General maintanance/Servicing- Is it a specialist job??

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RX8Red72
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General maintanance/Servicing- Is it a specialist job??

Post by RX8Red72 »

Evening folks.

I have used the same guy to carry out all my repairs and servicing since the 1980's. He is an ex-colleague and friend and has taken all previous servicing & repairs in his stride. The only times he couldn't help is if something needed programming to the vehicle.

He is aware that i am hoping to pick up an RX8 end of this week and following a hopefully successful compression test I had planned to take to him to have a full service including coil packs etc. My question is ... Is this straightforward mechanical work that is bread and butter for a competent mechanic or should it be necessary to take to a specialist??

secondly - Is it easy for someone non-mechanical (ie me) to see what coil packs I have fitted ... If so is there a step by step guide for me to follow??

Lastly, Are there occasions when things will need programming to the vehicle via main dealer software/technology ... and if there does the technology/software have a name??
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by Dazza44 »

Hi any confident mechanic should be able to service the car no problem,a service,is a service not really any difference with an 8
Not sure what you mean by what coils you have fitted?
If youve got them.or purchasing them you will know what your getting,but dont get cheapo ebay coils they will fail and kill ur engine,u need genuine mazda coils or upgraded.
Theres no need for updates from mazda certainly not that ive been aware of .

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RX8Red72 (Sun Sep 16, 2018 9:10 pm)
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by RX8Red72 »

Dazza44 wrote:
Sun Sep 16, 2018 9:03 pm
Hi any confident mechanic should be able to service the car no problem,a service,is a service not really any difference with an 8
Not sure what you mean by what coils you have fitted?
If youve got them.or purchasing them you will know what your getting,but dont get cheapo ebay coils they will fail and kill ur engine,u need genuine mazda coils or upgraded.
Theres no need for updates from mazda certainly not that ive been aware of .

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thankyou for your response .... I meant is there an easy way of checking what coils i have currently fitted. The car has full service history stamped but no record of anything else so i dont know if they have already been done
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by Dazza44 »

The coils unfortunately are not included in the mazda service,and genuine mazda coils are only good for about 25k or so,what mileage is the car on?
The best option would probably be to whip a coil of and upload a couple of pics.

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RX8Red72 (Sun Sep 16, 2018 9:16 pm)
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by RX8Red72 »

Dazza44 wrote:
Sun Sep 16, 2018 9:15 pm
The coils unfortunately are not included in the mazda service,and genuine mazda coils are only good for about 25k or so,what mileage is the car on?
The best option would probably be to whip a coil of and upload a couple of pics.

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2004 car on 42000 miles .... Service stamped up to 35000 .... My gut feeling is they will need changing
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by goodeggbob »

hi there ,where in the world are you? you may find you are close to one of the recommended specialists. as dazza said,any good mechanic should be able to help you, and, because you have developed a trust with yours over a number of years, one would hope he would be honest with you about his knowledge concerning rotaries. just bare in mind,there is a huge difference between an old school mechanic and a so called modern technician/fitter,computer says no characters. :thumleft:
Rob :thumright:
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by RX8Red72 »

Im near Canterbury in Kent. Nearest specialists are Warren Court Rotaries and slightly further is LC Rotaries
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by goodeggbob »

just as a matter of interest,who is doing the comp test? well worth reading on here about how it should be carried out.
Rob :thumright:
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by RX8Red72 »

goodeggbob wrote:
Sun Sep 16, 2018 9:49 pm
just as a matter of interest,who is doing the comp test? well worth reading on here about how it should be carried out.
I had planned to take Warren Court specialist as they are nearest ..... Unless anyone knows of a better option?
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by goodeggbob »

good shout,well known on here. you will have a proper print out and proper advice there.
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RX8Red72 (Sun Sep 16, 2018 10:15 pm)
Rob :thumright:
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by RX8Red72 »

Ive just paid to become a full member on here. Can anyone tell me when I should get access to the restricted part of the forum?
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by PeteH »

It happens as soon as the man with the magic button spots your application. It shouldn't take long. :thumleft:

Welcome to the Club. =D>
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RX8Red72 (Sun Sep 16, 2018 10:51 pm)
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by RX8Red72 »

Thank you :)
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by chriskirkham »

Excellent, another RX in SE Kent.

There is a club meet every month near Dartford.
RX8Red72 wrote:Im near Canterbury in Kent. Nearest specialists are Warren Court Rotaries and slightly further is LC Rotaries
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RX8Red72 (Mon Sep 17, 2018 7:10 am)
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by New Duke »

I'm gonna disagree with some of the advice so far (sorry Dazza mate):
RX8Red72 wrote:
Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:43 pm
My question is ... Is this straightforward mechanical work that is bread and butter for a competent mechanic or should it be necessary to take to a specialist??
Yes for general servicing... but. It will take your mechanic longer as they won't know the tricks and potholes to avoid that the specialists have honed and learned the hard way, as they generally are focussed on the RX8 and 7. So ideally your mechanic should be happy for a learning journey and you not mind the trade off that comes with that.
RX8Red72 wrote:
Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:43 pm
secondly - Is it easy for someone non-mechanical (ie me) to see what coil packs I have fitted ... If so is there a step by step guide for me to follow??
You can take a photo and upload it here... but. Lots of coils are faked to look genuine and some eBay knock offs even have the red covers that the fancy specialists install. Plus even if you do have decent coils, how do you know how many miles they've done? Unless you have an invoice and mileage record of installation from the previous owner, then you're likely to be advised here to replace your coils, leads and spark plugs when you receive the car. Just as a matter of course.
RX8Red72 wrote:
Sun Sep 16, 2018 8:43 pm
Lastly, Are there occasions when things will need programming to the vehicle via main dealer software/technology ... and if there does the technology/software have a name??
No need to reprogram (flash) with normal usage. But if you want to change parts on the car? Yes. That includes getting a decat and clearing the error code, fitting some aftermarket coils that benefit from changing the dwell time, to fitting an air intake (and wanting it to work well) or having other engine tuning done. All require software fiddling.
You can buy the MazdaEdit software from Epifan if you Google it. But it's more complex than dealer softwares you might have seen, like the Jaguar workshop software which a drunken zombie could use. If you need any software tweaks on your 8 get a specialist to do it.
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RX8Red72 (Mon Sep 17, 2018 7:10 am)
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Re: General maintanance/Serviceing - Is it a specialist job??

Post by RX8Red72 »

thanks to everyone for taking time to respond