Rear Caliper Assembly Swap & Fresh Rear Brakes

As mentioned in the previous post, sticking passenger rear caliper has to be replaced - as well as at least one set of rotors & pads, I opted to swap both rotors and pads.

StopTech Sport Slotted Rear Rotors

Important Removal Caliper/Assembly Notes:

Sticky brakes & other updates

While running the double layout Philly region AutoX event at the Wellsfraudgo / Wellsfargo center I noticed my car was not freely moving on the grid.

I was able to borrow a jack, stand, and 14mm wrench from a E.S. Miata driver (<3 thank you again) to identify and troubleshoot the issue.

Extending the life of your RENESIS

Here are my top 5 tips to extending the life of your RX-8 engine. This is from over a decade of ownership and several power plants in different conditions, including low compression and re-manufactured. 

5. Upgraded coil packs, fresh spark plugs and wires.

Get The Most From Your Oil Change

While offering assistance to change the oil in my friend's RX-8, we noticed a simple way to drain the oil out of the oil coolers during an oil change. Instead of lowering each side of the car to help drain additional oil, we used a 7/8 in. wrench and remove each oil cooler thermostat.

Oil Cooler Thermostat

Transmission and Differential Fluid Changes

When I changed my transmission and differential fluid around 30,000 miles ago I had the worst time doing. Why?

SSV Maintenance Revisted

About two years ago I cleaned my SSV before I put my oil catch can in. Recently RE-Zelse was having SSV issues so Stinksauce and myself decided to lend a helping hand.

After removing the battery, draining all of the coolant lines, water pump pulley, thermostat housing, and the SSV...we got started.

Using Intake/CARB cleaner we cleaned the port the SSV sits in and it was encrusted with carbon. This motor has less than 15,000mi on it...imagine how your SSV looks at your current mileage.

After spraying half of the can of cleaner into the SSV port, this was the cleanest I could get it with the tools available.

Now that the port was cleaned to the best of our abilities, time to clean the SSV itself:

However, when the SSV was re-installed...it was still sticking. For some reason the SSV would not move fluidly even though it was cleaned. After trial, error, and plenty of curse words...we turned to White Lithium grease.

**Only coat the portion shown above with white lithium grease**

After using white lithium grease on the SSV as shown above.

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DIY Exhaust Repair

Because of rigid my chassis is and how bad the roads can be near me...my exhaust system does not like it too much. I noticed an exhaust leak in my old Exoticspeed Race Pipe, but I did not know it was this bad...

 

In times like these, J B Weld is your best friend!

J B Weld is a cold weld product that can withstand ~500°F which should patch this leak just fine. 

First squeeze out some of the 'Steel' into a small cup or paper towel.

Next squeeze an equal amount of the 'Hardener'.

Mix up the 'Steel' and 'Hardener'

Apply!

I am letting the J B Weld set for about 2 days just to me sure that everything is good and bonded.

Sanz-Motor

Engine is out! Waiting for some exhaust hardware so the newer motor can go in.
The hardware should arrive tomorrow evening, so if all goes well the rx-8 will be back on the road Wednesday morning.

SSV Cleaning

The Secondary Shutter Valve opens at about ~5500 rpms (If I remember correctly) and when it gets gunked up with oil...it will rob you of power.

I followed the Technical Service Bulletin and I found something very very dirty...

I then proceeded to clean my SSV

After you clean your SSV (following the TSB of course),  you will notice that your car will be noticeably smoother as the SSV opens around ~5500 rpms. Might I also recommend an Oil Catch Can to prevent oil from traveling into your intake system...

If this was helpful for you, TipMe!

Update -- SSV Maintenance Revisited Post