hopefool

So, after many years of dreaming of getting an RX8, I finally decided to get my feet wet in the market and start checking out a few. I made acquaintance with a rotary specialist (very hard to come by in my part of the country here in Malaysia) who seems like a pretty good fella and the cars he maintain, I've seen em and they pretty spectacular.

We decided to check one out today, 2004 6MT Type S, 151,000 KM
1. Body was okay; some cosmetic imperfections inside and outside but I dont really mind it too much.
2. Hot starts no issue. It could have been better. Firing sounds a little weak but seems to start up fairly easily. I also know this cos I stalled it a few times and it started back up no problem (I havent driven manuals in over a decade). The car was driven from the other end of the city to the workshop, so it was well within the operating temps.
3. Test drive feels good. Transmission was smooth, engine felt powerful. It was quite impressive.
4. Now comes the compression testing part. This is what the test returned
PSI
Front: 94/119/117
Rear: 124/123/122

My guy reckons its still in pretty good condition and will last me for awhile.... but its better to open it up and get the seals changed at least. Fingers crossed none of the other stuff needs to be replaced. Clutch bearing seems to be making noise when the clutch pedal is pressed in.
The seller claims oil changes are done every 3000KM and is very particular with the car. Seldom driven too.
Selling price isn't cheap, but not terribly expensive either.

Now, my only concern is the compression on the front rotor. Do you think I should walk away?

Fickert

iTrader: (6)

Congrats!

To confirm do you know if the mechanic used a qualified rotary tester?

Those numbers are pretty good, and even the 94 shouldn't be a huge concern, IF the compression tester was able to adjust for rpm and elevation.

If it is a concern a simple carbon cleanout with either a Seafoam type product or ATF could help fix that low rotor face. Judging by the rest of the compression numbers it would be my guess that it is from carbon buildup.

Best of luck!

Loki

iTrader: (1)

There's no "open it up and change the seals", that's not a thing. Opening it up is a rebuild and putting it together with parta that are out of spec gives predictable results. If you're lucky, all your big parts are still in spec, but this is unusual even on a motor showing passable compression.

Since it's just one face, the culprit is probably a side seal. I'd say try the ATF trick above, give it the ole italian tune up and make sure everything else is strong (rx8help.com for details), and I'd retest in a while.

Also, technically that engine fails Mazda's compression criteria due to difference between faces on a rotor, so you could use that as negotiation token.