Leak From Oil Cooler Line ???
 

I would suggest you take it into a dealer for service. Chances are a leaking oil cooler/line would be covered under one of those secret factory warranties that most manufacturers don't talk about but they will honor for certain critical items in a car.

I had that same issue 8 days after getting the car. I'd have the dealer take care of it under warranty.

Air Box Pics
 

Hey are some photos of inside the air box and from under it. Those things inside the airbox are very small seeds, looks like some mouse used my 8 as a pantry.

First thing I would do is vaccum up all that trash in the bottom of the air box. It looks like you are getting a lot of oil blow by up into the intake track before cleaning all the oil up (proof) I would take it to the dealer and let them check it out. If they think it is fine I would clean it up and see if happens again.

Got my 8 back yesterday, they replaced the one hose in the first photo of my thread. The part number was N3H1-14-710A & the gaskets 9956-21-800. I looked through the old oil in the airbox threads and that part number is not the same as the ones in those threads, maybe it’s new? Anyway all is well; the tip off to this problem FYI is oily streaks on the front rims by the spokes.

That looks like bird seeds in your box...?

Yep it’s some kind of small seeds. I have an issue with field mice making a home in my garage in the wintertime. Knowing the route the mouse would have to take to get there I was kind of shocked. After the wife found a mouse in her automotive coffee cup I purchased an electric mousetrap and killed about five mice in a week or two. So that mouse never got to raid his lighting yellow pantry.

There's a great read in the latest (Sept 05) Road & Track on page 38 "Vermin of the Dashboard". Peter Egan talks about finding wasp nests, mice infestations and black widow spiders in his project cars. He was amazed at how deep and difficult to reach spaces some of these animals would burrow. He also discusses what types of cars mice seem to like, and which cars they chew the wiring.

Bringing this thread back to life. My 8 just started leaking out of same spot. I cleaned all the oil up and took it for a drive when i got back home thier was oil leaking out of the line pictured above. It was not a lot. Has anyone replaced this line by them selves? Might be a job for the dealer/shop.

Try tightening it first.

Yeah i will give that a shot this weekend.

Anyone know how much of the hose that part number is? I've got a pretty bad leak in the same hose, it's on the rigid part where it goes through that mounting bracket that holds the 2 hoses.
Mine is very rusty though (80k on an '04 in New England.) I think there is actually a hole in the tubing because of so much rust.
Maybe I'll take a pic when I get the part and replace it.

I just yanked mine off, After a few days when i make sure my new setup is working I could sell you mine. But that whole piece come out together so it is a bitch to get out.

I've actually already got one on order. Hope to fix it this week.
Thanks for the offer though.

Argh, got the wrong part... The N3H1-14-710A part is the hose with the large hex fitting on it. The one I need connects to the drivers side cooler.

Picture?

No picture.. I'll try and take a few tomorrow or Fri. when I take the wheel off.
I may attempt to repair the part (doubt it will work, but maybe slow it down until I can get the replacement.)
I think the part I need is $230 from Montgomery Mazda.. Their part illustrations are down right now, so I can't confirm yet.

You might want to check this thread out before you do anything with rusted oil cooler fittings: https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-trouble-shooting-95/rusted-oil-cooler-fittings-183281/

Thanks Voodoo8, but a bit late for me. I took Friday off, so pulled it all apart again Thu. The coupling between hose sections seemed completely welded together by rust (I couldn't get the less rusted apart, didn't try the more rusted one.) So I cut apart the bracket that holds the lines that go directly to the cooler, and pulled out the lower line as well as the line that goes to the engine (banjo bolts on both ends.) I went at the leaking part with a steel brush and brake cleaner until all the rust was gone, and a pinhole was clearly visible. Put a glob of JB Weld on there, let set overnight and reinstalled Friday. Seems to work so far, but who knows how long it'll last.

oil cooler / hoses leak
 

i'm looking for as much info as i can get. 76k on a 2004 MT, with no problem, so can't complain, but the oil cooler/hoses are leaking, and the repair was nearly 2600, complained and got it down to 2000. that's still too steep; sent a message to voodoo8 a day or two ago, think he got out of paying for this repair due to the recall in canada; is there any way i can get mazda to pay for at least some of this? it's poor design that allowed the elements to get to the hoses/lines, which is the way the canadian govenment saw it. no go with a recall in the usa.

Cheaper to just buy the RB oil line kit or get fittings and lines your self. I have a full set of lines and coolers, I need to take pics and post them up.

thanks for the reply. unfortunately i am not one to work on this car at all, i leave it to the dealer. let me ask you something - the 8 hasn't run in a while (actually 3 mos, though, i could start it if the engine would hold oil), and the dealer didn't run it , just assumed all 6 lines were leaky and shot. They advised against me just replacing the oil cooler itself and not replacing 6 lines at 200 per line. is there any possibility that replacing the cooler itself could remedy this.

Only if the leak is coming from the cooler and NOT the lines. Where again are the leaks? Since the repair of my leak I have not had an issue. Strange that the 2nd line laster much longer than the first.
I highly doubt your going to get Mazda to fix this issue on an out of warranty car. As far as for the repair going with the Racing Beat part will both be cheaper and better than going with the OEM lines. The labor would be the same so if buy the parts and let the dealer install it. Since this will be a cash transaction I see no reason for the dealer not to do this job.

There is no reason to believe all the lines are leaking and quit frankly That would be pretty crazy for that to happen. It has to be leaking somewhere and it should be obvious but if your unable to check yourself then you are kind of screwed unless you know someone who is mechanically inclined with a brain. This is not rocket science, look at the pic above, oil line leaks are pretty obvious to spot.

The coolers can be replaced on their own, but the lines generally have to be replaced as a full set. If they're corroded badly enough to leak, chances are the connections between them are fused, and if you could get them apart, you'd never get them back together without having a new leak.

Folks with rusted lines/fittings may want to check with Racing Beat as suggested by 9krpmsrx8. When I was searching for answers to replacing mine I looked high and low for aftermarket options and found none. Wound up chatting this over with they crew at RB. They were going to look into adding a set of aftermarket lines and fittings to their catalog.

You need a cat.
:yesnod:

Driver said line is corroded as shit, leaking pretty consistently. Is this a pain in the ass to do yourself with RB lines? Looks pretty complex from the instructions. Just don't feel like spending over 2 grand to have the dealership do this when truth be told, I plan on getting rid of the car soon. Even worth fixing at all? Or should I just go trade it in?

What are the stats on your ride (in particular mileage)? I'm just north of you in NH and was able to, with the help of my dealer's service mgr, convince Mazda NA to cover the cost of parts to fix mine with me paying about $500 in labor. I leveraged the recall in Canada to pursue this case - a while back Mazda put out a recall there for rusting oil cooler lines and has a new set of lines constructed to support that recall.

They have chosen not to extend that recall to the US to date, their argument being that winter conditions in Canada and the use of road salts, etc there made it necessary in Canada and not in the US. The obvious counter argument to that for us here in New England is that our winters are not all that much different than most areas in southern Canada, we deal with heavy doses of road salts, etc too, and we are getting corroded cooler lines just like our neighbors to the north.

My new lines have been in for two winters now and are holding up just fine.

I have a 04 GT with about 83k miles on it. Like I said, I thought about trading it in (had plans to do so before this happened anyways) and didn't know if I should just try and patch the leak and then get rid of it. If I could get Mazda to cover most of the costs, I would debate that, so it would give me more time to search for a new car.

You could make a pitch for it with the dealer, but with 83K on the clock it might be a long shot.

@VOODOO8, do you have any more information on this, like a link or a recall number? I just got ripped off $600 by the dealer to replace ONE corroded oil cooler line here in Minneapolis/same salt and winter conditions. $180 for the part alone. I could plumb an entire race car oil system with Aeroquip for that.

I'd like to go after Mazda on this matter and additional info on the Canadian situation would be helpful.

Try a Google (or other) search with the following: Mazda "field action number" 142-36. You'll find several hits on it, one which will lead you back to RX8club.com.

Bringing back an old thread...

I have a severe oil leak on my 2004 with ~95K miles. The oil cooler line fittings near the drivers side oil cooler were literally crumbling to the touch.

The car has been driven mainly in southern VA and NC, with limited trips in snow and salt.

I brought it into Mazda (towed, the leak was so bad). The quote was $2000 - they wanted to replace all of them because two other lines had a small leak as well. I asked them if they would install the RB lines, but they would not, which saves ~ $600 on parts. I got it towed to another shop that will do it for cheaper...still waiting on their final price.

Beware, that if this happened to me in the climate I live in, I have to believe it will happen to many others if not already. I cannot believe this is not a recall in the US and only in Canada.

Is the RB oil cooler line kit the best deal on the market or does anyone know of another replacement kit that works for the RX8 without going custom?

Thanks for the help.

Custom lines can be made much cheaper than the RB kit. But the RB kit uses high quality stuff. This problem is common for you northern guys. Down here it is unheard of.

Why not just buy the RB kit and install it yourself?

Dittos to what 9krpmrx8 said -- not only are the RB lines very high quality, they were very helpful when I called them for advice and clarification. I did mine about two years ago and have not had any problem. But the job WAS a major pain.

I bit the bullet today and bought the RB kit.

If I had the time I would like to take this project on, but I just don't see it happening any time soon and I am out of a vehicle right now....so to the auto shop it is.