mazdanana

Hello I am new to this site. My rx8 broke down on mon. Was told there wasn't enough compression to allow my car to reach more than 50mph. Sooooooo basically am needing a new motor and converter. Any input from other mazda owners would be helpful it's a 2007 126k miles

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

did you get a rotary compression test?

carid

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear about your issue, but that is a beautiful ride. You will find a lot of information on this site to help you get it working properly again. If you ever have any questions or need assistance with finding parts for it, let us know we will be glad to help you!

sologuy3

Where are you bud? We can help you find good prices for a rebuild if that's the path you want to take.

mazdanana

Hey there my name is Cheryl and I don't know alot about my car, so any input will help. I love my car and don't want to part with it. It is almost paid for and is in very good body condition. I live in little rock, ar.

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

whats your question?

read the new owners threads

mazdanana

Yes i had a compression test done and it struggles to reach 50mph, a few coils were changed and spark plugs

200.mph

iTrader: (9)

low compression needs a rebuild. did you read the new owners threads yet? any question you could possible think of has been asked here. do some reading and learn about your car.

Loki

iTrader: (1)

Do you have the actual compression test results? There should be 6 numbers and a rpm number.

Compression loss usually manifests as the car having difficulty starting when warmed up. Not being able to reach speed is more indicative of a clogged catalytic converter, or very very very dead ignition coils (usually those last 2 go together)

If you had some of the coils replaced, make sure the remaining ones are replaced when you get your new engine.

But yes, the New and Potential Owners thread is the best place to start.

NotAPreppie

You need to get the actual compression test results and post them here.

If the shop only told you "it doesn't have enough compression to reach 50mph" you need to find different shop that won't try to screw you like this one is. Take it to a dealer and have an appropriate compression test done. Post the results here.

You should get at least 8 numbers: compression on each rotor face (3) and RPM (1) for both rotors (8 total). If all they do is hook up a piston engine pressure gauge, they won't get any useful information.

ledouxski

Hey, I'm new this site too, but I've definitely checked it out a few times before. I have 2004 Rx8 manual -6 speed. My engine wouldn't start and the mazda mechanic said it lost all compression and I need to buy a new engine. Wondering the best thing to do. I really like my car and want to put a new engine in, but don't know wether to buy a rebuilt one or new one. Mazda was going to charge like $9000 or more they said to replace it and do the work. Seeing what my other options are? Any ideas? Thanks!

Loki

iTrader: (1)

There are no new engines only rebuilds. So. That should settle that.

ledouxski

Thanks. Now I just need help looking for a rebuild then.

NotAPreppie

Where are you located?

You can get a Mazda reman from Jim Ellis for $3k (+$250 shipping and $1000 core if you decide to keep your old engine).
You can potentially get it rebuilt for less (I paid less than $2500 for my rebuild including round-trip shipping and all new fluids).

Removing and reinstalling an engine isn't all that hard if you have a friend, good tools and a place to do the work. There's a DIY on it by Kevin at Rotary Resurrection (whose website you should check out before contacting him about having him rebuild your engine).

ledouxski

I'm located in a suburb near Chicago. Thanks for the info! I'll check out his website. Yeah, I haven't found a place to work on the car and I don't have the tools.

NotAPreppie

I'm in the West Loop of Chicago and I had a buddy in Bloomington, IL let me borrow his garage for 3 weeks and helped me R/R the engine. I drove it down, we yanked the engine and prepped it for shipping. I took the Amtrak back to Chicago. When it came back, I took the train back down, we reinstalled the engine and I drove it back home.

If you don't have access to that, you might want to look into a DIY garage space.
A quick Google search turned up:
chicago-diy
https://gearheadworkspace.com/

ledouxski

Thanks NotAPreppie, appreciate it. I was looking Jim Ellis's site for the engine. Does it come with a warranty? I don't want to put all this money and time into it and it not work. My other question would be, if I was to sell my car without a working engine, but everything else was kept in good condition, what would a 2004 sell for?

NotAPreppie

A Mazda OEM remanufactured engine will probably have a 12mo/12k mile warranty but you'd have to call them to be certain.

Based on the classified forum here, I'd put the sale value of a RX-8 with a bad engine but in otherwise good condition at $2k-$3k.

ledouxski

Ok thanks. Yeah, I contacted them and they said 12 month/12k mile warranty. Thanks for all your help. Now its decision making time.