skrubol

iTrader: (1)

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.

VOODOO8

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.

Rote8

You need a cat.

Guy Hollywood

Driver said line is corroded as ****, leaking pretty consistently. Is this a pain in the *** 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?

VOODOO8

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.

Guy Hollywood

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.

VOODOO8

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

mitty

@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.

VOODOO8

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.

jdzoom8

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.

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

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?

mmalson

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.

jdzoom8

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.