MAZDA RX8 WATER IN OIL!!!! HELP
Discussion
Hi i woke up today and decided to do the usuall check on the rx8 when i got to the oil i noticed it was white and bubbly!! not a happy chappy the car is mainly used by my girlfriend to drive to work and back everyday which is a 10mile trip there and back so enough to get warm!! thing is i have lost no water what so ever, the oil pressure gauge has not budged a mm the oil light comes on for approx 1 min on anitional start up the goes away also when driving the engine coolent light comes on for a split second then goes out!!! it is only the dip stick that has the white bubbly annoying agravating stuff on it the filler cap is clean which make me think is it just condensastion???? if anyone can help me on this it would be much apprichated as i have no clue
You're in the wrong section chap - try Jap Chat! This is the MX-5 one, we don't know anything about your funny rotary engines! 
It does sound like condensation to me but I am not an expert - no loss of water or oil, lots of short journeys... Chuck containers of water and oil in the boot, pack your mobile and AA card, and go for a 2 hour thrash whilst watching your guages, then see what's what
It does sound like condensation to me but I am not an expert - no loss of water or oil, lots of short journeys... Chuck containers of water and oil in the boot, pack your mobile and AA card, and go for a 2 hour thrash whilst watching your guages, then see what's what
10 miles isn't enough to clear the water out of the crank case and it has probably been building up for months. Take it for a good long drive (couple of hours) and check the oil level again. You may be surprised how far the level drops as the water is boiled off!
Water/oil emulsion in the oil is quite common in cold weather and usually collects under the rocker covers where it is most visible. Unless you have huge amounts (all emulsion and no oil) or it remains after a good long hot run I wouldn't worry unduly. However, if you have any traces of oil or scum from combustion gases in the water that's the time to start worrying.
Water/oil emulsion in the oil is quite common in cold weather and usually collects under the rocker covers where it is most visible. Unless you have huge amounts (all emulsion and no oil) or it remains after a good long hot run I wouldn't worry unduly. However, if you have any traces of oil or scum from combustion gases in the water that's the time to start worrying.
Is the oil pressure gauge a real gauge? i.e. does it jusp around at idle then jump up to a more or less static high point when revving?
On MX-5s the oil pressure gauge is a dummy gauge that works as an on-off indicator and doesn't really show oil pressure at all.
No help with your question at all, I'm just interested
On MX-5s the oil pressure gauge is a dummy gauge that works as an on-off indicator and doesn't really show oil pressure at all.
No help with your question at all, I'm just interested
NiceCupOfTea said:
I'd hope on an oil critical engine like the RX-8 they'd splashed the extra £2 for a proper guage!
(iirc up to 95 or so MX-5s have a proper guage - my '94 certainly has one).
They stopped fitting real oil pressure gauges as the cars were selling to the average punter rather than enthusiasts and the average punter isn't used to seeing gauges jumping around so dealers were getting too many people complaining that there was something wrong with their cars (iirc up to 95 or so MX-5s have a proper guage - my '94 certainly has one).
NiceCupOfTea said:
- of course the irony is that "on/off" oil pressure guage is worse than useless! When an oil pressure light comes on it's obvious and your attention is drawn to it, but if a guage that never moves suddenly doesn't your chances of noticing it are far less...
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