georgemagana

Hi everyone! im really worried and i would really like some help. I took imy 2004 rx8 for a compression test at the dealership and this are the results. Im not a rotary expert and i really need advice on my situation here are the results. thanks in advance for the help

ROTOR 1
KPA
570
580
590
AT 250 RPM

ROTOR 2
530
560
560
AT 250 RPM

JUDGMENT OF ENGINE COMPRESSION BY MAZDA
ROTOR 1
NOT GOOD
NOT GOOD
NOT GOOD

ROTOR 2
NOT GOOD
NOT GOOD
NOT GOOD

ACCEPTABLE LEVELS (AGAIN BY MAZDA)

830 STANDARD
680 MINIMUM

MAZDA RECOMMENDED A CARBON REMOVAL PROCESS TO RE-STORE COMPRESSION AND THEY ALSO SAID THAT THE SPARK PLUGS WERE FOULDED.
MAZDA WARRANTY AT LEAST HERE IN CANADA SAYS THAT EVEN WHEN MY CAR DIDNT PASS THE COMPRESSION TEST I NEEED TO THE CARBON REMOVAL FIRST AND THEN 1 MORE COMPRESSION TEST. AFTER THAT IF THE CAR DOESNT PASS THE TEST THEN THEY WILL DO 1 MORE VACUUM TEST OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT IF THE CAR DOESNT PASS THAT ONE I GET THE NEW ENGINE. IS THAT THE WAY IT GOES? I REALLY NEED SOME HELP THANKS ALL

Go48

Yes, that is a reasonable procedure for determining the true health of your engine and the need for a new engine.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

TH Motorsports NGK plugs and wires - $117 special. In the vendor ad section

Mazmart.com Coil Pack Set - $150

There ya go.

learycd

iTrader: (1)

plus coils and wires arent gonna help with lack of compression

they will help with lack of power, but if loss of compression is the root, they are no help

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

If spark plugs are fouled, it may hinder numbers. And that's typically the 'decarb procedure' dealers make people go through before warranting work, regardless of whether it's the true issue or not.

So if he must do it, might as well take advantage of the good deals around anyways.

georgemagana

Thanks for the help guys! any ideas on how effective the mazda zoom zoom clear is? would it bring all the pressures back up? and if it doesnt work and they need to do the intake vacuum test would i have any problems with the AEM cold air intake that i have in the car? thanks again

yiksing

This is the time where you cross your fingers and hope all the test fails after carbon cleaning and Mazda gives you a new engine. Good luck.

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

Okay, I may of misunderstood this whole time then. If it doesn't hinder compression numbers, why do dealerships make you replace your plugs/coils before giving you a new motor? That's at least what I've heard... Just want to know so I don't give false advice again..

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Think about compression for a sec.....

There is no firing or spark event...all that happens is they put a pressure transducer in a spark plug hole and crank the engine to see how much pressure the chambers make when the engine rotates at a fixed speed

GOOD SEALS....GOOD COMPRESSION...BAD SEALS....LOW COMPRESSION

If the seals are carboned up..they get sticky and don't seal as well...that's why they try the decarbon first before they want to replace the engine

The reason for the plug replacement and coils is often a result of the most common complaint of a poor engine...lack of power.

Since the most common reason for low power is poor plugs/coils...they try that first Often without helping the problem if it is really the engine in the first place. Sometimes it is a combination problem...and the coil/plug will get the customers back to happy..even if a bit down on power ....

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for breaking that down. Still learning myself about the mechanics of this car, 5 years ago I needed help changing my own oil. Thanks to the expensive dealer rates, it forced me to actually learn how to work on my car

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

People forget...all an engine is is a glorified pump

All the same things that apply to pumps apply to engines....

Then you need to supply the fuel and spark to make the whole thing work

Never L8

iTrader: (5)

True that! You should actually feel pretty confident in your dealership. They are going the right, text book route here. I was told the same thing when I inquired about my engine. I'm not having any issues yet, but I contacted them to see what they would say. I was told that they would start by assuring the ignition system is not bad, and inquired about how new my plugs, coils, and wires were. They said they wouldn't do anything else before those were confirmed to be new or replaced. They then said they would de-carbon the engine, then replace it if necessary. Sound familiar? It should. It sounds like they know what they're doing.

Out of curiousity, what made you get your compression checked?

Mazurfer

And if you do get a "new" engine, please go fill this out!

https://www.rx8club.com/rx-8-discussion-3/rx-8-reliability-engine-data-survey-202333/

You don't have to have had an engine go bad to fill out the survey, but the more data the better!

Renesis07

iTrader: (1)

To be honest, I dont. lol.

That's why I read a lot on here, gaining more and more knowledge to help understand my hobby. I have no mechanical experience aside from a lot of reading here and fixing the millions if issues my cars had

It's actually amazing how simple things are to repair if you have a DIY, patience, and tools

georgemagana

air pumps are air compressors and they work by moving the air to a smaller space ( compressing it) . and i got the compression test done because i bought this car without getting to much information about the cars past, the car still has power and i actually thought the engine was doing great but i really wanted to know how the engine was doing. and i know i was an idiot when i bought the car because i didnt ask for maintenance records of the car and now the retarded first owner is having trouble looking for them! and if i dont get those records mazda doesnt want to replace my engine thats why im so worried right now :S it was a stupid mistake by me

yiksing

An airpump is like an unglorified engine.

laythor

an engine is like an over glorified air pump