So I bought my dream car not 4 days ago, and today it decided it already didnt like me after such a short friendship.

I was driving this morning and after i started going up a hill just up the road from my house the car felt like it lost power..i was in 1st gear at about 6000rpm and it just felt powerless (it was actually slowing down). there was a a smell of burning coming from the car, i was told there was blue flames coming out of the exhaust and it was glowing red hot. I pulled off to the side of the road and the car decided to shut down and not start up again.

I tried starting it for ages and it didnt work. Not wanting to leave it in this area i clutch started it down the hill and drove it back to my street but the same thing happened, if not worse this time.

Anyone had a similar problem or know what may be wrong?

 

oh and a bit about the car..its a 2004 rx8 manual with about 140 000km/85 000miles. fortunately i have a good warranty which covers up to $5000 per claim, but i am just very curious to know what may have happened to it

 

Compression test, fuel pump check, ignition check, catalytic converter check... then report back.

 

When this happened, did you notice the cat converter glowing cherry red ? If you can, whip the cat off and look into it, if the honey comb is all messed up, it was the culprit.

 

well i didnt see it, but my dad was behind me and he said the exhaust system was glowing. there was a pretty bad burning smell so i think the catcon may have had a meltdown. does that explain the power loss though? and it still wont start so there must be something else as well

 

Yes, when the cat "melts" it restricts the exhaust flow. Pull your plugs and check them.

 

ah i see. yer will do. thanks for that

 

You say it still will not start, but if you get it to start do not go driving around with that bad cat. It could turn an expensive fix(new cat ~1700-2k I think, used ~400) into a really expensive fix(new engine?) if the cats the problem and it has blocked off the exhaust enough and you continue driving.

 

thats what i was thinking, but luckily all of the engine/oil temperatures were fine when i stopped as i only drove about 1km, and it was only the underside of the car that was really hot. calling the tow truck today. : (

 

Well the mechanics verdict is in...the catalytic converter did indeed have a meltdown...brought on by a loss of compression in the engine. I thought i was up for some new plugs and a cat converter..but no, complete rebuild/new engine. Good times

 

flame = no cat

 

Your cat probably went first and took the engine with it because it wouldn't let the engine breath at all...

 

but the cat would have to have a reason to **** it right? i'm no mechanic, all i know is this is turning out to be a very expensive car. haha

 

The exhaust from our engines is much hotter than piston engines so the cat can melt and become clogged on its own from deterioration. When this happens, if you continue to drive the vehicle when the cat clogs, the motor can suffer catastrophic failure as a result as well. So the cat can fail on its own without something else failing first.