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Bacon alert from the PNW with a heartbroken RX-8...
Hi!
My name is Jordan and I'm a ... ::brace for impact:: ... police officer ... in the Puget Sound area of Washington state. I know, I know - not the world's favorite profession right now. Or ever. Phew. Now that that's out of the way, about me:
I'm originally from southern California where I owned three FC RX-7's. I joined the Army in 2003 and served in the 2nd Ranger Bn. at Ft. Lewis until 2011 when I left active duty. I did some high-risk government contracting and, after 9 total deployments, decided it was time to settle down and marry my lovely wife.
The itch to turn wrenches and become my former grease monkey self returned recently and today I purchased a 2004 RX-8 with a very sad engine. My intent is/was to put an LSX engine into it and use it as a daily driver with the occasional track day. Now I'm thinking that a swap is cost-prohibitive and I'll likely rebuild or get a new engine and turbo it. The best part - the wife is totally on board! (and yes, she's super hot, too) :cheers:
I'm super excited to get my 8 running well and get on the track again.
For now, it looks like I've got a blown engine... hard start, random loss of power, dies when warm, won't start after dying, starts again when cold. I cleaned the MAF and found there was oil in the accordion/intake area and on the filter itself. I believe the previous owner replaced the plugs, wires, and coils. I have an OBD2 bluetooth unit coming today and a compression tester tomorrow.
Welcome, thank you for your service. Police officers do not get the respect they deserve because of a few bad apples, I personally commend you for doing a job that few can/would/should be doing to protect us.
I need to go to the gym... I've been sitting here for hours looking at all the information on the site. It's a rabbit hole of awesomeness. My eyes are bleeding!
Okay, really, going to the gym now. Just can't stop looking and have some questions I couldn't find through searching:
-Is there a preferred rebuild kit? Atkins, Racing Beat, Mazdatrix, etc. or are they pretty much the same?
-Where is a reputable place to get new housings or rotors if I need them?
-Am I stupid for wanting to rebuild it myself?
-During the rebuild, are there things I should do to prepare it internally for a future turbo upgrade? (different seals, port, etc)
HIGHLY recommend having the engine built by Rotary Ressurection or another vendor. The tools are spendy and the skills to do it right take time. pineappleracing is highly regarded and in your backyard.
Get your wrench-turning giggles by removing/re-installing the engine and otherwise modding the car.
I've internet-yelled at other people on other forums for asking questions that are easily answered by a simple search. Guiltyyyyyyyy. I guess a part of me just wants to see if I can do it....
My wife will be pissed... we are friends with a relatively famous gun photog and he was doing a shoot for BattleComp. She ended up on their facebook page:
I wrote Pineapple and got a response from Rob super fast... he actually recommended an REW swap since I want to turbo it.
I have a friend who regularly imports cars and parts from Japan so I think I might go with that option. In the mean time, I'm trouble shooting the current engine.
It starts sluggishly after a few cranks when cold, idles decently but will drop to ~750 RPM occasionally. It feels like it revs okay, and I drove it for a little bit and it would randomly lose power... it will stall and then it's impossible to start until it's cold again.
I started pulling off the MAF and noticed there is oil in the intake and on the filter. Also, the engine oil appears to be a bit foamy.
After reading, the engine foam is apparently not that big of an issue and the oil in the intake is caused either by a blown engine or just overfilled oil.
The last owner said he recently changed the plugs, wires, and coils so I can rule those out... maybe.
Aside from cleaning the MAF and throttle bodies, is there anything else I should check while I have the engine apart?
And I tried posting a pic but it says the mods must approve...
op, thanks for searching and for your service. that said please dont no knock raid me lol jk. if you are serious about a rew swap its pricey but hell if you are going for it mazmart sells 20b engines
Haha. As long as you're not into some reallllllly bad stuff I think you're safe from a no-knock.
200 mph - My goal for the vehicle is to have a reliable ~300ish whp daily driver for the occasional track day/autocross. It's something to share with my wife since we both have given up riding motorcycles. We need something for a speed/race fix that's a bit safer.
From what I've read on the forum, the naturally aspirated Renesis is not capable of much hp even with substantial mods... A turbo sounds like it would make 300hp more feasible.
Looking at rebuild costs.... The Renesis rebuilt and prepped for a turbo would cost around ~5k, plus a few thousand more for a turbo kit, plus electronics and gauges...
I can probably source a built, low-mile JSPEC 13B-REW, which is already turbo'd, for much cheaper... I haven't read up too much on the conversion but I imagine I'll need a better radiator, intercooler, exhaust, engine management and ecu, new engine mounts, guages, and...? It almost seems like it would be about the same, if not less, and more favorable in the long run with an REW power plant.
I've seen several conversions that looked amazing.
Engine foam in upper intake manifold... does this look normal or tooooo foamy? I feel like a goblin with an STD has been ******* my oil filler tube.
Coils looks new... when I disconnected the fuel lines with red connector had fuel in it but the blue did not... normal?
The lower intake manifold had some pretty decent buildup in it... I used my finger to clean some of it to see the contrast. Is this normal... if not will throttle body/carb/choke cleaner be safe to clean it?
Last edited by jordansays; 04-13-2016 at 07:37 PM.
Also, while I've got the engine this disassembled I'm going to do an oil and filter change... I also plan on checking the fuel pump and relay once I google how to do that.
I will also clean the e-shaft sensor while the car is up. Anything else you guys can think I should do maintenance-wise while I've got the car somewhat apart and up on jacks?
I took apart and cleaned the throttle body and I noticed it does not close all the way. Normal or not?
Also, since I had the engine apart I decided to check out and clean the SSV because reasons. I got to the ACV and found this:
Now, I'm not the smartest dude in the world but I'm guessing Mazda engineers don't put in valves and sensors for fun... and when they are gunked up it's typically not a good thing. I'm finding the engine is sludged up like this every where. Since I found oil in the intake is this typical of a 102k engine that appears to be overfilled or more consistent with a blown motor? My compression tester should be in soon but I'm going to continue giving everything a once-over and cleaning as I go. Hopefully once it's all back together she will fire up.
Almost to the SSV. I bought a wi-fi OBD2 reader and it was not popping any CEL codes, but it feels good to turn a wrench again so I'm diving in.
I work graves so I have to stay up all night to get back on schedule... coffee is my life-blood.
Also... the last pic didn't work... so this is my wife:
We are friends with a relatively famous gun photog (Stickman) and we were doing a shoot for BattleComp, if anyone is familar with their muzzle devices. She ended up on their facebook page in this shot. She's going to be pisssssseddddddddd I posted that.
Yes, that's an SBR. Yes, she can shoot well (I taught her )
Also... the last pic didn't work... so this is my wife:
We are friends with a relatively famous gun photog (Stickman) and we were doing a shoot for BattleComp, if anyone is familar with their muzzle devices. She ended up on their facebook page in this shot. She's going to be pisssssseddddddddd I posted that.
Yes, that's an SBR. Yes, she can shoot well (I taught her )
thats great man. nice wife and sbr. thats awesome you know know stickman. i love his pics and im a member of the hive too. you should check out the gun owners thread.
anyway nice progress so far. i dont think the throttle body 100%closes. i havent seen that much foamy junk in an intake that ive taken apart
Also... the last pic didn't work... so this is my wife:
you have incredibly good Karma, or at the least, good nature. maybe there is a reason you're an officer, to show other people that you can serve through helping others and live well.
I've got the engine all back together and it's cranking but not starting. It turns over sluggishly so I think it needs a new battery and starter. I can smell fuel in the exhaust so I know that much is working. It just doesn't sound like it's sparking.
The battery is reading 12v on my multimeter, however... it's a Costco battery, though.
You are through most of the things I would suggest for a new member. Check the congrats thread in below and see if there is anything left. Well done on the SSV. I suggest the 20 brake stomp. You changes a bunch of stuff with the cleanup. Tell the computer to start over. And, when it starts, just let it sit until it warms up, there is a learning process it will go through. If you touch the gas, it stops the process.
For power, find someone in the area with a good motor and drive or ride in the car. I bought mine with what turned out to be a weak engine. I drove it 60K and had the compression tested. It passed on one face, with 2 at 50 psi (corrected). When it was torn down, there were broken seals, stuck seals, worn plates and grooved housing. We kept the water pump. Thing is, in that state it was in, the car was still competitive on the track and got about 20 MPG. Daughter used it to pass corvettes in her run group. What she did to the BRZ was scary. In a dismal state, the engine still makes power, just less of it.
After the rebuild, the car was amazing. One memory is watching the traction control light flicker, in a straight line, in second gear when the tach hit 6,000, on dry pavement. Thought is, before spending big bucks, find out what a good to great renesis will do in the power department. And remember, a 4.11 rear end and 9,000 RPM are on your side. That car accelerated just fine through 3rd gear (95 mph). Not many places I can go, other than the track, and use 4th. That build, installed, with a radiator, clutch and a few other things was $7K. It used a Mazda Reman for parts. I kept the Remedy water pump.
That car was totaled my a small woman who did not understand the concept of brakes in a toll booth. The new one has an engine from the same place (Pettit) that is just as strong. Just suggesting you make an apples to apples comparison before spending big.
04Green - thank you! That's good stuff. It's good to hear from the non-high HP folks. I think our tendency is to want power, but you're right - this car is mostly just for my wife and I to spend time together. We don't need a turbo beast, just something reliable and fun to drive.
I read that thread and plan on doing the $100 mods. I have a catch can on the way already.
I'm picking up a new starter tomorrow and a new battery. I need to get it started before it can relearn!
After cleaning like I did, is it normal for an engine to struggle a bit at first to turn over?
I love bacon.
I'm also old enough to remember bumper stickers that said "If you hate cops, call a hippie"
If you smell gas and it seems sluggish, I think it may be flooded.
I replaced my battery shortly after buying my '04 almost 4 years ago.
It recently caused my second flooding incident, (the first was a bad coil) and the parts store I bought it from tested it and said it was good.
It wouldn't hold a charge and drained quickly, so I knew it was bad and insisted on getting a new pro-rated battery which fixed my issue.
04-12-2016, 01:51 PM
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