RX8 Won't Start HELP
 

My fiancé and I just bought a 2004 RX8. Unfortunately, it's leaking a lot of oil and won't start. We took the battery back to Mazda for a new one. He's a mechanic but knows little about rotary engines. Any advice? I owned an 86 RX7 and then an 88 RX7 but know little about the engines.

Need more information.

Where is it leaking oil from? If he is a mechanic he should be able to atleast see where its leaking oil from.

Is it getting fuel? Spark?

If you've got fuel, spark and compression... it will fire! So diagnose accordingly. Unfortunately, we don't have a magic crystal ball to tell you exactly what is wrong with the car

Thank you! He said it has compression but unsure of a spark. He's also unsure of where the oil is leaking from.

If he is a mechanic then he should be able to search for the oil leak.It's not a rotary thing.It's a "look and see where the hell the leak is" thing..heh,heh!
A True Rotary thing is "my car won't start" though..and usually..like 8 out of 10 times, it is because it is Flooded and the "deflood procedure" needs to be done.
punch that in under search and you get lots of ways to address this.
IF the car is sound then once you deflood it,it should fire up with little problem.

I do not know the Rx8 13B engine, but assuming it is roughly like the Rx7 Gen 2 13B engine:

The best way to check for spark is to use a spark checker (cheap at any local automotive or hardware store) and check each wire from the leading and trailing coils. If they are not firing, then the plugs could be failing to spark if they are old/worn, or fouled with something (carbon). I'd check these by removing them and looking at them physically, but my understanding is that changing plugs on Rx7 Gen 3 or Rx8 engines is difficult because they are located in an awkward place. Or, just replace them if you'd like (although if your old plugs turn out to be fine this is a waste of money. On my engine, they are on the drivers side of the engine.

As for oil leakage, on Rx7s I have seen it from the base of my oil filler neck, and apparently it can often come from the Oil Metering Pump too, (although yours is electric and I don't know if the electric ones usually leak). My oil filler neck is on the driver's side of the engine, and my OMP is on the passenger's side, near the drive belts underneath the upper rad hose. Is it possible you overfilled the oil at some point? Overfilling the Rx8 oil can cause it to spew into the Mass Airflow Sensor (or whatever the Rx8 equivalent to an MAF is, check this thread:

Over Filling Engine Oil - RX8Club.com

)

Also, seconded on the flooding. But if it is leaking "lots of oil", as you said, it seems you may have another issue. And if your mechanic can't check spark plugs, that should be a red flag because those are not a rotary specific part.

P.S: Not only am I not a mechanic, but there have been numerous changes in engine design from Rx7 to Rx8, so if anything I said is inaccurate, I apologize. Double check before trying any repairs.