Help!!!!

[Fendamonky]

Originally Posted by Nicole

I live in Greenville SC, and currently it is at my brother's house about 3 hrs away down in Charleston SC.

Hmm... djseven is in Nashville, TN. He can get a rebuild done on a budget, not sure how involved he is in doing rebuilds anymore though. Also, allrotor93 does a lot of FD RX-7 car flipping, he ALWAYS rebuilds the motors before selling the cars though, so he should def be able capable of rebuilding an rx-8 motor for ya, he's in Cary, NC.

I know both those guys are active over on the rx7club forum, though they may have accounts over here as well. I'll try to point them this direction for ya..

Originally Posted by Nicole

For starters, thank you so much for all the feedback so far. As you can tell, I am so far out of my element here.

It's all good. You made a good call by coming to a forum of enthusiasts instead of JUST giving the dealership money to replace parts instead of diagnosing the problems.

Originally Posted by Nicole

I had no idea the engine could be rebuilt - I thought my only options were to install a totally new engine or junk the whole thing. The car runs absolutely beautifully - when it runs. As of right now, it fires right up and drives like a dream, not sluggish, not anything. The problem is that sometimes, you can drive it down the road no problem and it just dies - while driving. Also, sometimes it just flat out won't start.

But the underlying problem remains, that something is making it die without warning (not exactly safe!) and something is keeping it from firing up randomly. But to answer the question about it's running state, it drives beautifully. I just assumed that since there was low compression on the engine it was inevitable the engine would have to go.

I don't own an rx-8, so I'm not completely familiar with a lot of the specific foibles of the 13B-MSP (the 13B rotary Multiple Side Port engine in your RX-8) and it's support systems. Honestly I bet you could get the car running fine without necessarily needing a rebuild. It sounds like you've got a decent motor but some of your support systems are getting wonky, or you've got a wiring issue

Originally Posted by Nicole

Any idea how much it would cost to have a reputable rotary mechanic rebuild it? If it was just a few thousand than it would definitely be worth doing to sell. I just simply cannot sink 5k into it just to sell it for 6 (or whatever it would be worth).

Thanks again!

A full rebuild will typically run between $3k and $5k depending on what all needs replacing. The breakdown of those costs are usually $1,000 to remove and reinstall the engine, a soft seal kit from Mazda (all your O-rings and soft seals) is about $900, add more if you need new apex/side/corner seals. The remainder of the rebuilding cost will go towards labor, and the rebuild cost can go up if there is significant replacement/refurbishment of engine parts that are out of spec.

"Reman" or remanufactured engines (motors rebuilt by Mazda) can usually be had for significantly less than a new engine and are often just as good for the average commuter, you've just got to know where to ask for them.

I would suggest contacting Ray Crowe (703-490-5296) at Malloy Mazda (in Woodbridge, Va) for ANY Mazda OEM rx-8 parts that you're looking to buy/replace. His prices are SIGNIFICANTLY better than your local dealership and he's got shipping parts (even engines) down to a fine art. Hell, he used to ship me parts to England all the time when I was stationed out there...

Just some food for thought as a starter. Hopefully the RX-8 savvy guys will pop in to help you out (and/or correct me ).

[JL1RX7]

Kevin Landers (Rotary Resurection) in Morristown Tennessee. He is the home of budget rebuilds. Stand up dude who will work with you on budget. But 2 to 3k would be about were it falls. Almost always the 8 destroys the housings. Finding good used one's is all but impossible.

First and foremost how old are the plugs and coils. If they are over 20k replace them. You can do this yourself and save some money. If you go OEM parts make sure they are the C model. Going O'Riley's/Advanced/Auto Zone will be cheaper and you can get a lifetime warranty on them depending on where you buy them. Plugs are the same way. Only one company makes them so NGK is the same whether OEM or not.

[Fendamonky]

Originally Posted by JL1RX7

Kevin Landers (Rotary Resurection) in Morristown Tennessee. He is the home of budget rebuilds. Stand up dude who will work with you on budget.

Shit, thanks Jack. I was mixing him and djseven up

[Nicole]

First and foremost how old are the plugs and coils. [/QUOTE]

Not sure if you saw the comment, but I did have the plugs replaced. They were replaced by the initial garage I took it too, but I had the Mazda dealer verify the plugs were quality. I'm going to assume they were telling me the truth because they would have had an opportunity to sell me new Mazda plugs if they told me they sucked lol.

I don't know anything about coils. Except for, like, on a stove. I guess that is something I'll need a mechanic to look at.