checked today $1450.00 (11) - Transmission oil leak (tailshaft or shift tower seal?)
- Driveshaft u-joints are spitting some grease
- Clutch master cylinder is leaking $215.00 (.6)
- Brake master cylinder is leaking $360.00 (1) w/stability control or $460.00 w/o - Recommend new brake rotors the next time the pads are done (front & rear)
- Catalytic converter has some damage (took a hard hit) $2,350.00 (1.1)
- Upper control arm seals/boots are broken
- Spark plugs are showing some wear $240.00 (.6)
- Coolant overflow bottle (float) is bad & Coolant is dark/dirty $350.00 (.8)
- Drive belts are dry/making some noise > are not cracking/will not break - just an annoyance. - Front and rear Strut R&R labor $500.00

Total: $5125

My cat is ok and I can live with the sticky coolant bottle:

$2865

 

You'll get a much better reply if you post this in the correct section. This is for Series II cars, a 2004 is a Series I.

Regards

 

Yup, wrong sub-forum.

I wouldn't ignore any repairs but that's just me especially when it come to the engine in our cars. It's like a domino effect.

I would personally sell it off and save whatever money you can make to purchase a newer one.

 

Thanks I'll post in Series I.

 

Nice laundry list seems a little excessive, to start off how mechanically incline are you and what are you willing to do yourself? Transmissions can be had all day long for $600 and it's not that long to instal, most transmission will seep a little, u-joint will spew a little grease and as long as their not seizing up don't worry about it. How often are you adding brake fluid to the master cylinder reservoir? (both slave and master use the same reservoir) seems odd both the master and slave are done unless there was contamination in your fluid like excessive moisture. Seems like your being taken for a ride, cat is damaged??? that's an odd diagnosis. Plugs are cheap online, like $80 for all four.

Be careful with what you approve or get a second shop to look at it this is way over the top.

 

I vote someplace else...

For the front cover, there is a thread on the GA RX8 site where dealer tried to replace that cover to solve a coolant leak. Likely destroyed the engine not putting it back together, and there is apparently NO COOLANT behind that cover.

How about DIY:
Change Brake Fluid
Change Trans Fluid (maybe some stop leak)
Change Rear Fluid (maybe some stop leak)

The above is $100 or less in stuff. There are DIY's on this site for most if not all of it.

I have no idea what an upper control arm seal and boot is

I personally do not consider something leaking unless it hits the ground. Do you have puddles of oil?

 

- The transmission/synchros grind a bit when shifting into 4th over 5k rpm, other than that it's ok.
- I haven't been adding any fluids to the master cylinder at all and all the leaks look pretty low.
- The cat has a dent in it from a driveway impact, functions ok (no fumes) but the heat shield rattles a little bit.
- There's a tiny bit of oil leaking from a seal from the engine, $1500 to fix that apparently.

Still less than buying a new car, but who knows what other bugs this 04 has.

 

- The rotors are warped apparently so flushing out brake fluid should be done after that, IF I keep the car...
- Just changed the tranny oil with MT90 (the mechanic said it's the wrong stuff and that forums are not all knowing)
- I could try changing the rear fluid if you think that might help
- The upper ball joints are leaking and will probably be expensive to fix
- A seal on the engine is also leaking ($1500)
- No oil that I can tell is hitting the ground

Keep or sell for a 2009?

 

MT90 rocks, made a nice difference for me. I could feel the shifts afterwards..

For rotors, try a quart of acetone and a terry cloth rag. Just clean them, both sides. Might be the cheapest brake job ever. There is a thread here someplace that goes into the details, but for the most part, warped rotors are an uneven layer of brake pad material on the rotor.

In my opinion, a leak that never reaches the ground is secondary.

How about a coolant and brake fluid flush and see how it goes. You might be surprised how a little fresh fluid will make the seals happy.

If it were me, I would try a few low cost things and see what you have at the end. You could even try some "Bar's Leaks" for the oil seals. $30 later you could have smooth brakes, no drips and can then decide on the harder stuff like the ball joints.

 

I would get a second opinion.

If you need new brakes, depending on how much you love the car, you can always get a BBK.
If there's an issue with the cat, get a BHR midpipe, etc.

Enjoy some aftermarket goodies