What was done on the service?

 

30,000 mile. Fluids/filters. It's the big one.

 

The symptoms you describe sound like a stuck thermostat that was not seated correctly or became unseated, causing excessive heat enough for a melt-down... also known as a cracked "head" gasket on other engines. I would not be surprised if that's why the problem and why the new engine, too.

I hope the new one works out far better than the old one. I know it is aggravating, but in the end it is a great car that you'll have a new engine in.

 

Yeah, Karl and I were just discussing your car and thermostats about an hour ago.
It does sound like it is slamming shut or staying shut.
The OE thermostat is a 180° unit, which means it will begin to open anywhere from 176° to 183°F. It isn't completely opened until 203°F!
Most of us would like to see that as PEAK temperatures and yet Mazda wants to see that as nominal!

 

I still say that every rotary owner should be running an aftermarket temp gauge. At least that lets you know EARLIER if something is out of the ordinary (even if your stock temp gauge isn't indicating anything unusual).

 

Is there a thermostat that has a lower degree full open that fits the housing?

 

^ yes I found some 160's I'll send ya the link.

 

Spotted 4 on the way home from Chickenwafers
"HOUSE WARMING / BBQ / MOD MEET"
Spotted a VR on Bell. Rd. another VR on 83rd, a WWP on 91st and a NG or BB on the Westbound I-10. oh yeah another NG in the Shell on Deer Valley? and 91st. The last one received a AZMAZDACLUB card.

 

Spotted a VR with a Mazdaspeed body kit/wing. Pulled up right beside him and that was it. No acknowledgment. So I drove off.
It was on the West bound US-60. Around Stapley. At about 5:50 am.

 

WB GT w/rotary accents 6:20am today East bound on 202 40th St. off ramp, again! (Danny H- Lic plate) We had a 30 second exchange of pleasantries at the light. He wanted to know where I got my exhaust!

 

Yellow 8 with full MS kit on Bell rd around 7th ave today at 10 AM. I think it was girl driving- or a tiny man- couldn't tell

 

A tiny man and he wasn't Happy!

 

VR last night 5:40pm 24th St & Indian School.
This morning:
TI 83rd Ave & Buckeye 5:45am
WB I-10 E bound 6:00am
BB 44th St & Indian School.
What a morning!

 

What's the latest status on Easy and Allister's cars? Still sitting at Berge waiting for modas??

 

I'm driving mine and as far as I knolw Alisters is done. I've been driving mine and it seem's to be running Ok but it will overheat at least once a day. They told me 3 weeks for an engine to get here. So since my car still runs, I'm gonna drive it. For a couple more weeks at least. If she goes the distance. I hope. It does have a different sound to it, louder. The 'ol term "Drive it till it drops" is in play.

 

As of last week, Alister's car was waiting on a part, I don't remember what Karl told me it was.

 

Just got the car back, all I can say is wow! The difference between a ford focus and an 8 is unbelievable..hahaha

Anyhow, the part that my car was waiting on was the radiator. It was being shipped from Canada so it took 4 days to get here.

 

Interesting....why the new rad? Was there some contamination or blockage in your system? Hmmmmm.

 

It was leaking around the plastic to metal seal.

 

Yeah I stopped by Saturday morning and Karl was just putting the engine cover on and getting ready to call you.
I dropped my new rear Aero Flares off for him to put on my new bumper when he gets it back form being painted.

Yep I got 1 week down and 2 to go, until the new engine comes in.

 

OK, wait a second. Abbid, Easy, and Allister all down about the same time? What is going on with the Renesis? Do you all have the same or similar failures? Is there some underlying issue with the Renesis that Mazda is being 'hush' about? Abbid...how many miles on your car?

 

They aren't being hush at all.
There is a general recall in on the RX-8 motor that includes an extension of the drive train warranty.
If you fail a vacuum test (kind of an "active" compression test), you get a new motor.
Some people are having complete failures, some are just have a loss of power that might abate once the engine is cool.
Some people are having no symptoms (that they are aware of), yet their motors are still actually failing.
Karl at Berge was up to replacing 3 or 4 a week just a few weeks ago. He may still be on that pace.
The failures started almost as soon as the car shipped, but they became epidemic in the Southwest in the summer of '05.
There was a point where some dealers in Nevada were replacing a dozen motors a month - and this was before Mazda acknowledged a problem.
The pace is such that the re-manufacturer in the Carolinas that is supplying the motors is pushing a hundred or more a month out the door and is still on a backorder that can last 2 or 3 weeks.

 

Interesting Jeff.... yes, I knew of the warranty extension and the number of failures last summer. Many dealerships in Vegas last year had cars sitting for months due to the backlog of failures. Have you read anywhere on a common failure mode/design flaw, or are the failures all over the place enginewise. This is very disheartening for me to witness since Mazda's past NA motors were extremely reliable. I'd be very nervous if I had an 8 with mileage nearing 60K miles and still running the original motor.

 

Some of us are concerned with a lot less than 60k! It would be nice to have some news as to WHY though! Seeing the increase as the weather gets hot gives some indication as to what could be happening.

And this engine failure business is crimping our power adding dreams.

 

Its a combination of ping, lack of oiling and carbon.
The motors are carboning up left and right. Even my motor, which was pristine last month, is already starting to get loaded with carbon. I'm doing the ATF trick as I'm typing this.
The OMP is been fooled with in the PCM programming so many times that I don't think anyone really knows what its doing any more. Mine certainly seems to be doing nothing, so anyone in a similar situation who is not pre-mixing is probably burning up their housings and seals.