themollyface

OK so my fiance just bought a used 2004 Mazda RX-8 and immediately have a couple issues i have a hunch of what it is OK here is list of problems

1.it had a gas leak which has been fixed but yet long after still smells like gas very strongly and i can smell gas in the exhaust

2.the oil is milky i know that it can appear that way on the end of the stick but read the rest first please.

3. coolant is draining kind fast out of the resivour but not leaking.

so i came to the conclusion that it smells like gas because there is water in the oil which burns with the gas thus the engine is being flooded with gas and the coolant is low because the seal to motor from radiator is bad allowing water to get into the oil.

i guess i just want a second opinion and how much this fix will possibly cost

bse50

Do you have any service history? it looks like you may need another engine...
Does the car smoke a lot when starting?
Can you see bubbles in the coolant with the car running?
Water seals may leak or "crack" at times, this unfortunately means a new engine... However you might be able to rely on the 8yrs\100k miles engine warranty if you have your maintenance history.
Otherwise you should contact Mazmart and ask what the price of a properly rebuilt engine is, they know their stuff and offer a great service with a core return discount if i remember correctly.

themollyface

It doesn't smoke at all, its a really heavy gas smell when I put more than a qt tank in it.

bse50

Heavy gas smell could just be a faulty catalytic converter, what should worry you is the water loss.
Please try doing what i suggested that you do and report back

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Yeah more info is needed. Are you sure the car is bone stock?

themollyface

I really dont know, I did however find the previous owner on facebook and sent him a message asking if he had any problems or why he decided to sell it. . . needless to say hes kind of avoiding me ugh.

themollyface

BY the way I should mention, that the car itself run and preforms just fine. The coolant is leaking SLOWLY.

bse50

A slow leak won't disappear, no matter what. It's not like a cut on your finger.
Talking here isn't going to solve your problem, why don't you just go and perform that easy test?

themollyface

I know it wont dissapear, as soon as I get the seal fixed though it should help. What test are you talking about the bubbly coolant?

bse50

That, and the smoke when the car is cold and hasn't been used for some time since the leak is small.
You could also see if you have traces of fuel in your water bottle but that's definitely harder to notice if the leak is small and you keep adding water.

themollyface

I dont know what smoke your talking about there is no smoke. And I just got the car a week ago and have not added anything to it.

themollyface

Ok so I went out and turned on the car and checked out the coolant, at first it appeared there was no coolant in it at all!! But as all RX8 owners know you cannot turn off the engine when its cold, so I revved it a couple times to warm it up and the coolant mysteriously appeared... not bubbling

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Ummmm, the coolant reservoir should be full regardless of engine temp.

themollyface

Yea I know, proving my point that its leaking into the oil. Hence the reason my oil is so milky lol

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

How many miles on the engine? But if you are losing coolant into your oil at that rate then you would have some smoke.

themollyface

72000, I still stand with I have no smoke. When I get home I will record a video and post it

treyoh5

i would wrangle up some receipts for 5w-20 oil and head to a dealer asap for an engine swap anyways...

bse50

The milky oil is not a problem related to the water from your coolant system. search "milky dipstick".

themollyface

Ok I emailed the dealer I bought it from and told him the issue and Im taking it up there tomorrow. Fingers crossed this gets taken car of and I dont have to drop an unreasonable amount of money on a car I bought less than two weeks ago.

Mazurfer

Careful telling people it should be full. That's not accurate and I know you will have to agree!

I can't tell you how many people have overfilled the bottle, had it come out the overflow hose, and then into the power steering connectors and you know what that leads to.

I just want people to know that there is a "Max" line on the side of the bottle and they should fill it up to that line. The bottle is NOT supposed to be full.





As far as the OP goes, from this thread and her other one.
I am in no way convinced yet that she is loosing coolant due to a seal. Time will tell I guess.
As I pointed out in the other thread, milky oil.................not an issue unless she really believes there is coolant in there.....and if there was, she'd be pushing out a good amount of smoke and have other issues.

themollyface

My fiance wants to to mention that the gas smell is inside the car, as if its coming through the air vents....I dont really think I smell it through the vents I just smell it throughout the car really strong.

themollyface

Yae! I talked to my dealer and told him about the cat converter and he thinks b.c its under 75000 miles its still on factory warranty and might get a new one free!!!

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Yes, I should have worded that differently, I should have said it should not be empty if the engine is cold

themollyface

So good news! Got the carfax on my Mazda, turns out shes good! And I still have the emissions and specific components warranty!!!! WOO HOO!!! Thank god, that will cover the cat converter!!!

9krpmrx8

iTrader: (46)

Cool. Still does not explain your coolant loss though.