I called a local automotive place that has a great rep and told them what type of car I had and then they told that a special tool had to be used to do a compression test on rotaries!? The dealer wants to charge me 110$ just for a compression test.. they wanted 50$. Is what they told me true or what? Should I just go to the dealer? I dont have any pep boys near me doh!

 

you guys gotta know this.. help me

 

rotaries need a different compressoin test than piston engines. A piston engine has one combustion chamber per cylinder, while a rotary has 3 per chamber.

Mazdas around my area charge 150 for a comp test. You can get a comp tes for 50 bucks if you know somoene or the like. There is a special compression testor for rotaries that cost around 1000 bucks.

You 'could' use a regular piston comp tester and hold down the valve relief and see the needle bounce too if you wish.

Danny

 

Yep - he's right although it's really hard to get an accurate picture using the regular tester. Mazda made two to my knowledge - the old analogue type and a digital one. I doubt if you'll find anyone with one of the "old" ones unless they are "old school" rotary.
The digital one costs about $1600 these days and I think you can buy them from www.mazdatrix.com.

I would think that $110 is kind of high even for a dealer since it only takes a few minutes to do it if the tech knows what he's doing, so I figure a minimum of one hour shop time would be fair.......negotiate and tell them you know it only takes a few minutes.....you'll get a graph to keep, take home and frame.

 

haha i talked with him about it and got the price to 56$ for a compression test on the engine and coolant system

Josh

 

Nice job . Post your results!