Hey, im new to the forums but i did do a search on this before hand.

I have a 2004 RX8 with 90k miles on the first engine. I confirmed with the dealership that i do have the 100k mile engine core warranty but does anyone know if the eccentric shaft seal is covered by the warranty? The seal is causing a pretty bad oil leak that came out of no where, i had an oil change 2,500 miles ago and i was going to do another one soon so i know that it couldnt have caused the leak. Any ideas for the warranty and the cause of the leak?

 

how do you know its leaking?
yes it should be covered.

 

I noticed oil was starting to build up on my driveway and i looked under, i took it to a dealership yesterday and they confirmed it but they wanted to charge me $1600 to have it repaired.

 

Is this something that would be recommended against doing with 97,000 on a 04'?

 

Unless its under warranty, I would do a compression test on the motor before undergoing that repair. Its a lot of work to do on a high mileage motor. Might be better off rebuilding it at the same time.

 

Thank you! Mazda said it was a 2hr job with an $8.00 part..... And they recommend against it! Isn't a compression test going to cost more?

 

The individual above was quoted $1600! Its a tough job to do in the car because the thrust bearing can fall when the hub is removed, then get pinched when it is reinstalled. The ideal way to do it is to remove the engine and put it on a stand with the front bolt facing up. Is the front seal leaking or the o-ring on the eshaft bolt? The reason I suggested the compression test is because if the motor is low on compression (which it may be given the miles) it doesn't really make sense to dump money into it fixing an oil leak that would be taken care of during a rebuild.

 

A note here,

I followed the DIY posted here and did 2 of them in about 6 hours with a few friends. The key on the thrust bearing is to cut a stick (I used a 1x2) to whatever length is necessary to fully compress the clutch pedal when the stick is jammed against the driver seat mount. I seem to think it is about 27 inches, but measure first. I also shoved some cabinet shims between the pressure plate and the bell housing just to be sure.

Then, follow the DIY. It is a multi-person job though. You have to wedge something against the flywheel teeth through the starter hole (Mazda now makes a tool specifically for this). Use a torch on the bolt, you are not heating it to loosen it, you are burning off the glue and crap that seals the end of the E-Shaft. You will put more back in afterwards for the next guy.

Be mindful of the pin. Hold it in. If it comes out, it can be bad. I explained this to my tech crew. They thought I was worried it would fall out and get in the way, so they carefully extracted it when I was not watching close enough. It went back in though...