Hi all. Looking to get an 05 shinka here soon. The owner I'm talking to wants 6k for it. He says that he gutted the cat to get a better sound. There is some oxidation in the clear coat. And the ssv has carbon buildup on it causing the intake to stick. The engine has 65k miles on it.

My worry is this. I understand the ssv issue is common on 04-05 rx's and it's a fairly simple if not time consuming process to fix. But if there is carbon buildup there it would be safe to assume there is carbon everywhere. Would this be a sign that the engine doesn't have much life left before a rebuild? He sais that the intake valves get sticky from carbon buildup, but I take that to mean he is talking about the ssv. He just replaced the coils, plugs, and wires. Other than that it is a pristine shinka. I really like the shinka but i'm worried about the engine dying in 6 months of driving. I plan on cleaning the ssv as soon as I get it, but that doesn't mean the chamber itself isn't on it's way to killing my seals. he says that it is getting good compression and the sticky intake is the only mechanical issue.

 

He gutted the cat to get better sound...
Ignition components recently replaced...
Don't buy it unless you get a rotary specific compression test first.

Bad ignition components cause misfires.
Misfires kill cats, bad cats kill engines.

 

Compression test will tell you with certainty what you're looking at. I wouldn't let the SSV put me off a purchase by itself. The SSV and engine carbon aren't necessarily correlated. And carbon is reversible. Everything hinges on the compression test. Get the 6 numbers corrected to 250rpm.

How's the warm start?

 

As a matter of fact, there is a thread titled "new and potential owners".
It seems like you're doing your homework, but make sure you read that thread! It's found in the new members forum. It will explain what to look for and give you an understanding of what the rx8 is.

And yes, compression test PRIOR to purchase is an absolute must.

And yes yes, I agree with what BigCajun and Loki said.

 

Good to see someone actually asking before buying though

so good work!

I have only been on here for a few weeks,
and cant believe how many "Help.. just bought a....wont start " threads appear..daily

 

haha thanks for all the input guys. I've talked with the guy a little more. He lives in the next state over so I haven't checked warm start. I'm going to check all of that myself when I test drive the car before handing him the check. He daily drives it and takes car of maintenance and he claims to have just drove from california to mississippi 3 months ago. So 3 months ago he must have had good compression. Can I simply rent a compression tester from autozone and take it with me to do the test there? I was under the impression rotaries didn't like those simply testers and that they had to be done at dealer. If it is something that I can snag and bring with me then I will. Otherwise I believe the ROUGH indicator of good compression is to let the car warm up, turn it off, and turn it back on. If it struggles it has rough compression. If it starts right up then it's good. a question about that though. I'm coming from a 91 eagle talon with a shoddy electrical system that I would have to crank on for 10 seconds to get to start. So what is actually considered a slow start vs a good start for a warm start? Once again thanks for the input. I'm asking about the brand of ignition components to double check but he seems mechanically sound and knowledgable of the rotary so i'm assuming not autozone crap parts lol.

 

Did you read the new owners thread I mentioned?

Just because he drove to cali, that doesn't mean compression is good. Some long time heavy smokers can run a marathon. Do you think they have healthy lungs??

A ROTARY SPECIFIC COMPRESSION TESTER is what you need. Dealership, rotary mechanics, purchase on your own are the only ways (unless you find someone who owns one who is willing to give you a hand).

Slow start could be MANY issues unrelated to compression.

I re-recommend you read that thread and soak in the knowledge...

 

Will do. I read it about a month ago when i firat started looking but ill reread until I'm sick of it

 

++1 ^

You can't always rule out low compression by testing warm start ups as an upgraded started would mask the hot start issues for some time (actually for a long time lol) I had it done on my 04 rx8

Rotary Specific compression test is the only true way of finding engine's health

Test drive a few rx8s to get a better feel and understanding of what they are

My 8 with healthy ignition and battery starts right up despite being parked for a week.
if the car takes longer than 3 seconds to start then I'd say it indicates hot start issues considering it's not flooded.

Read the thread suggested earlier and all the best :-)