i know little about rotarys but, ok i bought a rx8 ive never seen, the complany selling the car was a repo service n knew nothing about the car. The engine was partially dis-assembled, i found all the parts in the trunk and got it back together. I have fuel n spark. Engine wont start.

I found out the compression tester i have wont work on rotarys. I looked online and troubleshooting said to listen to the psh.....psh.......psh as the engine cranked....any who, with the sprak plug out (one cylinder at a time) i hear psh....psh....pause....psh.....psh....pause.

im ready to pull the engine but i would appreciate some confirmation please.

 

There are two things that make me feel there is a problem.

Why did the original owner take the engine apart?

If he couldn't make the payment's chances are he didn't have any $$ to fix any problems.

 

If you're not hearing the slight whistle while you're turning the engine, then you have one rotor face that isnt holding compression.

 

what would you suggest at this point, remove and disect?

to the best of my knowledge i have lost compression in 1 of my combustion chambers in both rotors.

 

rx what is this whistle your talking about? would losing 1 combustion chamber keep the engine from even stumbling or coughing though? just nothing while it cranks

 

i just talked to my buddy, he has a m/t engine for a good price, his interchangeablity list says it will not work for my a/t car. why not?

 

Because the differences between the 04 AT engine and 04 MT are MAJOR. If you have access to other parts from that MT car the below thread will be of interest.

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-specific-performance-mods-97/mt-swap-151684/

 

Did you get any measurements done on the engine parts before you assemble them?

 

what should have been measured??? im new to rotarys so please be kind

 

When you said the partially dis-assembled, can you be more specific? But this is all leading to you having to seek professional help. With no information as to the prior condition of the engine anything posted here will just be a guess and most likely waste your time. You need someone with RX-8 experience or a dealer to exactly find out whats wrong. Once that happens we can better assist you here.

 

another suggestion is to take some pictures and post them here.
But, I'd definitely look up a rotary expert for some assistance

 

well i know 1 combustion chamber in both rotors lost compression. 1 chamber = side seals. This means the engine must be rebuilt. I have rebuilt 100s of piston engines and rear ends and turbos n trannys. I can figure this out. Anyway i will be removing this engine and dis-assembling. I will take a picture when all apart. Thanks

 

Losing one per rotor could certainly prevent it from firing up. Keep in mind, if you arent keeping compression on one rotor face, you are likely losing it to another face. This can disturb the airflow through your engine very significantly. The whistle I was referriing to is the "toot" of air coming from the spark plug port as you turn the motor with a plug removed.

If you want to rebuild this motor, I sincerely wish you the best of luck. It requires quite a bit of attention to detail... these motors are not very forgiving when it comes to tolerances. It may take you a time or two to get the hang of it. I highly suggest buying a DVD to guide you through the process. I think Atkins Rotary has one, as I'm certain others do.

 

You need to find out what the acceptable range of tolerances on the engine parts are because anything out of acceptable range will just kill the engine fast after a rebuild.

Have a look at aaroncake's channel on youtube. There are videos there that documents helpful tips when rebuilding a rotary.