Try and look for signs that the PPF was/is shifting such as worn paint marks on the rear of the PPF where the nuts are located.

 

Interesting.. I'll have to try it this way..

 

Remember, I had 8 years on an assembly line working a lot of different jobs in different plants and I have a lot of experience with ISO and Kaizen processes. That is one area where I differ with regard to other shops/techs.

 

I have an appointment for Monday, I guess we will wait until then to see if the dealer finds out whats wrong, but if it is driveshaft play that is causing the problem, what are the fixes?

Is it the PPF mounts or something else?

 

well I took it to the dealer and as I guess they could not duplicate the problem at this time. I was unable to stay at the dealer and show them exactly whats wrong, but I told them exactly how to get it and they are like I should come down. I picked it up after hours and was able to replicate it on the way home.

It only happens in 3rd and 4th gear, and when the car changes weight to the rear (off gas) and then gas again, it bucks. I am starting to hate this car and its only been 3 weeks with it.

 

Since you can repro it, and they can't. Get a mechanic to ride along and show them.... If you think they're sidestepping the issue (trying to not validate the claim by your repro steps) you maaay want to find another Dealer to service your car.

 

i was at the dealer and they were able to duplicate it and said it was normal. They drove me in an automatic 8 and it was not the same feeling but similar. they said its because of where the torque is delivered. I guess...its still not a smooth car overall, but I'll deal with it or sell it and get something else like a S2K or something. But it does seem to be how these cars are.

BTW the dealers don't care about cars overall, but we should know that. they took that automatic car cold, and reved it out to like 7K and then just parked it back up after about 2 minutes of driving. That's what I hate about taking my car to a dealer, they just really don't care about your car.

 

Just to add my 2 cents worth... I drive my 8 hard and the dealer has replaced the motor mounts twice within 25k miles. There was a dramatic difference with this problem both times. When I bought the car, the power train was tight as could be... so I know the car was not built with the looseness it suffers when the mounts are bad. Changing the mounts didn't get it back completely to the like new feeling, but did get it pretty close.

Aside from driving at 3k rpms and getting on and off the gas to make it buck (cuz it doesn't sound like this method positively identifies the problem), is there a way to see if the mounts are bad by jacking the car up and looking? I haven't tried yet, but I'm hitting the end of the warranty period so it's going to be on me to fix it in the future.

Also, I see people talking about solid mounts. That sounds like a pretty extreme fix. Does anyone know if there are middle of the road mounts available that are stronger, but not solid?

 

IIRC the solid mounts actually change the location of the engine.. Plus the NVH will likely drive you crazy. A better option would be to fill them with urethane as MM suggested. I might try that the next time mine fail.

As for checking them, you can take off the wheel and look for any noticeable cracks. Mine were bad without any visible damage, though..

 

I don't see the post you are referring to from MM. Can you either direct me to it or elaborate on the details of filling with urethane.

What is urethane & where do I get it. Is it the same as silicon? Do I need to (or is it recommended to) remove the mounts to fill them?

 

You would have to cut out the bottom of the mounts, empty them if they didn't leak completely, mix up some urethane and pour it in.. I'll try to track down the details, he actually provided a link to the exact compound to use

 

Here's the post in question:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ne#post1234858

He also mentioned in another thread with the "80 shore" might be too hard and suggested trying 60 shore.