Will do. I have already resigned myself to the engine being a total write-off up until now, so anything better than that will be a pleasant surprise.

One other question - should the worst happen and it needs a costly rebuild or new engine, how much do you think I could get for the body and parts/engine core? And how would you suggest going about doing that? (if you were me - not knowing how to take a car apart or advertise individual components)

Selling it as a roller (no motor) might get 2 or 3k. Taking each part off and selling them might be 4k. But that requires shipping etc for each part.

Totally brandy new would be 6k plus from the factory. Reusing as much as possible will cut that in half. After labour etc. Most guys warranty their rebuild for about year (same as factory)

So it comes down to you and what you want to spend. 3kish for a rebuilt motor that should last north of 100k with the right care. Or sell it and get something else.

I understand money is always an issue but selling it and buying another used car will just open up another can of worms with that car.

Sit down figure out what you can afford/budget. Then go from there.

Thank you - exactly what I wanted to know. I was afraid I wouldn't get more than $1500 tops as is. If I do decide to sell it this way, any suggestions as to how? (other than plain ole craigslist?) Not really crazy about dealing with a bunch of random strange men....

It's all about advertising. RX8club, here, fleabay, craigslist are all options. All with pro's and con's. So take it for what it is worth.

Me personally I would spend the money on rebuilding the motor. Learn about the care and feeding of a rotary. Then drive it like you stole it every day and enjoy.

:)

Counterproductive as it may sound, hammering on the engine (under the right conditions) is actually a good way to promote engine longevity.

Rotaries are happy to hit redline while out driving around (don't do it while sitting at idle), so the old saying "A redline a day, keeps the carbon away" goes! :rofl: The high rpm operation helps get rid of carbon buildup that can/will cause your seals to stick in place and eventually fail.

Another (slightly more advanced) option is to actually feed distilled water to your engine through a vacuum port to "steam clean" the engine internals. It requires a specific procedure and isn't that great for the cat (I think? I haven't had a cat in my rx-7 in YEARS :lol:) but it will def help with getting ride of stubborn carbon deposits.

Another thing that I've not seen said is to run good 2stroke oil in with your gas on every fill up. That will help clear off some of the carbon buildup (which causes your low compression) and save your housings if they aren't already beyond saving. I run 1 ounce of 2 cycle per 1 gallon of gas and just put it into the gas tank at the time of every fill up.

... and you came here for advice? They don't come much stranger than this bunch, even the wimmenz are a bit "strange". Of course we also like rotaries, so go figure. :lol:

I have to agree that it sounds more like an electrical issue than a mechanical one. Especially since you had mice nesting in your air filter.

Hahaha.....seriously, I thank every single one of you that took the time to read and reply. I am truly grateful. I've learned (out of necessity - not by choice!) to handle about everything in my life by myself (woman's lib and all that lol) but I am so lost on cars. Well, cars, vacuum cleaners that stop working, dishwashers that stop working, dryers that stop working......)

Keep the opinions flowing if there's anyone with anything else to add. I'm going to print out this whole thread and start making calls. Still very interested in any and all referrals for who would be the closest and best expert mechanic to turn this thing over to for diagnosis. Money is BEYOND tight, but I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for, and I really thought I had already paid for an expensive local garage and then the Mazda dealer (you can't imagine the hourly rate). I'm not spending another penny on anyone that doesn't know exactly what they are talking about, even if they have to deliver me bad news. It's better to know, so that I can deal with it.

Thanks again guys!!!!!!!

BTW - the first love of my life that started it all.....
 

I was an early bloomer, and I bought this car myself before I was even old enough to get my license (I got my first job when I was 13, and graduated high school at 16). It was an 81 (I bought it in 86) and I literally grew up in that thing. After several years I ended up getting an 88 Turbo II, and loved it as well. It just seemed like a natural progression to go for the RX8 last year after I had paid my dues driving minivans and mom cars for the last 20 years.

I guess you can't go home again. Really sad this car hasn't worked out. I actually feel like crying when I talk about it. It was really symbolic for me, this car, after a terrible divorce years ago, single motherhood, and too many other things to get into.

But live and learn.

One more thing - I see that this site has a classified section. Do you think it would be a good idea to put it out there to see if anyone would be interested in buying it as is? I could reference back to this thread to explain and be honest will the issues. As much as I'd love to find an easy fix, at this point I think I would take the first decent offer I could. And for someone that can work on the car personally, it would be a great deal since it is otherwise in perfect condition.

You can always throw it up here. We don't get as much traffic as some of the other sites. That choice is up to you. Sounds like these cars are a life long passion. Might be better to fix it up and enjoy.

:rofl: Valid point you make there Gunny... :lol:

Never say never... You could probably find a pretty decent condition FC (second gen) for a decent price.. The FD (3rd Gens) were pretty much the pinnacle when it comes to combined handling and power, but they're expensive (relative to an FC or RX-8) and also can be very fickle if something goes wonky with the turbo control solenoids.

I'm with Jack (JL1RX7) on this one... Why fix the problem just to get rid of the car? A lot of the problems can be sorted with some good preventative maintenance.

I would love nothing more than to keep it, really. It's just that I can't do any diagnostic or repair work on this thing myself, and we have established only a really good rotary specialist should ever touch it, so that would mean every time anything at all, no matter how minor, goes wrong, I'm stuck driving hours and hours away to have the thing looked at. I adore this thing, but I'm trying really hard to let my brain overrule my emotions here. (Women are capable of that I am learning! It's only taken me 44 years! lol). Just trying to do the responsible thing.

Who are you kidding here? Not many of us do the adult thing well. We drive these things on the daily. That is not the smartest decision at all.

Horrible gas mileage and oil consumption alone don't make them good dailies. But those smiles you get when you punch the go peddle more than makes up for it.

Simple hand tools and a willingness to learn will get you all you need to keep your car going on the regular. Youtube is huge for showing you how to do it.

You raised kids that is much harder than changing brake pads.

Find out if you have a local rotary club. Most are willing to lend a hand for you if you are willing to learn.