More Issues...Please help!
 

1)Smoke from vents and defrost....thats from oil on heat exchangers....Need to tighten J pipe? How?

2)Passenger door will not open from outside....Plastic cam thingy broken? How hard is it to fix/replace?

3)Speaking of door handles....are these things still being made, and if they are, are these made of better materials?

4)I replaced the starter...but still have intermittent starting problems when hot....wiring issue? do the wires go to the logic board....is there a relay that i could replace?

1. It is prolly leaky valve cover gaskets. Maybe one cover isn't on right.
2. Pretty easy. Gotta take off the inner door panal, screws that hold down door handle, one screw that holds the cam thingy that usually breaks.
3. No new ones being made, but could be some OEM available for $$.
4. Check the ground strap from the tranny to the body.

1) I would start by trying to stop the oil leak that is causing the problem. Once that is solved then the heater/defroster won't pick up any smoke.

2) The door handle repair is easy. I've replace the plastic thingy inside. It took approx 20 minutes. PP has a tech article. http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarticles/914_door_handle/914_door_handle.htm

3) Yes, new handles are available but they are very pricey. I recommend repairing the ones you have, if you can.

4) The problem could be either you ignition switch or the wiring. The next time it fails, get out your volt meter and begin checking. Do you have 12 volts at the starter's large cable? If you have someone turn the ignition switch, do you have 12 volts at starter's small wire going to the solenoid?

For #2 and #4, check the Tech Articles section of this website. Rob already posted the link for the door handle replacement procedure, and there is a starter system troubleshooting article as well.

BTW, on the door handles: Hit the fasteners with your favorite penetrating oil a day beforehand. The stud on the rear of the handle really likes to break off, and it's a pain finding a bolt with a short enough head that you don't tear up your fingers when you open the door... And be careful that you do not cross-thread the Allen screw at the front of the handle. The pot-metal strips pretty easily.

AFAIK, all 914 outer door handles are made out of the same cruddy pot-metal. You can probably get someone to make new ones for you out of your material of choice, but it'll cost you "cubic dollars".

--DD

well i have access to aluminum and a metal shop...i just wonder how creative I am at making something out of aluminum....its tearing at the middle point of the door handle right where thr "fulcrum" meets the support area...

One of the guys over on the 914club (dot-com!) website is/was offering a service to repair door handles that are dying that way. I think he is taking ones with broken flappers, and ones with broken rear studs (or other parts), and making one good one out of two bad ones. Anyway, search around in the "products by members" section for that... I think!

Or just get a new one from us and forgeddaboudit! ;)

--DD

Dave, PP has saved me on SO many occasions...if it weren't by you all I'd be in the papers cuase i ran over myself or something...so anything I need i get from you all to support everything you all are doing. TWO THUMBS WAY UP!!!