Hi all,

Edit: Didn't want to start a new thread, new post at the bottom with new problems. Please help

Edit: Edit: Is there any way to change a thread title, or is that a privilege reserved for admins?


I'm in Australia and am looking at buying a 2007 RX8 with 40000kms. The car looks in pretty good nick, however I went to test drive it yesterday and the starter wouldn't do anything. We tried jumping it in a number of ways but all that would happen was the solenoid would click.

The dealer thought that leaving the key in the ignition for 24 hours (since they drove it into their workshop) had fucked something up in the immobiliser. It was late and so he said he'd call me in the morning.


Anyway today he called me and said he had spoken to mazda, who said, as a "security feature", the immobiliser will deactivate the car if the key is left in the ignition for an extended period. A mazda tech would be required to come reprogram the key/ecu.

Has anyone ever heard of this before, or is he making up rubbish while he tries to work out whats gone wrong with his car?

TIA

 

Well as an update, the dealership is claiming that something got fried when the car was jumpstarted. Probably a relay, they're gunna give it to mazda to deal with and (at my request) do a compression test. Obviously if the compression test fails they can stick the car up their exhausts, but if not I'm still extraordinarily skeptical.

Any thoughts?

 

Ok well I got a report from the Mazda tech regarding the failure to start. When they put the starter pack on they blew a main (120A) fuse, which may have been caused in part by a grounding issue.

I also got strange compression test results which were not at all like what this forum lead me to expect (I have done considerable reading). Do these mean anything to anyone? I have everything sorted to drive the car away tomorrow, but an experienced opinion on these results would be hugely appreciated. All I was told along with this image was "all chambers above 120psi"

Please let me know your thoughts





Compression Test<br/>

 

I have never seen results like that.

Looks like a normal tester attached to some kind of scope. Maybe someone else has seen it. It came from a Mazda dealer? But, if all are above 120, life is likely good. Do you have any data on RPM for the test? that could change things.

 

Thanks for the response.

I've seen it only in 1 other thread, though theirs was in much higher resolution: https://www.rx8club.com/new-member-f...my-rx8-253043/

RIWWP worked out the RPM from the raw data, I think the res here is too low. I will call the dealer that did the test when they open to see if they've got some more details, but I think they're a part of a small chain of dealerships in collaboration with the one that is trying to sell me the car.


40,000kms though, can't have too many problems right?


Update: It was done at 2000RPM wtf is going on here???

Update 2: Foreman called back and said it was done at 250RPM...


And doing the maths, with 0.67s/division, I looked at 8 divisions (squares on the x-axis) which = 5.36s. Over those 8 squares there were 26 "peaks" =4.85 RPS = 290RPM. Thats a lot of guess work due to the poor quality of the image, but it's around there.

I think that's only for 1 rotor, but I think I've pissed everyone off enough for 1 day.

 

None pissed here.

There is a conversion calculator to "normalize" compression tests. If you worked it out to 290 RPM, then the numbers will normalize down. I really cannot guess, but it should be easy to find and plug in some numbers. Just a few RPM can make a difference. It is supposed to be done at 250, or normalized to 250 if the starter does something else. But, the rate you calculated is 20% off of 250, that could be a big difference.

 

The service guys/salesman are. I've been pretty trying, but then again I don't want to buy a lemon.


The calculator (located here: Foxed.ca - Rotary Compression Calculator )normalises it to 112psi, which is still pretty good (7.9 on the other scale).

It's in the yellow/orange region on the big graph on the "new potential owners start here" graph, though I'm not entirely sure how to read that. Even a few RPM higher due to guesswork should leave it in the healthy zone though.


Fortunately in Australia we have statutory warranties for 3 months, which force dealers to refund in full any car which one would not buy if they knew the true condition of (in more technical terms). This means that after I purchase, if I get a compression check done and it looks bad (or probably even just below what the salesman told me), I will be refunded.

So I will be going to an independent dealer to check that out if I do get the car. I really hope the test drive feels good though. Been wanting a rotary since i was a kid (787B and the Furai are still my favourite cars)

 

Those are still good numbers. Sounds good, at least from that point of view. I would suggest making sure that both rotors were done though. Apparently the back goes first.

 

Hi All,

Thanks for all your help.

The car has mostly been fantastic so far, I absolutely love it and have no regrets. The oil burning, the (lack of) fuel economy, premix, warming up, etc. All worth it. Some extra torque would nice but I can live without it. I like shifting anyway, which bring me to the first problem.

Occasionally when I'm shifting hard, especially from first to second I get stuck in the synchros (if that makes sense). As in the gear wont go in and I get horrible grinding noises. I have to go back to neutral and shift slowly into gear. Pretty frustrating, but I think it should be sorted out by the dealer. Can anyone confirm its a problem with the synchros?


Second problem, my own fault entirely. I fitted whiteline sways front and rear. I was checking all the bolts at each corner tonight as there was a bit of noise, and snapped one of the rear (upper) bushing studs.
Can anyone tell me whether a) I can drive without this bolt/stud/nut? and b) whether drilling it out and bolting it up with a nut and bolt is going to cause any issue?



Many thanks in advance.

Edit: Yes I searched, I searched long and hard, like we do/get when looking at nice 8s. And I know how to search google (anyone that doesnt, put site:www.rx8club.com at the end of your search).
I did find a thread on replacing the stud with a nut and bolt, not too much info on getting it out, and opinions, though like ********, are appreciated. Cheers


Edit Edit Again... Considering we all love rotaries/alternate engine designs, what do we all think or IRIS engines..?