Kinda New 914 Guy

[bd1308]

I was just wondering what new things I should look at (electrically and engine-ly speaking) when I am wanting to work on my car.

OH and speaking of working on my car, I was wondering how people get to the underside of these cars...I used to have a 1994 Jeep Wrangler lifted 3 inches so needless to say gettin' under my YJ wasn't tough. I have seen ramps and jack stands ( dont really understand them, seem a bit too unsturdy) and I like the idea of ramps...what do you all say?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

What do you mean by "new things you should look at"? Do you mean manuals, documentation, diagrams, and such? Do you mean parts?

Getting under the car is something you will have to do. Usually a lot. Jack stands are fine, they are made for supporting a car. Our cars only weigh just over 2000 lbs total, so any jack stand should be stout enough to support one corner (or one half) of the car pretty well. Just make sure it seems to be a decently-made piece.

Never put anything under a car that is supported only by a jack--unless it's something you can afford to lose. (Hint--a head is not something you can afford to lose!) Jacks can and will sag, sometimes very quickly. A solid support (jack stands qualify) is needed. Cinder blocks are not good enough, either. Ramps are great, though it can be tough to get a 914 onto them without using a bunch of pieces of wood to make them longer. But they are not that useful if you are doing work on the suspension or removing the wheels for some reason. And it seems like I need to pull the rear wheels (in particular) about every other time I'm under the car.

If the stock jack points are solid, you can use an adaptor for your floor jack to lift the car by those. If not, you will need to use one of the places you would put a jack stand under. These include:
- The "donuts" of metal just aft of the front wheel wells on the bottom of the car
- The "donuts" of metal at the front corners of the bottom of the engine bay, on the "floor pan triangles"
- If the "floor pan triangle" is missing, just in front of the part of the longitudinal which starts to curve upwards at the lower front corners of the engine bay
- The front torsion bar mounts
- The rear suspension pivots (especially useful for jack stands that have a pad on top shaped like a curvy brace -> {
- A long piece of 2x4 along the seam on the side of the floor pan of the car
- A long piece of 2x4 at the front of the engine bay, where the firewall goes up
- A long piece of 2x4 immediately beneath where any bulkhead connects to the floor pan

The wood in the above examples is used to at least partly distribute the load across the sheet metal.

It's always a good idea to give the car a wiggle once you have it supported. Having the car fall off the jack stand while you're next to it is a whole lot better than it accidentally happening while you're under it.

If I do take a road-wheel off the car, I will usually lay it down under the car to serve as a backup to my primary means of supporting the car. (Often it's the second or third backup, as I frequently leave the jack in place as well.)

Some people like jacking up on the motor mount bar or the rear of the transmission, but that makes me somewhat nervous... I don't really trust those connections to hold securely with the entire weight of the back of the car on them, I guess.

--DD

[bd1308]

well thanks again, dave. Have a great weekend.

[SteveStromberg]

I use 6 ton jack stand for getting it up and giving EZ access. I if you car is too low for your floor jack drive the car up on to a couple of 2 x 6 Planks this should allow you to slid the floor jack under the car.
Here are some photos to help you out. The rear Suspension is a good spot as is the front to place jackstands when doning minor jobs.

Use the areas that look like a donut for the jack saddle.
I am on my 19th 914 so feel free to email me Iif you have any Questions.

[bd1308]

woah! 19 914s...thats awesome. I am just 18 years old and I am on my 2nd car...a 914! Still have the Jeep though, its at my parent's house

[SteveStromberg]

I had a couple of Jeeps. a 1943 Ford that was painted Navy colors cause everyojne did theirs in army colors, 1955 Willys Station wagon that I put a 1974 CJ 258 Six and Gearbox in. Took that down to the tip a few times.

[914helo]

It's well worth the $16 to get a Haynes manual. It can take you through most procedures. (You'll get plenty of use out of it!)

[bd1308]

I bought the "Bible", also have the Bosch D-Jet book and the Rebuilding the VW Engine book (red), the Restoring and Modyifing your 914 (also red) and a ton of the Pelican Parts tech articles all in a stack in the rear trunk....along with my big Craftsman toolset!!

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

That's a good set of info!

If you haven't worked on cars before, I also suggest John Muir's "idiot book" for aircooled VWs. You do have to keep in mind that a lot of John's procedures are much more appropriate for an under-stressed low-performance car than for a highly-stressed sports car like the 914... But he will cover the basics for you, in a way that everyone can understand. (For instance, that was the only way I found out which exact thing you loosen to be able to set the timing on a 914--look it up in the Muir book!)

--DD

[bd1308]

Got a big problem...I think one of my heads are bad...well both of them are bad. One has a problem keeping spark plugs inside of it (finding myself tightening it alot) and the other has a place in one of the exhaust port screw-hole things that won't allow the heat excanger to be fully screwed in--started to turn on the porsche mechanic. I need a new set of heads--but these cars are not very good for a poor college student

[Scooter311]

You can remove the heads and have the spark plug holes repaired, as well as the exhaust studs. That's not the problem though - the problem is that once you're in there, you'll want to have bigger pistons and cylinders, and then, you may as well put in new bearings. Lookee there, a bigger cam just swaps in while it's this far apart.

Seriously though, if that's all that's wrong, have a reputable shop repair the threads - mine only cost 40 bucks to have the oldies drilled and inserts put in. See the tech article on dropping the motor - you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is. Also, use the 'search' bar with reckless abandon.

Keep us posted on your progress!

Adios

[bd1308]

are you kidding? That's all it costs/thats all you have to do??!!! I thought (dumb me) that I would have to buy a whole new engine (notice the random help need engine posts) I live in Bowling Green, KY (in the middle of nowhere) does anybody know who does head work...I am a mechanical engineering freshman, maybe I could do it myself kidding, but thats all it costs

[Scooter311]

If you do the work yourself, it can be very rewarding - I took it apart myself, and did everything but the machine work myself. I took the engine out, took it apart, and handed someone the bad head. Then a week later I handed him 40 dollars, and he handed the head back. As long as there's nothing else wrong, some stuff isn't really all that bad. PLus the guy who did mine has aircooled experience so it helped. Ask around locally as well, or maybe there's someone near you from the board here who can assist you as well?
Try to get as much info as you can from everyone here, it has certainly helped my rebuild TONS! ALso pick up a book by Tom Wilson about 'rebuilding your aircooled VW engine' - look at thea first before doing anything - I bought mine at local bookstore.

Cheerio

[bd1308]

got that book...love it. I have read all of the books mentioned above front to back at least three times. I would like to know if there are any porsche 914 members that live near me.....

[BURN-BROS]

Where the hell do you live?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

See two posts above yours. Bowling Green KY. bd1308, you can click on the "user cp" button at the top of the page, then click on the "Edit Profile" link on that page. Fill out the "location" field and that will show up with all of your posts.

Or you can just point out "hey, I already said KY!" when people ask where you are....

--DD

[BURN-BROS]

Thats what I get for opening my virtual mouth.

[bd1308]

haha....this is so much more productive than actually working! Thank goodness for lame college-campus office jobs

[kmhemi]

if you find the heads can not be saved email me. I have some parts. Cheap of course.

[bd1308]

well I stopped the oil burning (at idle and deceleration) by using that molasses additive but the head (R side) is making the Porsche car sound like a VW.... So I might need those heads. Or I might just want to buy a new engine