Rotary Freak! 2004 RX-8 Riverside CA

[Chris Peterson]

Hey Rotary fanatics!

Glad I finally found a rotary club! I've been going alone on the rotary life struggles and could use some support and knowledge. Looking forward to hearing from you all and learning. my RX-8 is suffering bad compression loss and just yesterday started making some terrible knocking noises and rough idles with what sounds like misfires; so naturally I'm attempting to save up for an engine rebuild but its rough as a full time student getting their masters in architecture with 150k in student loan debt. But anyways, I could use some pointers and advice/connections to make sure I'm going about all this rebuild correctly!

[GySgtFrank]

Welcome, it does sound like rebuild time unfortunately. Compression loss is likely due to damaged/bad apex seals and probably damage to the housings. They are great cars, but have their faults, especially the first generation RX-8s. Definitely go with a reputable builder, not just a local garage. There are numerous horror stories from folks using people not familiar with rotary engines. The up side is that there is a lot of interest and support for the rotary in California. Due to the specialty nature of the car repairs are not typically cheap, although they tend to be cheaper than high end european cars.