OK then.Thought I would share some pics of the mess that was in the Intake accordion. The reason I took the Intake apart was because I was doing a Seafoam DeCarb and took out the air box to get to the ESPS connector and spray the TB and look what I found.

What the F@*!

I was expecting some residu on the surface, not pools of oil and crap.


This one show how the condensation is mixing with oil and making it milky brown.


When I first met MM at Mazfest in May of 09' and asked him about his 3 can setup he made it a point to tell me (being a new 8 owner) to get one (catch can) setup to keep the junk out of the TB etc.. Boy was he right.

So I guess my next move is to get a catch can hooked up ASAP.

Any way, I continued with the DeCarb using SeaFoam. What a difference. Here is a pic of the Auto Syringe and 3/16 ID tubing for injecting the Seafoam into the rotors.
I was getting terrible mileage around 10mpg. So thought I would try this. We will see.



Hope this helps anyone that might be on the fence about getting a catch can.

 

You should pull your upper intake all apart. . . Clean your throttle body, clean your upper intake manifold, and inspect how much of that oil is slowly baking into carbon in your lower intake manifold.

ask me how I know.

 

How do you know? Actually I think I do know because I've read a lot of threads and the one with you and your SSV valve sticking was very informative. Because of my mentioned MPG is that why you suggest taking the IM apart?

 

Well... if you have that much oil in your acc. tube. . . imagine where the rest went? Everything behind that in the intake is coated with oil. . . and said oil will bake when you run the engine over periods of time and turn into gooey carbon black stuff which may cause:
the SSV to stick (like me)
Throttle body to stick (lack of throttle response, but uncommon)
general lack of performance.

All I'm saying is that the oily mess in your accordion tube doesn't stop in the accordion tube.

 

One can only imagine what lurks beyond the TB

I'm off this week and the Wiff is in HI. Maybe I should start right now. Going to Mazda right now to get the gaskets. Will have it apart by Noon.

I saw this morning you guys in NE are getting slammed again. We are too in a few hours (rain). Hang in there.

Thanks for the input. I will take pics of what I find.

 

I have recently installed an oil catch can/breather filter, but I never had any oil like that, or any for that matter, in the intake flex pipe. Does your oil get overfilled often?

Thanks but just typical winter for us. You've acutally had it worse with torrential rain and therefore landslides.

 

Carburetor Cleaner works wonders on built up carbon.

Other than that, Seafoam deep creep worked well. . . its not too involved actually.

What new gaskets are you getting?

 

Yes the landslides have been terrible for the folks below the burn areas (station fire last fall). I suspect we will be seeing more in the coming weeks.
No I have not overfilled the oil and I do all my own changes. However I purchased the 8 used last spring (March 26) with 24k miles. So who knows how it was taken care of before me. I baby this vehicle like no other I have owned. Its fun.

I have not looked at the Service Manual yet but I'm assuming,

TB to Upper Intake Mainifold gasket

Upper Intake to Lower Intake Manifold gasket

Please tell me of any 'to look out for's' or 'watch out for's. That would be great.

Thanks

 

I would reuse those gaskets, but that's just me...

make sure to have some wobble sockets when removing the upper intake manifold from the lower intake manifold.

Other than that, its pretty simple and easy to get to. Don't use any soap+water cleaner obviously because any cleaner left behind will eventually go through the engine...

 

Soap and water cleaner? You mean the UIM when it off and in my hand.

These gaskets must be pretty tough if you can reuse them. I think I will call Mazda and see if they have them in stock before making the trek 30 miles round trip.

Thanks for the input. May I PM you if I have a question during the tear down?

 

That would be fine.

 

search for any thread talking about oil in the intake over the last five years. you'll find plenty of info about the causes and mazda's fixes.

 

Welcome to my world Steve

zoomidid- You can reuse the gaskets for the UIM... you'll see when you take it off that they should't look bad (or I've never seen one that made me think I needed to replace them).
While you have the UIM off, cycle the SSV and make sure it turns smoothly and without resistance.
If you read the thread with Steve's (Vyndictive's) stuck SSV, you saw the pic of his valve.
Hell... his stuck valve made for a good DIY video on removing and cleaning it, so we can thank him (or his car) for that

 

Well I already ordered them. Pick up this morning. I'm just old school I guess. Take it apart use new gaskets to put back together. With my luck I would tear one and have to order one anyway.

Will do. Should I not be able to see down the LIM to the various valves as seen on your video? Spray them with Carb cleaner or SeaFoam and work them.

Yes I have read the thread and watched the videos, thank you very much for those.
If I had a second pair of hands today I would make a video of taking off the TB, UIM etc... I really got concerned when I saw all the oil and gunk in the Intake accordian. Did not want to have that happen to me. Preventive wrenching that's my motto.

Also if you could direct me towards your choice of Oil Catch Cans. Ones you know work. I've read many threads and search on the net. But just your thoughts.


Thanks again

 

You can see down into the valves, but its a good 10-14 inches down in the manifold. You'll be able to see how blackened they are with a flashlight.

Also, on the catch can. . . personally, I love my little catch can. It was an ebay special from OBX...
The smalled the better considering I've had mine for over a year and never had any substantial amount of oil in it (but lots of oil vapors, enough to coat the inside with oily residue.

So size: smaller the better
Price: Unless you want the look for carbon fiber or stainless steel, etc. (You can use an empty beer can from a functionality standpoint. )

And I like going the breather route... it looks cool.

 

There's got to be more to this than lack of a catch can. My 2004 is stock and there's never been so much as a drop of oil in that tube?

 

Short answer: Nope. . .

Long answer: Sorta. . . because of the design of the RX8's dual oil coolers (on MT's) and the design of the oil pan, during a normal oil change, only 50-70% of the used oil is drained... however, then most people replace that oil with 100% of the recommended capacity.

Thus, you overfill the oil. . . it backs up into the oil filler neck and get sucked into the intake where it sits. This is the reason why I switched to changing my own oil exclusively.

 

You would think. But as I mentioned in the start of this thread,
I dont know how its was taken care of before me?
Over filling, not using a funnel etc...
So I am going to clean up every thing and if mileage and power
don't increase than I will look elsewhere, cat etc...
It has new coils, plugs and wires when I got it last March.
Has run great till now with the mileage and slightly down on power.
31K miles

 

OK, 2 weeks and 200 miles and the oil in the intake is back.
I have the Oil Catch can installed (the next day after cleaning out the intake).
What the F?!@#$ is going on.
Anyone know if the other two vacuum/breather tubes on the intake need to be filtered as well?



The Service Manual schematic of the tubes shows one going to the Metering Oil Nozzle distribution base? The other down to the lower intake area?



I've got to fix this.

Any ideas? Anyone

 

zoomidid- Did you clean the oil from the air box as well when it originally happened?
How about further downstream past the throttle body?
Hopefully it was just leftover oil that you didn't clean up, but your pic does look a little "juicy".
As CRH said above, you may have a more serious problem...

 

Thanks for the explanation of said hoses Charles. I did top off since I installed the Catch Can. I use a funnel and their was no oil in the Catch Can base (its clear so I can see it with out taking anything apart) It is clear and no oil in the connecting tubes either. The oil is coming from somewhere? "more serious issue"

Any thoughts on what to try next?

Thanks again for your input. (Edit spelling)

Any movement on BHR's 3 bottle setup for the firewall? You had said you were changing mfg. or something.

 

Good call... I forgot about that

 

1:Yes it reaches past the vent hole.

2:No I had not. Removed it but no oil just some residu. Cleaned and replaced.

3:Its just frustrating

4:Sorry usually do a better job of spell checking. I'm the one that's aging (trying to figure out this problem)

5:As good as your products are I'm sure it will be.

I put it all back together and will keep an eye on it.

Thanks for your input. I will take a look next month.

See you at the SoCal Dyno meet.