hi my name is miguel i live in los angeles, california and i signed up here because i just traded my recent car for a 2005-06 mazda rx-8 and this is my 1st time messing with a rotary engine so i was hoping i can get some good advice and help on here as far as maintenance and evrything like that. thank you

 

Welcome and congrats! Pictures? There is an obscene amount of knowledge on this forum. The stickies on the new member thread are an awesome place to start. I learned a preposterous amount of information in a short period of time. Biggest thing to remember is that the rotary engine eats oil on purpose so check it every week or so depending on how much or hard you drive it.

 

Welcome.
Like stated previously, read the new owner stickies, about everything you need to know is there.
In addition to checking your oil, be sure to always fill up with Premium gas.
Have fun!

 

Thank you and I will post pics as soon as I get it running right because my radiator Light is on my dash but my engine coolant tank is full and my CEL is on as well and it flashes but i don't know why it flashes I don't know what it means.

 

Flashing CEL means a misfire. You most likely need new coils, plugs and wires. Don't let it linger - misfires have the potential of leading to significant damage.

Radiator light even though the coolant level is OK is a bad level sensor in the coolant bottle. Very common problem. Fixes range from replacing the bottle (sensor is built into it) to ignoring the light to unplugging the connector at the bottle.

Ken

 

Ken I just changed the coils and spark plugs but its still on and how much does it cost to change the bottle and can you show me a pic of where the sensor is located please

 

Hi guys just bought my self an rx8, needs a bit of tlc. I'm looking for a cat back...?

 

Google or ebay the bottle with the sensor and you'll get an idea of the price, the sensor is in the bottle, if u take out the bottle and clean everything it might fix it but if not u might need a new one or you can just ignore it or unplug it like ken said. Also if you don't know why you have a cel get the code pulled at a pepboys, then search for the code here on the forum.

 

The bottle is $130 from Mazmart.

The sensor is integrated into the bottle, which is most of the trouble of why some just ignore it.

The problem is that the sensor's float seals fail, it fills with coolant and sinks to the bottom, no longer floating and reading low coolant levels.

Keep in mind that if you replace the bottle, you MUST cut the tiny hose to the radiator from the front bottom of the bottle. That hose is stronger than the radiator nipple it attaches to, and if that nipple breaks, you have to replace the radiator. Many of us have underestimated how easy it is to break, myself included. Surprise! For my experience, I thought I could just bend it back out of the way to get at with a pair of needle nose pliers, and just before I got clearance with very light pressure on the bottle ...snap! the nipple breaks off. The older your radiator, the more likely you ar eto break it.

You may opt to replace the radiator at the same time though, which isn't a bad thing. $150 from Mazmart.

 

just signed up, pix coming soon too! 1st rotary, had since dec. (06 rx8, charcoal, cold air, exhaust) How do u change projector lights??

 

i've been a "supra turbo guy" for 20 yrs, extremely green to rotaries! so far, scared to death!
they seem to b very different but fun as hell