Thank you god, this has just saved my life lol Ive been having power problems

 

I was finally able to get the cap off with hammer and penetrating oil. The auto zone spanner didn't do anything even after the cap started moving. I finally got the sock out and I will get some compressed air tomorrow to clean it up. However, it does not look so dirty, at least to my eyes. What do you guys think of it from the attached pics?

If this is not dirty, then could it be that the motor itself is dying? Only problem I have had is that after driving on highway for a while, or around town on a hot day, the car does not want to restart after I shut it down. If I let it sit for about 5 minutes, then it starts just fine. This sounds like the fuel pump problem, right?

I also have the original old starter, if that info helps anything.

 

Hard to tell from those photos, as they're all terribly out of focus. Doesn't look like it's clogged enough to cause a fuel delivery problem though.
When the car won't start, does it turn over just as quickly as usual? If yes, it's probably not the starter. My guess is ignition system. It's temperature sensitive, and gets a lot less voltage when starting vs running, so if it's in rough shape, you're going to have a hard time getting good spark. I'd look into replacing the coils (and wires and plugs while you're at it if they haven't been done recently.) Coils are pretty cheap on this car, there's a DIY on them here.

 

Thanks. I will look into the coils next. I did change the plugs less than 10K miles ago. So they should be fine. The starter seems to be random. It sometimes turns over quite fast while it takes a little cranking at other times.

It does seem like temperature dependent though because I am able to start after letting it cool for a while.

 

Guys,
How important is it to tighten the cap back to over one full turn? I am able to tighten it up to about 80-90% of one full turn and it does not look like it will buzz any more.....if it is so hard to tighten it, it shouldn't leak any gas from there, right?

 

I think I finally figured out what my problem was with the tightening of the cap. There is a writing by the fuel pump location that says "START" and this should be the position where I should have started to put the cap back on. I found it this morning and also found the workshop manual which points to the same setting to start tightening the cap. The shop manual link is:
http://www.myrotarycar.com/portal/fo...3le/index.html

Can you please add this information in the DIY section on first page for future users?

BTW, I screwed up again. I filled the tank before I found this information. I tried to loosen the cap to do it properly and all hell broke loose...gas everywhere.......I tightened it back without trying any further. I'll try to do it properly after I use up some of the gas.

 

You'll know if you didn't tighten it enough.. Will reak of gas constantly.

 

yep, noticed the gas leaking after I filled it up and drove back home. That's why I tried to fix it again and leaked hell of a lot more gas
Now I'll just wait till I am done with this tank of gas.

 

Anyone have the diagram or picture of how to line things up and start the ring? I think I have the pump in right (the hose has to line up). When i started the ring I didn't see any markings on the ring. I do see the start and max markings on the tank, but dont know where to place the ring relative to the start. Seemed to thread on ok but I only got it on 360 degrees. The tool i bought is a little too tall and only has two legs - so it twists and comes off. Mine is leaking...

 

I used the amazon.com tool yesterday and THERE IS HOPE!
1.) Get the tool adjusted as tight as you can. Remove tool and set aside.
2.) Spray the hell out of it with penetrating oil, let sit for 15 mins.
3.) Use a thin towel or rag, lay it over the ring and pump, then put your tool on top of that. Gives it a better grip and no more broken tabs. Also, don't bother with using the wrench on it like the instructions say, just grab it and put some muscle behind it.

 

Started this project yesterday, found gasoline all over the gas tank at the fuel pump. My RX has always had a gas odor, now I know why. Turns out the fuel pump outlet pipe was cracked, it really gushed gas when I started the car to check it out. Didn't have any trouble using a chisel and mallet to get the cap off. Local parts house had a pump so I replaced it yesterday evening. All is well now, no more leak, no more gas odor! BTW, the filter at the bottom of the pump assembly was quite clean. The new pump is an Airtex unit for $205, hope it holds up. Now I am going to be quite interested to see if there is any significant impact on gas mileage, I get 16-17 mpg 50/50 city highway aggressive driving, lots of high rpm operation. Thanks all for the good info that allowed me to discover this problem and fix it.

 

Here are photos, before and after.

 

Thanks guys for this write up, did this at work today in about 30 minutes. Fortunately for me the Ford tool works just the same as I'm at a Ford dealership. Didnt really find any debris in the sock but did take notice how easy it would be to upgrade the pump to something off the shelf such as a corvette unit

 

Will have to do this in winter.

 

My car appears to be headed for 20+ mpg after replacing the leaking fuel pump. I must say that I am quite pleased about this.

 

what a bad idea to start doing that 1h before night...the SST is a pain to remove with hammer method.
it was even a worse idea to do this with a full tank, wasted about 3l of fuel. oops...

i cleaned the sock, was not that bad, i hope changing the pump will resolve my problems.

my pump connector would not go back in, it dipped in fuel and i guess the rubber gasket inside the connector got bigger and would not fit in anymore.

still did not finished the work, it was too dark and was pissed, tired of smelling fuel and could not get the SST back in. i had to take a break. now after some reading i know how to align the SST and the put assembly right. still waiting for my pump so...i guess ill rent the tool to retighten the SST

 

just put some vaseline on the threads and tighten it up good

 

I have that tool that several of you noticed from the local auto parts store..and that tool also broke several tabs off..I have tried the hammer/mallet method..still no luck..I am not sure why the damn tool cost 150$ for original removal tool..absurd!!! anyone else have any other suggestions? Please?

 

I rented a fuel pump replacement kit from autozone and ended up some tabs a few days ago...so I sprayed PB blaster all over it and let it soak in and penetrate for 2 days hoping this would solve my issue. I tried again today and ended up breaking and cracking the ring on one side using the hammer and screw driver method lol.

This damn thing is stuck on so badly. The pump assembly has 133K miles on it and I'm guessing it has just been sitting there all these years and never been messed around with. At this point all I can do is finish breaking the ring and buy a new one. For those of you who have successfully used the hammer and screwdriver method to remove the ring...how did you get the ring tightened back on ?

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...er=605758_0_0_

 

I was going to put this reply in your "want to buy thread" but saw this here....


No experience with the RX-8 specifically but I've removed other cars plastic lock rings with a really large pair of pliers.

If you don't have any of those, can't you use an adjustable one like these:

http://www.etoolcart.com/gastankfuel...olloc-940.aspx

http://www.tooltopia.com/lock-techno...googlebase_18u




HOWEVER since your having such a hard time, this is what you need to do. CUT that old plastic ring off. Just be careful to not hit the gas tank threads. Then go buy a new plastic ring from Mazda. They are not that expensive.

As for going on, here's a little trick. Get some hot water in a bucket (like close to boiling) and put that new lock ring in there. Let it sit for awhile then take it out and then put that lock ring on with your hands and final tighten with your the tool your using. The hot temperature makes the plastic just a bit softer and easier to deal with. Ta da!

 

My guess is that the crack had already been developing and it finally split when you hit it. Do not remove it until you get a replacement, otherwise your car will not be driveable. Most dealers will match online mazda parts so you should be able to pick up the union nut for $40. I used a wide blunt chiesel to tighten the nut. The hard part was getting the union nut seated on the retainer since there's only one thread. Tightening was easy by evenly hitting tabs with hammer and chiesel. Before putting the new nut on, make sure you check that the pump nozzle is not leaking or cracked near the right angled bend. Also use some grease on the nut, retainer and top of pump (where the nut grabs the pump) for easy tightening.

 

I ordered a new ring from a dealer near me for $45+tax and I should be getting it on tuesday. By "union nut", do you mean the ring with the tabs ? If not, Does the union nut come with the ring ? All I did was order a replacement retaining ring (o-ring)...

 

Yes, the white ring with tabs is the Union Nut. Here are the three parts involved in sealing the fuel pump to the gas tank:

1. White ring with tabs: aka Union Nut or Ring-F: P/N F151-42-A14A. I'd replace this every time I'm messing with the fuel pump if the mileage on the part is over 30k miles because it is very fragile. You only risk fuel leak when the tank is full, so it may not be a big deal for some.

2. Black ring with a slit in the middle and two things that stick out from sides to hold the Union Nut in place when tightened (only the two black things that stick out are visible when assembled): aka Retainer Ring: P/N F151-42-A15B. Can be reused in most cases if you dont break the two things that stick out for locking the Union Nut. Plastic on the ring itself is very strong. Even if you break those two things on sides, it can still be reused, but decide on you own if you want to take that risk. It costs only $40.

3. Gasket: P/N F151-42-A61. Least likely to fail in my opinion. Check the condition and decide on you own if you need a new one.

It gets hard to tighten the Union Nut after half a turn. I was able to tighten mine above 1.25 turns with some persistence. You'll have better luck with a wider screw driver.

 

Thanks, you've been very helpful. Have you tried using WD-40, PB Blaster, or any other type of lubricating spray on the Ring thread, instead of grease, when re-installing ?

 

I used PB Blaster to loosen the cracked Union Nut and white lithium grease on the new one. Picked up both from autozone. Have you confirmed that your fuel pump's nozzle is not leaking? You'll see fuel oozing out from the bottom of the nozzle where it attaches to the fuel hose when the engine is turned ON. In normal operation, it should be 100% dry.