So last week I started up my RX-8 and I noticed that I had white smoke coming out of exhausts for about 30s to a minute, a really rough idle and the check engine light was on. This has continued into this week, however it does not seem to be getting worse, but after reading the threads on here relating to white smoke I am becoming more and more concerned. I have verified that my coolant levels are dropping rather quickly, and when the car was stored over the winter I found a pool of coolant on the garage floor about 4 inches in diameter. Is this in fact the engine showing signs of needing a rebuild? If I check the check engine code myself is that enough to diagnose this or do I have to bring it in to Mazda for a proper inspection?

I should mention that the car is manual has 102,000km on the original engine, and has an AEM intake and Borla cat-back (problem started shortly after installing the cat-back). The plugs and wires have not been changed for 20-25k. Oil changes every 3000km with Castrol GTX 5w20.

Any suggestions or advice would be very much appreciated.

 

In my not very expert opinion, sounds like a blown coolant seal = rebuild time.

 

Yep, you blew a coolant seal. Same thing happened to me. Mine wont even start anymore. Im in the process of buying parts for a rebuild.

 

Wow, that is kind of what I was expecting, but really not hoping for.

I check the code today, it was P0456 Evaporative Emissions System Leak Detected (Very small leak). Is this at all related to the smoke? I though that code was for loose gas caps or holes in your fuel lines....

 

The code has nothing to do with your issues. You are correct, that code is an evap system code, purely emissions related and will have no impact on the way the car runs.

 

You should have noticed the rancid smell, coolant burns with a god awefull smell.

 

although not recommended you can try the various "sealers" out there for maybe a temporary fix.
OD

 

Most likely gas cap, so it's unrelated.