I'm brand new to rotary engines and brand new to forums so if I'm doing something wrong, sorry.

04 rx8 105,000 miles, don't know if it's the original engine. Just bought the car today.
Steady white stream of what appears to be smoke coming out of exhaust. Totally constant and very thick. I have ran the car up to operating temp and nothing changes. Doesn't have too much or too little oil. Was extremely Low on oil before i started it for the first time but I added 2 quarts and it appears to be at a safe level. I was told it was smoking heavily when I picked it up and trailered it home. Antifreeze level is good.
Seems to idle totally fine, just smokes an insane amount. If you have possible options I'd love to hear them. Thank you

 

Like so much smoke

 

What type of oil did you put in your engine?

 

It's normal condensation burn off to see white smoke coming from your tail pipes after starting your car. That picture you are showing looks to be a lot of smoke(not normal to me). How long does the smoke appear for? Does it go away after sometime? If it doesn't go away after a while at start-up, it could most likely be a coolant seal failure.

 

Can you tell us a bit about the history of the car? I know it's new to you, but this is kind of important when buying anything.

White smoke usually = water, but what you're showing here is crazy, more like someone Seafoamed the engine and didn't bother to burn it off. Dose the smoke have a smell? Is it a little sweet?
The obvious first thought is you have a breached water seal, which means engine rebuild or new engine. Kind of like a head gasket on piston engines, but not as easy to replace. But it would have to be gushing gallons of water to make that much smoke, and you say your coolant level is fine... define fine?

I suggest that regardless of the smoke situation, pull your spark plugs and check their condition. They can tell you a lot about what is burning inside the engine, and you'll see if they need to be changed.

You'll also want a rotary compression test (before purchase would've been best) to understand the state of your engine.

 

Burnouts are supposed to come from your tires, not the tailpipe!

 

That is definitely NOT normal. Usually that amount of white smoke would be a coolant seal breach

 

Thanks so far.

So the coolant level was at about 3/4 of the way full in the resivoir, I ran the car for about 4 minutes and that stayed the same. When I got the car it was 2 quarts low on oil and after running it it was about 1/2 a quart low. Which obviously leads me to believe that what it's using is oil. But that doesn't look like smoke from using oil to me. I topped off the oil with whatever was listed on the filler cap, i think 10w20. Can't remember. Ya I would have done a compression test prior to purchase but I got the car very cheap and figured it would need a rebuild.

 

The smoke never stops as far as I know, I let it idle for about 4 minutes and then drove it up the street and back and it never stopped or slowed down. It was so bad that my neighbors were going to call the fire department, they thought my house was on fire. And I'm sorry I have no history really on the car. The people I got it from just wanted it the hell out of their lives and didn't really wanna talk about it. The only thing I was told is that the engine was replaced by Mazda 30k miles ago. It now has 105k. And the smoke is a very recent development, that's why they sold it

 

Allot of seafoam in the fuel tank burning with the gas? It is something people mix with fuel.

 

Even if seafoam would have been added, the white smoke would have disappeared after a while.

 

Any dash light warnings? Idle trouble? How does the car drive? Do you feel or hear any unusual sounds? What about smells? I'm no mechanic, but could this be a "fouled" Cat? "White smoke indicates the presence of silicon, which comes from burnt engine coolant." Have you passed smog inspection? A plugged catalytic converter prevents a smog pass.

The easiest option to find the problem is to use an OBD2 scan tool.

 

Hmm. I would really pull the spark plugs and check what it's actually burning. That should make it pretty clear if it's coolant and/or oil. Post pictures.

Like someone mentioned, the smell of the smoke should be very evident as well if it's coolant. It'll smell sweet.

If it's a coolant leak, it's pretty massive. The engine may have been overheated.

 

silly it is

 

OP, a thought, if you were planning on a rebuild anyway, proceed. Whatever is wrong is likely not simple. Any running with damage will likely result in fewer reusable parts.

 

did you find out the problem why it smoked so much

 

I'll respond. My car went through this before last December. I was low on coolant and drive my car about 3-4 hours straight, low on gas too. It was a test to see how the rotary would react. When I arrived home, the car literally had no gas left, and coolant was very low, there was no leak anywhere. I added gas and coolant, turned it on, it blew white smoke like crazy. It had a sweet smell. CARBON BUILD UP. The smoke went away after a while, never to be seen again until just the other day. I'm noticing the car has to be run often and make sure it's properly warmed up. The catalytic converter seems to be getting clogged even though I only have one comb left. I will be gettin a straight pipe today so the exhaust flow is better and will help prevent my engine from any more damage of carbon build up.

 

You just voluntarily did the deadly Rotary sin...overheated

FYI....carbon burning does not smell sweet. That was coolant leaking into the combustion chamber past the coolant seals and burning off

You can fool yourself into thinking you were testing the limits...but don't give really bad advise to anyone else to do the same

 

...wow...

 

So, you destroyed your engine on purpose as a test?! Carbon buildup does not exhibit those symptoms and does not smell sweet. You killed your coolant seal and likely overheated your fuel pump. Your ignition health is likely poor, and driving with a cat that is clogged to any degree is an engine killer. There are no words.

Wow, indeed!

 

That's one irresponsible owner. Have fun with a rebuild.

 

My 8 is running fine. My ignition is healthy, starts up like a charm, even when warm. Does not stall at idle, I redline once a week depending on my driving distance. I'm looking forward to a rebuild so I can learn more about the rotary because I will be doing it myself

 

Damn! Now that's a comeback!

 

I also have the similar problem, maybe someone can help me with this. When I cold start the car a very thick white smoke comes out for 1-2 mins. It is just as thick as in post #2. Cant tell if its sweet or not. Smells like unburned fuel to me. But after some time and when its in operating temp smoke is gone.
I have the following mods:
1. gutted cat
2. SOHN adapter (Have Motul 710)
3. Premixing with Motul 800
4. BHR coils
5. aftermarket coolant radiator

About coolant - cant check the limit. I think it is because of radioator (maybe bigger capacity or something), cuz when I pour the right amount after 1 hour drive (with occasional 9k rpm of course) covers are covered with coolant (I suppose its spitted out because too much coolant in the system?).
Engine was rebuilt 2000km ago. Compression is good, starts when hot with no problems.

Please help me! Is it a broken coolant seal? Or maybe something else? If its an engine rebuild, can I just change coolant seals? Or proper rebuild only?

 

You have a failed coolant seal. Water accumulates in the rotors while the car sits, then takes 1-2 minutes to burn off with a sweet smell. Coolant is all over thr cover because the engine is over pressurizing thr coolant system via a break in the coolant seal.

If engine was just rebuilt then you need to have a conversation with the rebuilder about how he's going to fix this.