'74 914 Reassembly Questions

[ajmparis]

I somehow managed to persuade someone on Craigslist to trade me their 914 for an old beat up Jeep Wagoneer I had. The kid had only had it for 2 weeks and then decided that it was too small. Score for me! Now to the tricky part...it's not assembled. It's came with a fairly clean (dusty, but not much grease) rebuilt 1.8L motor, transaxle, exhaust, and 4 coffee cans full of bolts, fasteners and miscellaneous gaskets (looks to be exhaust and some old injector gaskets that I wont need as the fuel injection is all put back together).

My main question: Is there any kind of special gasket or any important part/step that is required for mating the transaxle to the engine? It doesn't look like there is but the Haynes manual kept mentioning something about a felt washer that can't be left out, but it's very vague in it's explanation of where this felt washer goes....So, can I just bolt the transaxle to the engine as I'm assuming I can? I've already lined it up and it fits together great, just want to make sure I don't leave out something important that I haven't thought about.

Next question: Hooking up the fuel injection system (L-Jetronic). The Haynes manual instructed to clearly indicate which wire was taken off which injector so they are not mismatched during reassembly or irreparable damage will occur ....well, I never had the luxury of marking them as the engine was in the back of a truck when I got this car...so is there anyway I can tell which connections go to which injectors?

Here are some pics of my basically free 914. it's dirty, but once I get it all cleaned up and put back together it should be a neat little car Looks like it used to be yellow, then got painted the white it is now. I peaked under the seat covers and it has awesome yellow and black plaid seats I just might reupholster them to look like that again as they are really torn up.

[Type 4 Unleashed]

Hi ajmparis and welcom to Pelican

As for a felt washer, the only thing I can think of is the one that goes behind the flywheel bolts locking plate that helps to keep the grease in the pilot bearing from getting on the clutch. I don't know if they are avaiable any more new ? They can be ran with out as long as you don't apply a ton of grease in the pilot bearing.

And a heads up on the exh, the down pipe in your picture is facing the wrong way, unless the exh system has been modified. But I would do a mock up of the modified exh or the heat heat exchangers before the motor goes in the car to get the install figured out, incase some issues arise when you try to install the down pipes in the correct position. The exh studs in the heads can become an issue if care is not taken when installing the down pipes correctly.

[ajmparis]

The exhaust manifold is facing the rear..how is that the wrong way? As far as I can see there are no modified exhaust parts, it all looks pretty original.

[SirAndy]

Originally Posted by ajmparis

The exhaust manifold is facing the rear..how is that the wrong way? As far as I can see there are no modified exhaust parts, it all looks pretty original.

That's because Richard clearly knows what a late model exhaust system looks like while you don't ...

On the later engines ('75/'76), the exhaust goes first forward, then makes a u-turn and runs through the heat exchangers ...

Your pipes are mounted backwards.

[ajmparis]

He does know more than me on this subject and I never said that he didn't....that is WHY I'm asking questions. Asking questions is how you learn new things
Please don't be snooty, I've never worked on a Porsche before

Not only is this the first Porsche I've worked on it's the first air cooled engine...aside from my lawnmower

This is a 74 as stated in the subject line; your post says it's on 75 and 76 model years that the exhaust wraps around to the heat exchangers. Does this still apply?

[SirAndy]

Originally Posted by ajmparis

This is a 74 as stated in the subject line; your post says it's on 75 and 76 model years that the exhaust wraps around to the heat exchangers. Does this still apply?

In that case, either the engine is not original or someone used a late model exhaust on your engine.

In '74, they still had the earlier style exhaust that looks very different from what you have ...


"snooty"???

[Type 4 Unleashed]

It was clear you don't know much about these cars, which doesn't mean you can't learn. And why I gave you the heads up on the exh, so you can learn. And comming to the forum here to ask questions is a good start.

And why I suggested you mock up the rest of the exh to see how it fits and you will clearly see what I was explaining about the down pipe being on back wards.

The thing about the exh studs on each head, 2 of the studs are in line across the exh port while on the other exh port the 2 studs are offset to each other so the pipes I supposed could be switched ? So the down pipe pictured on the 3 4 side should go on the other 2 1 side.

But like I said, mock up your exh, lay out the rest of your exh system next to the motor, and you wil get a better understanding of what I am trying to say.

[MLedesma]

Might want to check the year of your car again. That is a 75/76 exhaust, and your front and rear bumpers are also from the 75/76 model. In your VIN number the 2nd and 3rd digit usually denote the model year (ie. 471******* is a 1971. Unless somebody put late model bumpers (little bit of work) and exhaust on your car, it is probably a 75 or 76.

Matt

[mepstein]

It's a '75 - Bumpers and 1.8 engine

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Haynes has the wiring diagram for the L-jet fuel injection. (So does Pelican; check the "914 wiring diagrams" link on the left side of the main pages.) The wires on the diagram are numbered; if you look at the wires in the FI wiring harness you should be able to find numbers printed on the white wires near the ECU end of them. You can use a voltmeter or continuity tester to find the other end of each wire, and the diagram will tell you which wire number goes to which injector. (I think.)

Jeff Bowlsby knows a whole lot about the fuel injection wiring harnesses on these cars.
Replacement Porsche 914 Wiring Harnesses I think he may have a 1.8 diagram in a more traditional layout, which may be easier to read.

--DD

[silver74]

i purchased a 74 with the fi removed from the engine, once you search on here and 914 world for pictures of engine bays you will see how the harness sits in the engine bay. from there it will be obvious which one goes to which injector by where they leave the harness. it will practically sit right on the injector from years of being "trained" to do so. Good luck! Dave

[Headrage]

Just an fyi, imho, I would junk the '75 - '76 exhaust and look for a '74 and earlier set, stainless if possible. It fits just fine and depending on the size of the motor they came off of, the only thing you'll need is the exhaust hanger and muffler.