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Just figured I'd write about this / vent my experience today. Bought a rather brand new 04' Rx-8 GT recently with only 10,500 original miles. Awesome, only 10k, but when you do the math, you will figure out there has been a lot of sitting. I don't let it bother me too much, since I got it about a month ago I've changed all the fluids - oil, tranny, rear riff, etc., new tires, new K&N filter, and it's been driving excellent. The car has been pulling strong, starting hot with no issues, I've been happy.
Today I decided to get on it a bit with this douche in an Audi who would cut me off everything I went to pass someone else. Was rather neck to neck until I hit redline, and started to pull a bit. Once we got to the top of the hill at the end of the road, I noticed the smell of stinky catalytic converter, which I initially thought was his car from being redlined. Then I looked at my dash, and saw the blinking CEL.
Long story short, I got scared, pulled over, CEL went away, but the car smelled terrible (misfire likely caused fuel to be dumped in and through the exhaust / cat). Restarted car, no CEL, but the idle fluctuated then evened. Drove back to work, and got on it on a sideroad. No issues unless I went WOT to redline, then I felt the fuel-cut-like misfire at 6-7k rpm. Still no CEL light.
Went back to work (thankfully at a dealership) and grabbed the scanner. Threw one code, being the p0302 (cylinder 2 misfire). Asking around and did some research, and concluded it was one of 3 things - plugs, coils, wires. Started with the cheapest option being plugs, and thankfully it was not only quite easy to do, but also solved my problem.
Immediately the car started better. I still get some minor vibrations at idle, but I beat on it pretty thoroughly and noticed no issues, just linear power throughout. So amazingly, even though the car has only 10-11k miles, the plugs were totally shot (picture as reference). In time I will also upgrade the coils and wires.
Now my next issue is the white foamy **** I see on the dipstick every other time I pull it out...from what I heard this is semi-normal and I should give it a good long thorough drive to heat the condensation out of the oil (oil was changed recently).
Also threw in a pic of my car. Only things done beside basic maintaince were the Niche Misano wheels, 18x8 et 40 all around. Getting coilovers for Xmas, then plan on just doing drilled / slotted brakes all around, some spacers in the rear, and just keeping it clean and running :0
Cool, good find. Yeah that is common to see that foam on earlier models especially. You'd be wise to grab a nice catch can, and be very careful you don't over fill the oil, AND be very careful you don't fill it too quickly. The 04 and 05 models have a crankcase vent right by the filler neck and if you pour too fast it can get into the intake. If you overfill, the oil can froth up into the filler neck and still get into the intake. I've seen it first hand on a buddy's car and it was not pretty.
Careful, misfires dumping fuel into the cat can melt the **** in a hurry and when the cat goes it can take the engine with it.
Cool, good find. Yeah that is common to see that foam on earlier models especially. You'd be wise to grab a nice catch can, and be very careful you don't over fill the oil, AND be very careful you don't fill it too quickly. The 04 and 05 models have a crankcase vent right by the filler neck and if you pour too fast it can get into the intake. If you overfill, the oil can froth up into the filler neck and still get into the intake. I've seen it first hand on a buddy's car and it was not pretty.
Careful, misfires dumping fuel into the cat can melt the **** in a hurry and when the cat goes it can take the engine with it.
The white foam on the dipstick is indeed due to condensation but has nothing to do with overfilling the oil. It's harmless and sometimes just a bit anoying having to dip/clean/dip/clean a couple times to actually be able to check the oil level.
Glad you were able to get the misfire figured out. Somewhat common on these cars if the ignition components are older. Look forward to seeing more pics and hearing more about the car!
Thanks for the info and replies. Quick question for you guys: when I was changing the plugs, I noticed two had a slight oily appearance to them, as if they got hit with a little engine oil. It was minimal and only on half the bunch so I didn't really worry about it. Would it make sense for a rotary with only 10k to have oil coated spark plugs?
I tried doing some research and some said it may be a mixture of gas and carbon. I didn't think to stick my nose to it at the time, but I did change the plugs right after a few misfires, so maybe this contributed? Thoughts?
Thanks for the info and replies. Quick question for you guys: when I was changing the plugs, I noticed two had a slight oily appearance to them, as if they got hit with a little engine oil. It was minimal and only on half the bunch so I didn't really worry about it. Would it make sense for a rotary with only 10k to have oil coated spark plugs?
I tried doing some research and some said it may be a mixture of gas and carbon. I didn't think to stick my nose to it at the time, but I did change the plugs right after a few misfires, so maybe this contributed? Thoughts?
That can be a symptom of weak coils and/or wires. We normally recommend you replace the entire ignition system together, and do it every 20K to 30K miles, while paying special attention to its health.
Before you say, "But it only has 10K miles on the coils and wires!"... I found a dead coil right at 11K miles and do not know how long it was actually bad.
That can be a symptom of weak coils and/or wires. We normally recommend you replace the entire ignition system together, and do it every 20K to 30K miles, while paying special attention to its health.
Before you say, "But it only has 10K miles on the coils and wires!"... I found a dead coil right at 11K miles and do not know how long it was actually bad.
Yea, you're right. As long as some oil - or at least I believe it was oil - is normal for a failing ignition, then I won't be worried. I thought maybe some oil could've gotten past the side seals and found its way to the plugs? Once again, for all I know it could've been carbon corrupted gas, but it was only on two. Just ordered NGK wires and new coilpacks. After seeing the plugs it really makes me wonder how much the rest of the ignition system has been through, lol
A plug wet with oil/gas residue is how I discovered my bad coil. That is the most likely cause. Your 2004 came with Rev A coils, which are the weakest of the revisions. The current revision is C. We do not have much data on how long they last, but we know Rev B was stronger than A. In my case, I had Rev B coils and noticed the bad one at 11K miles. I just went with BHR coils, so as not to have to worry about coils or wires again for the life of the car.
You have a number of options for coils: - The Cheapest option: BWD/Intermotor coils from auto parts stores like Advance Auto. 4 coils, 4 plugs, and 4 wires can be had for around $190-220 total based on whatever promotion is running at the time, shipped to your door for free. They are considered to be the first coil revision and you should expect to need to replace them around 20,000 miles, 30,000 miles max. They often come with a "lifetime warranty" by the auto parts store, which could potentially be leveraged for perpetually new coils.
- The Best Upgrade: The BHR ignition coil upgrade can be had for around $500, which eliminates the need to continue replacing coils periodically, as well as deliverying a significantly stronger spark for minor mileage and power gains. It is a proven kit with top notch customer service supporting it. It includes the wires, you still need to add plugs ($80)
- The For-Sure OEM: Mazmart sells all 4 coils of the latest OEM coil revision (C) for around $250, (just the coils, you still need to add plugs and wires) Supported by top notch customer service. They will likely last longer than 30,000 miles, but we don't have much solid data on how long the latest coil revision will last.
- The Most Expensive option: Buying from a dealer will run you around $300+ for the coils, $500+ for coils, wires and plugs, and if you have them do the install, expect to get a bill for anywhere from $700 to $1,800. You may not get the latest coil revision. Yes, you are getting shafted if you take this option, so bring lube.
- The Highest Risk option: Ebay coils continue to pop up as counterfeit, mislabeled, dead on arrival, and have zero post-purchase support largely. They are the "cheapest" listed price, but when you add that $92 or whatever to the price of anything in the list above from having to do it over again, you can see that they are no longer the cheapest option. Do it right the first time. "Motor King" coils are popping up at an attractive price on Ebay, but are being proven as ineffective, to the point of being unable to get the engine fired. "Mazda" branded coils on ebay are almost always counterfeit. Check the seller's name though, since some of our vendors sell legitimate coils there. The price will be $200+ though. Anything sold as "Mazda OEM" under ~$26 per coil should really be considered as suspect and probably counterfeit.
Be wary of "LSx D585 coil upgrades", as not all D585 coils are created the same, and the standard generic D585 coil is not properly designed internally for the RX-8's ignition needs. They generally "work", but there are anomalies and performance issues that have to be solved, if they can be solved. Definitely NOT a plug and play option, even if it is advertised as "plug and play"
A plug wet with oil/gas residue is how I discovered my bad coil. That is the most likely cause. Your 2004 came with Rev A coils, which are the weakest of the revisions. The current revision is C. We do not have much data on how long they last, but we know Rev B was stronger than A. In my case, I had Rev B coils and noticed the bad one at 11K miles. I just went with BHR coils, so as not to have to worry about coils or wires again for the life of the car.
Just got new coil packs and NGK wires. Here's my question - spark plugs are already in and good to go. They are in their respective places and there's no issue there. When I put in the coil packs, they don't have to be in any particular order correct? They're all the exact same, and won't affect trailing / leading as long as my plugs and wires are good?
Similarly, since my plugs are already in place, I plan to just remove the four coils, add the four new ones, and then match the wires one by one to where they exactly went. The NGK kit comes with two black / two blue wires labeled 1 / 1 / 2 / 2. Does it matter which wire is used where, as long as it connects the appropriate coil to the appropriate spark plug?
The wires should all be a different length, which cuts down of the number of ways to mix up the order, but there is still room for error. There is a diagram that explains the correct connections that I can't easily paste in right now. If you google image search you should find it easily.
The coils can be mounted in any order, you should not be able to mix up the coil input connections (though people have managed). After that which spark plug connects to which coil is obviously important.
What colour is your car? It looks like a purplish silver, unless that's a filter or weird lighting, but it doesn't look like any original mazda colour.
The wires should all be a different length, which cuts down of the number of ways to mix up the order, but there is still room for error. There is a diagram that explains the correct connections that I can't easily paste in right now. If you google image search you should find it easily.
The coils can be mounted in any order, you should not be able to mix up the coil input connections (though people have managed). After that which spark plug connects to which coil is obviously important.
What colour is your car? It looks like a purplish silver, unless that's a filter or weird lighting, but it doesn't look like any original mazda colour.
Thanks for the info. Like I said, since the plugs are already in, I'm just going to do the coilpacks one by one and trace the original wire to the correct plug. Then install new pack and wire that matches (size / length wise, etc).
The color of my 04 GT is titanium metallic. The color looks different in that photo because of an instagram filter. I also keep it immaculate so the reflection and lighting added to the tint. Here's an updated photo, or before and after. Had the car for a month so far -__-
12-23-2016, 05:57 PM
