the joy of a valve adjustment

[simonr]

My local shop will not work on my 914 so I have to do most things myself. I have been working on 911's for a long time and the 914 is new to me. Is there a special type of tool that is best for resnapping the bales back into place on the valve covers ? I hope to never have to go through that again. I'm no spring chicken and I think there has to be a better way than a screwdriver and skinned knuckles .

[John Rogers]

I used to use a small (12 inch) curved end pry bar that was flattened on both ends sort of like a crow bar. I would hook the 90 degree end behind the wire bale and then just pop it into place.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Or a shop rag looped through the bale; you can give a yank to the ends of it and the bale will pop right off.

--DD

[3D914]

Ditto on the shop rag option. I even remove the bale wire while working to keep it out of the way. In fact I would go as far as to remove the exhaust to make it easier, but then I didn't have the heat exchangers with all the venting.

Those flat crow bars roofers use are ideal for lifting the wire also.