Bad idle and engine dies
 

Hi,

I got my engine replaced for the second time about 850 miles ago on my 2004 RX-8 6MT with 87k miles on the odometer (Mazda told me it was my fault, then after charging me over $4600 for a new engine decided it wasn't... still waiting on my reimbursement two months later), then 200 miles ago my oil pump failed on me... they said it was my fault this time and not covered under warranty (which is still awfully suspicious to me) and charged me another $2000+ for that. Turns out when my engine was replaced the first time they dropped one of my spark plugs and cracked it. The dealership (different one) who did the oil pump discovered this with the plug.

Now just a day ago, I tried starting my car and it floats around 1000rpm and down to 500rpm before dying. If I stab the gas pedal for a while it will go up to 4000rpm and stay alive if I keep revving it until it dies. I took a video and put it on YouTube (Bad idle on RX-8 - YouTube) of what happens. I'm going to call the dealership soon, but wondered if anyone has any ideas of what's going on before I finally snap and push it off a cliff. I honestly can't even keep it on the road long enough to sell this nightmare of a vehicle. I loved this car for the first 20k miles, but now it's a constant toe tag on my bank account and sanity.

Any help would be very appreciated.

Thanks,

Christopher

Also, I've cleaned off the ESS and installed the BHR ignition system about 1500 miles ago.

That looks like a vacuum leak initially, though could be ignition failure or e-shaft sensor fouling.

Down next to the main pulley, there is a sensor sitting right next to it that magnetically watches for the little burrs on the pulley's edge. Wipe that off, make sure nothing is stuck to it.

Then see if you can get your hands on an ODB2 tool ($50 or so from an autoparts store if you don't have a friend, or post up your location in case you can get help from the forum), and monitor your live engine data at idle. That can easily confirm a vacuum leak, and we can go from there.

Please stop throwing money at the stealerships :) Work with us first until we exhaust our collective knowledge, which is more than anyone at those dealers has.

Edit:
You added while I was typing. Good job on the ESS and the ignition. Returns up to the vacuum leak.

Sounds like dealership one did some sloppy work which you are still paying for.
I recall that neutral and clutch switches impact idle as do vacuum leaks, MAF, MAF screens, ignition and fuel quality

Hey guys, sorry it took so long to reply.

I finally figured out what the issue was after getting my hands on an OBDII scanner and finding no vacuum leaks. The issue was pretty simple, apparently after a hard pull in my car, the screen in my cold air intake got tweaked sideways which messed up the airflow sensor. Just pushed it back into place and it is working fine again. Thinking I should somehow glue the screen back into place so it won't happen again. Wish I had bought the car with the stock intake at this point, though.

Thanks for the help and suggestions!