Mazda RX8

Karen_Henrys

Hi

Im new to this but has anyone on here had any issues with their enginge just blowing up overnight on the RX8.

I have owned this car for 4 years, there are 42,000 miles on the clock and its been well maintained oil every 2 fuel fills, serviced etc. Went for MOT and due to the emmission testing the middle oil feeder tips have apparntly worn(no warning what so ever\0 and when the test was done the engine just blew up......

Any suggestions?

harveybobbles

Isnt there something that needs to be done at about 35k on them rotary engines?

Keith

harveybobbles wrote: »

Isnt there something that needs to be done at about 35k on them rotary engines?

Yup, an engine change. One of my favorite cars, but I'll never own one.

forgotmyname

Too many short journey's? Seems they dont like being started from cold and stopped before fully operating
temperature has been reached.

Possibly flooding the engine, Causes damage.

Used proper oil? Has the oil ever gone low?

C_Mababejive

Those engines are W&nk. Shame really as great car otherwise.

forgotmyname

oops forgot to put the club link, http://www.rx8ownersclub.co.uk/

Some good help there.

almillar

Get onto that owner's club, very helpful advice, much better than 'yeah rotarys explode and need changed after 35k!'.
Short journeys are bad for any car, especially the cat, but also because the oil doesn't get warm and fluid enough to lubricate properly. This is even more important in the RX8. They are designed to use oil, and squeeze some onto the rotor tips (which provide the seal between the 'cylinders') to keep them lubricated and sealed.
If you do happen to flood the engine (by running the engine for, like, 30 seconds from cold, for example moving in the driveway) then when you deflood you could be washing some of that oil away, meaning when you start your engine's running unprotected. Plenty of theories in the forum that doing this often, or of course under or over filling the oil, can be the cause of engine failures.
It's a quirky car, including the engine, but that's what makes it so good, at the same time as putting lots of people off.

Karen - you don't mention where your car has been serviced all these years, or who did the MOT, or whether you still have some sort of warranty on the car, but I'd want to be getting it to a rotary specialist of some sort, the forum above will help you find one. The garage seemed to know what they were talking about if they said that an oil feeder tip was worn, but then weren't very smart if they then continued and blew it up.
Good news is that the rotary engine is much simpler to rebuild than a piston one.

Strider590

When you say it was serviced, was it actually serviced? and im not talking about pretty little stamps in the service book.......

Lum

Rotary engines have been traditionally associated with reliability issues due to munching their rotor tips, though compared to a rebuild on a normal 4 stroke engine the job is comparatively cheap.

The worst offenders with the RX8s seem to be the ones that have been babied throughout their lives. Rotaries need a good (sensible) thrashing from time to time. Some owners suggest you should try to reach near to the rev limit at least once per trip.

forgotmyname

Cheap? The link i found was £3000 fitted. eeehhh i remember £200-£300 for normal engines & £500 for an expensive one V6, V8 etc..

+ £50 or £75 fitting.

janninew

Lum wrote: »

Rotary engines have been traditionally associated with reliability issues due to munching their rotor tips, though compared to a rebuild on a normal 4 stroke engine the job is comparatively cheap.

The worst offenders with the RX8s seem to be the ones that have been babied throughout their lives. Rotaries need a good (sensible) thrashing from time to time. Some owners suggest you should try to reach near to the rev limit at least once per trip.

Me and my hubby own a RX8 and the car at the dealership gave us this advice! My husband uses this as an excuse!!