rx8 engine rebuild

If this is a known design fault has anybody ever managed to get Mazda to repair/rebuild the engine on a car under warranty?

Seems pretty poor show from Mazda if the cars start conking out after 60k miles.
 
Delta12 said:
Just how difficult are these to rebuild I've built a few 4 pots in my time but never played with a rotary
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The dvd set i mentioned earlier covers the whole aspect of measuring tolerances, inspection of parts and assembly of the engine in great detail.

It was a box set that set me back £50 a few years back, but like i said, there are torrents on the usual sites now where you can download it.

 
IAmATeaf said:
If this is a known design fault has anybody ever managed to get Mazda to repair/rebuild the engine on a car under warranty?

Seems pretty poor show from Mazda if the cars start conking out after 60k miles.
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They have totally swept this under the carpet :mad: They would not acknowledge the problem at all with mine, even though it had a 12 month Mazda warranty on it. I even phoned up Mazda customer services but got nowhere. They even fiddled one of the compression tests by using a battery booster pack to turn the engine over faster during the test :mad:
 
Clarkey said:
Perfect opportunity to throw it in the bin and fit a proper motor in it.
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IvanDobskey said:
Then go buy something with a proper engine in it :)
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Philz0r said:
lump an unreliable engine in.
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I think Rotary engines should be left to track and fast road use. They are not suitable for everyday traffic busting at all. From the late 70's and through the 80's they dominated the IMSA GT championship. The RX-7 was the car that got the most wins out of all the manufacturers. Same again with the winning of Le mans in 91, the only japanese car to this date ever to win it, so i think it's a bit of a blinded view to class all of the engines unreliable or turd. On the track or going silly speeds is where the rotary belongs.
 
Lethagized said:
The dvd set i mentioned earlier covers the whole aspect of measuring tolerances, inspection of parts and assembly of the engine in great detail.

It was a box set that set me back £50 a few years back, but like i said, there are torrents on the usual sites now where you can download it.

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Good video that. Gives you an idea just how big a job a rotary engine rebuild is.
 
Lethagized said:
I think Rotary engines should be left to track and fast road use. They are not suitable for everyday traffic busting at all. From the late 70's and through the 80's they dominated the IMSA GT championship. The RX-7 was the car that got the most wins out of all the manufacturers. Same again with the winning of Le mans in 91, the only japanese car to this date ever to win it, so i think it's a bit of a blinded view to class all of the engines unreliable or turd. On the track or going silly speeds is where the rotary belongs.
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I agree, rotary engines certainly have their place, but it's not in a road car that's going to be doing 10K+ miles a year.
 
q6600 said:
That is bad from Mazda.
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Yep, I'll never buy another car from Mazda after the way they treated me thats for sure :(

I knew about issues with rotary engines, which is why I paid a premium to buy the car from Mazda with a 12 month warranty.

Just shows you that most second hand car warranties aren't worth the paper they are written on.

Have you decided what to do with yours yet?
 
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No... I don't know... half of me is for fixing and half is not. 3000 is a lot of money, yes the car is great and sexy, but the consumption is extreme. Not sure if is because of engine problem. I will decide by Monday.
 
q6600 said:
No... I don't know... half of me is for fixing and half is not. 3000 is a lot of money, yes the car is great and sexy, but the consumption is extreme. Not sure if is because of engine problem. I will decide by Monday.
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The consumption isn't down to the engine fault unfortunately :( The RX8 generally does around 17mpg on short trips, with slightly better figures for motorway driving (around 24mpg).

Shocking fuel economy for the relatively modest performance it gives. I mean, it's a quickish car but it isn't 17mpg quick.
 
You can get 30mpg out of most decent modern American V8s without trying, on a cruise :D Kinda puts it all into perspective... Especially when they make twice the power and torque in most instances. Won't wear out until about 200,000 miles either...
 
Just get rid of this thing, £3k is far too much to be spending on it. As suggested earlier you could even break it if you have the time or inclination.
 
People need to understand your not just paying for the power, your paying for the way the engine works as well, if i could afford them i would still have one, they drive so nice, but as said only at high speed really, on track it was amazing.

The hardest bit of a rebuild is getting the main eccentric shaft nut off, you will need a massive socket and a bit of scaffolding usually.
 
q6600 said:
I contact a company and they will swap the engine for 2900...
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Swap the engine for what though? Could end up with another dud engine. Either get it properly rebuilt by specialists or get rid.

I'd be inclined to get rid myself. Rx8's are more trouble than they are worth, especially with the horrible fuel economy and the price of petrol at the moment.
 
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