RX-8 Engine Help

[RenesisKing]

My car has ran pretty flawlessly for a while up until about 2 weeks ago. I started the car after not having driven it for a few days and it was having trouble turning over. It finally did and ran like a 4-cyl running on 3 for about 10 mins. I just let it idle until the car heated up, then it ran perfectly fine as it should. I even had to turn it off to run into a store and so on. It turned on with no problems at all. I brought it home, put it in my garage and it stayed there for a week. I primed the engine before I turned it off. I was sick so I was in the house all week or took out the other car. Yesterday, I go to turn it on to go out and it wouldn't start. Today I try again and had no luck. I push the car out of my garage and down my driveway and tried to jump it, and had no luck. The lights and everything work so I don't think its the battery. I called up a Mazda dealership and the guy said that it could be the starter or the rotors seized i.e no oil or too much heat. I know for a fact that the car has plenty of oil, and I have a digital temperature gauge so I know how hot it gets for temperature and its well within normal operating temperatures. I have to tow it, but I don't know if I should go to the Mazda dealership and get charged an arm and a leg or go to my friend's garage. He is incredibly knowledgeable and takes care of the problem quickly and efficiently. Any tips or advice?

 

[solidtrance]

If I understand your post correctly your car was running just fine with no problems until you left it sitting for a week. You live is CT so it is quite cold right now. After a week you took your car out for a drive and it was very hard to start and runs poorly when cold, but runs and starts fine once it is up to temp. Let me know if my summary is wrong.

If I was having this problem I would start with the electrical system and check all the connections. When was the last time you changed your coils? The symptoms are not exactly right, but who knows what the cold weather cold do to coils that are otherwise boarder line. Make sure your battery connections are free of corrosion and tight. Fuel delivery would be next. Have you changed your fuel filter? A compression test would be a logical next step. If you can get this stuff done before you take it to the dealer you should be able to tell you might want to take some of the mods off before you take it in. If you think your engine is done I would think you want to take most of the mods off. Your chance of getting an engine covered by Mazda is pretty small with all the mods on. Let us know how it goes and what you find.

 

[RenesisKing]

Your summary is correct. Sorry for the terrible wording, I was a bit angry and just started typing angrily and didn't bother to read it over to see if it made sense. I have well over 109K on the engine so I would not be able to get it under warranty. I have the BHR ignition upgrade and I replaced my plugs and wires around July/August. I had it towed to my friend's shop and he confirmed what I was in denial about. The engine is shot. He tried to turn it with a socket and wrench on the crank pulley and it didn't want to budge. Even when I was trying to pop the clutch it wouldn't want to turn (I assumed it was lack of momentum of the car). I'm going to head on over to his garage later and discuss my options. Thanks for your help Solidtrance. I appreciate it as always.

 

[solidtrance]

Does the car still crank? If so, get a compression test before you spend money on another engine. Whoever you go to for the comp test needs to be familliar with rotaries because the testing procedures are different and the desired results are different too. I am not sure what your friend was testing when he put a wrench on the e-shaft, it could be effective, but again, our engines are a lot different that their piston counterparts. Be careful having a "friend" wrench on your car. In this case you have several thousand dollars on the line. He may not want to tell you he is in over his head, and if that is the case you could be in for an expensive few months or more.

 

[RenesisKing]

The starter is fine, but the engine doesn't turn. I'd have a lot of stuff done by professionals, he's owned about 3 RX-7s and some old rotaries when he was in Puerto Rico and he knows a lot of guys who've worked on them and rebuilt them. I trust him and he's never been wrong about anything he's worked on before. I too was a little apprehensive considering how finicky the rotary engine is but given his track record, I know I am in good hands. I appreciate the concern though, its funny because you'd figure dealerships would know what they're doing but they don't properly maintain rotaries on their lots either. I will get a compression test done, I just don't know how soon but I will do it.

 

[solidtrance]

Forgot to mention that I am sorry to hear about your trouble. I figure I will be in the same boat when I get back to the states since I left both my cars in storage for three years. you should see the beater I am left with over here (Japan). I know I could get something nice, but it seems kind of pointless since I am rarely home and I will just have to sell it when i leave.