My son bought a 2005 RX8 and promptly blew the engine. I am considering buying this mess and pulling/rebuilding the engine. I have NO rotary experience but in my youth worked on Triumphs for years. Nothing is less reliable than a Triumph so I figure I am on the right track (again buying something that is a huge headache to work on). I am fairly mechanical but certainly no genius. This thing is a beauty with 63K on it so I hate to have it sold for scrap.

Any advice to an old guy that
wants to get his hands greasy again, or is doing this a fantasy?

 

You can purchase a rebuild from Mazda for about $2,100 I believe.

It's usually a hit or miss with the rebuilds but they offer you a 12,000 mile/12 month warranty on them if you have them installed at dealer.

 

Actually I fly an airplane I built myself and that was a bit complex. Reading and measuring wear patterns is certainly not something I know anything about. I have used feeler guages and micrometers on occasion and am familiar with their function. My main concern is the proper rebuilding of the engine without prior experience. I know the tolerances must be maintained precisely, and I have a large garage (and engine hoist) for the work, but as this type of engine is completely unfamiliar to me, I don't want to step into a project that is more difficult than I am capable of completing properly.

 

what about the 8 yr. 100,000 mile warranty on the engine?

Have you been denied this warranty from the (a) dealership?

 

The local Mazda dealership was not very cooperative. They indicated that I must have documented proof that the oil changes were performed routinely by "certified" Mazda etc. My son changed the oil several times but I don't have any paperwork to back that up.

 

Where might I find more detailed information on the warranty and do you know if what they are saying is correct? They seemed very reluctant to cooperate and made it sound like getting this addressed via the warranty was a longshot. It is my understanding that Mazda would reimburse them so I can't understand why they would duck this.

 

See these links for the information on the extended warranty.
https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...2&d=1287668534
https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1287668534

 

Thanks. After finally getting bright enough to "start here" and read for two hours, I have learned that the first dumb thing I did was let my 19 year old buy the 8 in the first place.
I am going to pursue the warranty and if unsuccessful, rebuild this engine myself. At least I will have the satisfaction of telling the dealer where to get off, and hopefully (later) drive by in my functional RX8 while yelling obscene comments about "seeing his wife on the internet".

 

i think youd be fine rebuilding the engine, ive seen a diy performed by a 19 year old with no experience besides building pc's. id feel pretty competent stripping and building the engine, having rebuilt 1 inline 4 engine before. they're alot less complicated than a piston engine.

 

If you can't get satisfaction from the dealer there is a 800 number to try to work things out. Sorry, I don't have it atm.

There are YouTube videos that show how to rebuild a rotary. I don't know if the Renesis specifically is covered.

 

- or -

Since you said you have a garage and tools; just pull the engine out of the car, send the core to a good builder elsewhere, then install the rebuilt engine right there in your garage.

That's what I would do.

 

/\
Forgot to mention there's a couple of threads by "rotary resurrection" in the tech section showing how to remove the engine step by step with TONS of high quality pics.

 

"lol" doesn't explain it well enough. I literally just laughed out loud!

I say go for it. Buy your son a $500 beater to get around for a couple weeks and the two of you can rebuild it together. He will love the car after that having the satisfaction of doing all that work and learning all about the guts of the rotary. Afterwards you to will be the "rotary" guys in your community. You will probably earn a little respect form your local sports car scene.

 

Great info here!
I would start with Charles R. Hill's recommendation first, to see if you're up to the task of rebuilding.
If that's over your head, take pistonhater and godesshunter's advice, pull your engine with your son, send it to a reputable builder, and reinstall.

 

Fight it till they really said no

what u can do is ask local members and see if they can give u a bunch of receipts up to the day that your son bought the car. That should work.

 

I used to own a 1982 green Triumph Spitfire 1500 when i was stationed in Georgia. It's a 4-speed manual with a lift-right-up reverse, and it was very easy to drive. I sold that car to my co-worker when i got out of the service were i was working. Anyway, i miss that car and i wish i didn't sell it...oh well.

 

Great advice from all. Obviously this was the right place to come for RX8 help. Pride may not allow me to have another rebuild it, and I love to get my hands dirty working on an old smelly engine. I still have the 1968 Triumph I drove in college and probably have torn down the engine in it at least three times in the 38 years I have owned it. Triumph carbs (either Webers or Strombergs) were a constant headache (especially the side draft) but the engines, while unreliable, were a snap to work on.

 

Just ordered it and will take your advice. I am also reviewing the tools I may need to do this. Aside from the old Triumphs, I have torn down one (air-cooled) Lycoming 118 hp aircraft engine, and tolerences used for that type of work was critical. Some of the tools I used may be applicable here.

 

He is now driving a 1982 Ford f-100 that I was willing to put some money into to get it "safe". I hope he learned his lesson with the 8 and will think about such obscure things as "reliability" and "impulsiveness" before his next auto purchase.

 

Mazda North American Operations 800 222-5500

I would first make the call regarding the 8 yr/100k powertrain warranty.

 

Try an Alfa Romeo some time.

You can find several electronic versions of the RX-8 service manual on-line for free, or for just a few dollars. There's also at least one thread here showing a Renesis tear-down, with lots of pictures.

Ken

 

All good advice above. There might also be a traveling "National" (don't know what Mazda calls him/her) service rep for Mazda. He handles issues between dealers and customers like this.

However, it might be less stressful to not deal with a questionable dealer and all the $ _ _ t he can put you through. I've hopped-up and rebuilt several piston engines and, by comparison, the rotary is a snap. You MUST have a competent manual that covers everything that must be addressed in your re-build.