Gear Heads help me out...

[AfRoDeSiAk]

RX8 up 4 sale @ a gr8 price but has a major issue, wanted to see what your mechanic opinions are on the fix as this may be a gr8 flip if the price is right.

Issue:

The car will crank up and run with no noise or rattling of any kind from the motor and you can drive it to Florida and back if desired but once you cut it off, it will not crank again until it has completely cooled down. I don't understand why. It does not over heat and there is plenty of oil pressure but once you crank it up and it runs a few minutes, it will not crank back up till it has cooled completely down. The car will need to be towed away if bought because once it is taken for a test drive it will have to cool back down before driven again and personally I would be scared to be on my way home and accidentally cut it off and have to sit somewhere for a couple of hours for it to cool down but that would be your choice.

[Legacy777]

Hmmm.....have you posted anything on any of the RX8 forums or talked with Mazda?

Have you stuck an OBD2 reader on the ECU? Is there fuel & spark? Kind of sounds like a "permissive" in the ECU may not be letting it start.

[evolutionmovement]

Find a rotary board—like Apple lunatics (though I own an Apple myself, I do not worship the damn thing, and am quite pissed off at yet another case design flaw right now), rotary fans attach their identity so much to the product that any criticism, however valid, is taken as personal insult. Therefore, any issue with the product becomes an obsession for them to identify the cause and/or fix it whenever they are found, lest the criticisms have to be admitted to as valid. Or they blame the operator, making all kinds of often incorrect assumptions about the complaining operator's treatment of their beloved product (even if a good product should be able to withstand the abuse they imagine), so they can continue believing it is infallible under what they consider "normal" conditions (i.e., not being used at all and placed in a climate controlled environment), which they also believe are the types of conditions almost every consumer subjects them to.

So, in short, ask a rotary fan—their very sense of identity being linked to their irrational love for the rotary means that their self esteem is dependent upon them finding a solution for you. That's if this isn't already a known issue, which they catalog in their minds along with the solutions and will be able to spit out for you in no time. Psychologically, these known issues do not affect their self esteem because they are either considered character flaws that are part of the joy of ownership or are excused because "nothing is perfect". Arguments like, "Sure our engines suck gas like big blocks, have less torque than 1.6 Hondas, drink more oil than a 300k mile V8 with blown valve seals and rings, 100k mile life spans are the exception, and RX7s with LS1 swaps weigh the same, get better mileage, and have ass loads more power, but the early Subaru Legacy you think is so great had their cup holders in a stupid place," are perfectly logical in their minds.

[Legacy777]

Tell us how you really feel Steve

[evolutionmovement]

Yeah, I had just gotten back from the Apple store where they told me my 1.5 year old computer is out of warranty for an obvious design flaw that has its genesis in complete incompetence—with attitude because I wasn't happy to have Job's tallywhacker jammed up my backside and to pay for the privilege—even though the bottom was replaced already less than a year ago. So, though I feel that way about the rotary and have had many confrontations with its fans (I don't waste my time anymore), that was really more me venting about Apple than anything. I have since learned that it IS under warranty for the design flaw and I don't even have to deal with humans to have it fixed as they let you order a new bottom for free and DIY. Hoping I can get away with keeping the defective part so I can see what I can do about finding a glue that actually works for when their warranty extension expires at the end of 2 years and I'm SOL when the new one inevitably fails next year.

Would you believe I have actually had a woman ask me what I was thinking about once? Only once. I'm pretty sure she won't do that again.

[Legacy777]

Hahaha.....did this woman know you prior to you telling her what you were thinking.

[evolutionmovement]

Yeah, I've known her for years. She's one I can't completely figure out at least in terms of her thoughts about me. May be mutual or maybe she's not sure about her feelings about me. Whatever. I felt bad after telling her how I saw the people at the club as upright apes and so on (everybody's heard this shit by now) at her own birthday party. That's when I decided that people weren't going to evolve so I could be pissed off and ruin some times for people I do like or learn to deal with it. That's when I started meditating. Turns out, I thought I had more of a negative effect on her night than I actually did, but I'm sticking with the meditation anyway.

Sorry for going way off topic, here, OP!

[Redlined]

wish I possessed the stillness of mind required to meditate. I feel It would do wonders for me. Unfortunately I have a sever case of AADS So my focal limit without accompanying physical action is limited to minutes.

[H4_Deucer]

So to the OP, it kinda sounds like it is the starter solenoid getting heat soaked and not allowing the starter to engage, I had a big problem with this same thing in a 67 Impala that I used to own. Hitting the starter with a hammer usually would allow it to start again, otherwise I would have to let it cool down again to start, all it would do is make a single click as the solenoid tried to engage the starter and that would be it.

[Chefasaurus]

Low compression... i.e., the apex seal springs are on their way out, and the oil seals are probably on their way out too. Motor will need a rebuild soon. I've had 13 RX-7's... and easily twice as many motors... I'm all-too-experienced when it comes to diagnosing problems on rotary motors.