spanky00185

Hello all,

Well i am new to the rotary world and thought i got a hell of a deal when i purchased my 04 rx 8 mt for 6 grand considering it only had 80,000 on it....well until i get on here and read that thats about the life expectancy of the engine.

well first and foremost concern is cooling or rather non cooling...my car stays to the right of center normally 3/4 way. when i bought it they replaced the radiator and overflow, but dont know if they bled system correctly (came from caddilac dealership). the more i read the more concerned i get about this issue since it seems that anything over midway even periodically can be deathly to this engine. I saw a video on youtube about bleeding coolant system and that will be my first step, followed by thermostat replacement (which from DIY boards appears to be a not so simple task).

Next i will replace and perform all the recommendations for new owners and cross my fingers when i go to pay for a compression test...since i bought this car as a replacement for my 97 civic cx which is not far from dead or at least dying.

there are other issues with the car...like display going nuts at all times, not wanting to go into 2nd gear at anything above 4 grand without grinding (synchronizer?), and other minor issues.

needless to say i am now very concerned and am seriously considering full coverage insurance and something "bad" accidentally happening to the car, just so i have something to drive.

sucks cause i love everything about the car from looks, to handling, to of course the speed and throttle response, but worried dosent begin to explain how i feel about the purchase at this point.

anyway sorry for the long introduction but any pointers, tips, suggestions, whatever are welcomed and more than appreciated.

John

spanky00185

well step one is im going to look on here and find out how to burp my coolant system cause theres a good chance it wasnt done when dealership installed new radiator and reservoir...next its off to compression test or maybe thermostat then compression test since i dont know if a bad thermostat could cause adverse results on its own.

BigCajun

iTrader: (1)

Welcome.
Sorry you're off to a bad start, that's a lot of issues you have to deal with.

It's possible if it's sticking closed, or could be a high temperature thermostat.
You can get one that opens at 172° iIrc.
You can also check to see if your fans are operating properly.
You can pull the airbox out and make sure one of the rubber grommets from the box didn't fall out and jam a fan, it's been known to happen.
It would be a good idea to get an OBD scan, free at AutoZones or other parts stores.
Ask the dealer what kind of coolant was used.
It should be FL-22 compliant.
They may have also diluted the coolant.
If you're not mechanically inclined, you may try looking in your regional forum to see if there's a member near by that may give you a hand.
There are a lot of us that are willing to lend a hand.
Might only cost you a couple of cold ones & a pizza.

spanky00185

I highly doubt they used proper coolant and just looking n fill tank deff looks like 50th 50 or thinner but do u think this would cause such an extreme overheating issue??

As for fans I hear them running w or w out a on and run well after engine is off

I plan to try to replace thermostat myself but wanna get comp test done first to know if/how much damage is done...but fingers crossed cause I have 0 starting issues, cold or starts right up every time and no power loss. Only issue is once warm it runs 3/4 on Guage and can easily get but to red w any harder driving. Man I really hope car isn't on last leg and I'm stuck w a beautiful paperweight cause deff can't afford rebuild buying the car was hard enough to save for.

Side note, would ask but sure info is here already, so I plan to search for what most users use as their obd reader and whether or not torque is available for iPhone (have Droid as well but thanks to friend screen is super smashed atm)

gwilliams6

An interesting article on improving the RX8 engine life and cooling, without the expense of changing out a working radiator, and a link to the Remedy lower-temp cooling system thermostat:

How To Double The Life of Your RX-8 Engine ? Rotary Performance

http://shop.mazmart.com/en/rx8-remedy-thermostat