shaunv74

Keep us posted and take pictures if you can. Get a printout of his compression test complete with the RPM he used.

Priority 1 should be getting your car to a dealer and having them figure out what's going on. Don't worry about the extended warranty right now. If anything once they get your car fixed they'll know the exact condition before warranty and will have to honor fixing it if something else goes wrong.

yoshistoned

"In August 2006, Mazda announced that a miscalculation with oil metering had led to the engines in a few RX-8s to experience problems with severe power loss and rough idle. Mazda voluntarily recalled all 2004 and 2005 and some 2006 models to test for this problem, and all engines that failed a vacuum test were replaced at no charge, even if the car was out of warranty. -(various published sources)

Is this accurate? If my car is failing the compression test than Mazda will replace the engine even if the car is out of warranty?

RX-8Newb

well the motor is up to 60k miles now for the internals. So if you are under 60k then it will not matter. but yes i have heard of the voluntary recall too.

ActionAttackGoose

My take:

The oil filter was installed incorrectly, causing exsanguination of engine oil, as well as oil all over the goddamn place. Lack of proper lubrication caused an apex seal to fail, and the lack of power. Also, since oil serves to cool and lubricate the metering pump, the lack of it caused a metering pump failure.

yoshistoned

Damn good stuff. That certainly seems a likely summary of events. I got screwed. Very much enjoyed your choice of word in the use of: exsanguination-

Exsanguination (also known colloquially as bleeding out) is the fatal process of total hypovolemia (blood loss). It is most commonly known as "bleeding to death." The word itself originated from Latin: 'ex' (out of) and 'sanguis' (blood). Therefore the word literally means 'out of blood'.

breaks the heart man

yoshistoned

Yep like 3 days after he did the oil change. Hella eefing convenient for this to happen this way definitely. My dad helped me take the car to an independent shop today and when he saw the spill he said the dude probably poured a quart or 2 more than he was suppose to and the extra oil is pouring out etc. Feels a bit like I got set up.

This shop wont get to look at the car until Monday. They will run a compression test and check out whats going on. Hopefully legit

But hopefully what I read about the recall is right and it won't matter. Can anyone confirm this please?

DMRH

Possible, just possible, but a lack of oil pressure as would be the case with an oil filter not correctly fitted (thus releasing pressure) causes bearing failure before breaking any apex seals.

Another possible & more simple theory perhaps............???

Noob doesn't know rotaries well but has best intensions.

Tries filling oil too quickly into filler neck. Over fills it & spills oil across engine. Too high an oil level in the sump & gallaries effects MOP (I'll have to research this part more) & causes it to throw a code.

Said code puts engine into "Limp mode" causing power loss.

Metric sounding readings makes me suspicious he has a proper Mazda rotary compression tester. Failed reading on front rotor is simple for a poorly connected lead. (Been there, done that). Rear rotor readings is low but still ok if the cranking rpm was equally low (eg, 200-rpm)

Could all turn out to be a storm in a tea cup. Shall watch with interest but make sure you GET YOUR COILS CHECKED. Unlikely to be the cause of your problems now there is more info available but get it done regardless. Very common failure on all 03 + 04 cars.

REgards

Mazurfer

Yeah....all is not lost here, just need to sit back and hopefully someone will be EVENTUALY looking at the car that knows WTF they are doing.

smitht0789

I have a 2004 RX-8 and its a 6 speed manual, and last week all of a sudden started bogging out when i gave it gas, kinda like i was starting off in higher gear. I bought this car with 54,000 miles, and now it has 73,000 miles. It has already had 2 engines replaced before i owned it. The second engine was put in at 15K miles, and the third engine put in at 45K miles. So my new engine only has 28K miles on it, and its already messing up again? I have taken it to 2 auto repair shops, and nobody knows whats wrong with it. They seem to think it has no compression?? So anyone know whats going on?? And do you think Mazda would replace it, considering it will be the 4th engine..and it only has 28K miles on it...??

shaunv74

You said auto repair shops. Have you taken it to a dealer yet?

If not bring it in to a dealer and see what they tell you.

yoshistoned

I don't yet want to go through the front office folks at mazda because i am no longer covered by warranty. But the more I delve into this its looking like the warranty thing is not going to matter so I should take matters up with Mazda, which I will very soon.

I talked with Mazda service shop & they will be able to look at the car on Wednesday. Meanwhile, I left the car at this independent shop to verify claims by a mazda service technician (at the different location than the one which I have scheduled services with on Wednesday) that one of the rotors is reading compression of zeros tested at 1215 RPM.

Below are links to 2 pdfs detailing the recall which seems to be what I am experiencing:

2004-2006 RX-8 Voluntary Emission Recall Campaign 4206F - Owner Letter

2004-2006 RX-8 Voluntary Emission Recall Campaign - Repair Procedure

I have read them both carefully and could not make out if the engine will be replaced, free of charge, after the power-train warranty is no longer in effect. So again I am obliged to ask: can anyone confirm or comment on this further?

Many thanks in advance.

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

How would you get a compression result of zero at 1215RPM. Even with no apex seals you would probably see some compression at that RPM

How would you even spin it that fast...the starter won't go much over 300RPM?

shaunv74

^^Exactly.

yoshistoned

Looks like this on the print out provided:

Rotary 1: 6.8 | 6.2 | 6.7, same numbers as he said before but the numbers are under Rotary 1 column, RPM 1215.

Rotary 2: all zeros, RPM 1215.

Different from what he told me over the phone. In any event he claimed he misplaced the original print out that was generated, so proceeded to put in the values himself into the software based on what he remembered, and gave me a copy to mull over.

So it appears that I have made up numbers here, assuming based on your reactions. Not a shocker at all… at least from my experience with this dude to this point. We will find out just how made up because I am expecting new compression test results on Wednesday.

To add to the confusion, the dude offered to contact Mazda to order a replacement engine. As mentioned previously, according to official records on: record is under 60K. We plan to use this to bail me out.

Personally, I would much rather not put the car back in his hands. Unless I sit there watch him do his thing, I cannot assure any progress on this problem will be made. Unless Mazda’s voluntary recall replaces the engine at no cost to me, regrettably, this is the route I now have to look forward to.

XRX8X

my 2cts.i think someone might have used the wrong filter causing it to flow over your engine and coils which can slow you down cause check engine light and few other problems to boot.advance auto has a cheap scanner on sale for $50.00 or so which is cheaper than the techs prices noadays and if you got a little car repair background it's not to hard to fix yourself like clean up your motor and take a light to see whats going on and ask you tech buddy to help.if the filter is wrong it can cause a whole lot of pain for you.i hope some of this helps and rothenthal people are good and honest!also check that oil level before you do anything and most the guys here are great at helping fellow rx8 owners out of a jam.take pictures and let us know whats up!also use a cleaner that evaperates so you won't hurt anything be sure not to run it while cleaning and wipe off any oil around the coil packs and clean the intake tube as well.

XRX8X

by the way i think the light your talking about is the low coolant light .meaning your coolantant level is low ?don't know

XRX8X

sorry i was not paying attention that would be your coolant or antifreeze level

yoshistoned

Engine is definitely gone. One rotor confirmed to be zero, and the other even lower than initially tested. We didn't get into the numbers, he will sent a complete report hopefully by tomorrow. But in short he said he already started looking at places for a replacement engine cuz this one is "gone".

Totally lost now. Zoom please can you tell me more about this Mazda recall? What are the chances Mazda replaces my engine without me breaking my bank again??

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

First off, there MUST be something wrong, how could u do compression test @ 1215 RPM ? If its really spinning that fast, you will see something for sure. but the thing is that, the starter can NOT spin that fast. So no, the number is wrong.

Second, the Recall IF you never did it, and you do it now, Mazda HAVE to cover you a new engine, not SURE about labor, but Engine yes. because its a Recall, like any other recalls, They have to cover the cost of parts & labor. BUT if you already DID the recall b4 ur engine died, then you're out of luck.

but sometimes, I mean SOMETIMES, its not really the engine, its something totally not related, could be just *bad* compression test, engine replaced still the same problem, and at the end they found out its just a bad coil & wires.

See what Mazda says. but they should cover you if you've never did the recall.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

Most shops does not know how to deal with a Rotary Engine car. make sure you're in the *right* place.

Early Mazda Reman suck ***. but ur 2nd engine should not be that bad.

No compression at all on all sides? See if you can run a *proper* test.

My engine still works, Synthetic Oil ftw ! *knock on wood*

shaunv74

Can you get the results for us. This still sounds funny.

RPM and compression numbers for each rotor on each side.

dothackRAVE

Sir, I highly suggest taking up wrenching after this whole ordeal. It saves you money.

And you won't have to rely on some "dude" for good work. If you **** up, your car ***** up. Simple as that. You will know exactly what was done, and be able to create a precise diagnosis.

rollerbldes

Are you seriously oblivious? You brought it to some "dude" then now you brought it to an "independent" shop. Please man, wake up and bring your car to a Mazda dealership. What you are doing now can cost you way more than getting it sorted by the right guys.

yoshistoned

Got an update i felt i should share if anyone still cares. $5500, everything. Mazda wouldn't help much more than giving their best rotor dude the job. The funds unfortunately didn't come without strings. The 8 has got to go and I am in the market for a replacement ride. Fellaz.... while the 8 was great it didn't come without pain. This is a boys car and truly its just that. I am all about living with a sports car but holy danggg. I had the car for 15 months and within that time it was in the shop atleast a complete 2 months for one reason or another. I don't even remember some of the issues anymore, most of which Mazda replaced/fixed under warranty. No more warranty, no more 8. I am sad to part ways with her.

r-enzyme

iTrader: (1)

Sorry to hear about your troubles. It sounds like your "boy" was the source of some of your issues.....

"This is a boys car and truly its just that."

lol, HUH???