to see if there is a vacuum leak spray carb cleaner on the vac lines. if the idle changes while doing this thats where the problem is

 

[quote name='cdaleracer669' date='Apr 30 2005, 08:11 AM']it has new plugs and wires since it started doing this. doesnt smoke or eat coolant so thats good. whats the best way to check for vacuum leaks?

the dealer said something was wrong with a coil and they replaced it, thats why it was running off one rotor. how could i check to make sure both the coils are right?


[/quote]





To check the coils:



LEADING-



1) Remove the negative battery terminal.



2) Remove the plug wires. (Make sure you mark them or something so you know which is which when you put them back)



3) On the leading coil there is a single plastic cover underneath the plug connection ports. Remove it It has 2 standard clips one on each side.



4) Take an Ohm meter and measure the resistance between the primary terminals. (where the 2 wires are attached) It should read between 0.2 - 1.0 Ohm



If the reading is not in that range replace the coil



TRAILING-



The trailing coil is actually 2 coils so do the same as for the leading but there will be 2 covers to remove. 1 for each plug wire or each coil so you will have to do it twice. Everything else is the same.



Hope this helps you out.

 

this will probably sound idiotic, but which plugs are leading and which are trailing. i have no owners manual, or shop manual to know this lol. (plan to get one SOON)

 

trailing is top

 

Leading Coil is toward the front of the car. Trailing coils are near the firewall.

 

You can download the FSM here.



Trailing=Top

Leading=Lower



Thats how I remember.

 

the car is running better and better, slowly. still not right though. what else could i check? havent checked for vacuum leaks yet or the coils lol

 

[quote name='porsche4786' date='Apr 29 2005, 08:26 PM']Yeah, the dealer doesn't even know what they are doing with the rx-8's...


[/quote]



ROFL r u serious?? i thought mazda made some effort to get like more of their ppl to know what they were doing and all...btw anyone here know if same sorta thing with canadian dealerships??

 

they actually said that they "were going to call the hotline back to figure out whys its runing bad" they have no clue whats going on with them at all

 

[quote name='rotary_pwr' date='May 8 2005, 05:35 PM']ROFL r u serious?? i thought mazda made some effort to get like more of their ppl to know what they were doing and all...btw anyone here know if same sorta thing with canadian dealerships??


[/quote]



I was at the mazda dealer in my area and had a question about rotaries, then about the rx-8 and they only have like 1 rotary guy and he wasn't there.