Cr@p - tech article on this?

[Scott S]

Per ddustans post on the rear trunk pivot...


I have been detailing the damn car all week for Sundays concour. As I was waxing the bottom of the rear trunk tonight I hear a noise...
yep same thing! I caught it before both sides of the passenger side pivot "gave" so the deck lid did not rise very much. This is a definite weak area as I routinely grease the pivot and other moving parts of the hinge.
VERY bummed.

Is there a tech article on this repair? Do you have to remove the entire trunk lid (or does doing so at least make it easier)?

Thanks!

Scott S in Colo.

[boxstr]

Sorry.. You do need to remove the lid and once that is done I would remove the engine lid also. Then you can see what other items you might want to remove. Battery. Like I have said this is the time to put in the shock kit. Also don't forget to spot weld the
threded part of the hinge in place.You may want to check the both sides carefully it might need both pivots.
Craig C. Laughlin CAMP 914

[HMeeder]

Like Craig says...

You do need to take the trunk lid off.

Spot weld the threaded part of the hinge to the bracket. The repro model that I got seemed like it was being held together with nothing more that a coat of paint. It popped right off when I got the whole assembly back together. Real PITA.

Now's also the time to put the billet aluminum rollers in. Several people have gone to the trunk shock kit, but I'm cheap and used the original springs (see previous posts on this subject for many cautionary tales.)

If you use the original springs and install new rollers the new setup will just about knock you in the chin (another good argument for the shock kit.) However, if you are going for originality, be very careful with the springs. They bite!

[John2kx]

Scott,

There is a excellent tech article on the subject. I'm in the middle of replacement myself.

If your spring has not yet slammed into the rear firewall, you might want to search this site about the use of a piece of 2 x 4 wood to relieve the pressure........may be mentioned in the tech article but also search the 914 bbs here. Not sure if you would have enough room to make the repair with this method but may be worth looking at all your options. This procedure may only allow replacement of a bad roller.

In my case both springs were already in contact with the rear (trunk) firewall and will require the "Mike Cooley tool" to fix. I'm having one made now at a machine shop. This site has a good diagram of how this is fabricated. Basically, it eliminates the use of open ended wrenches/ sockets etc by clamping around the spring and providing a safer method of rotating torsion spring.

I thought about using the shock kit and think this would be a easier and faster fix but my concern with another source of water entering trunk ruled this one out (drilling into drain channel required).

Thanks all for the spot welding tip! I'll have to look at my replacement part to see how this is secured.

[Scott S]

Are there 2 or 1 torsion bar springs that hold the trunk up? (I'm at the office and cant look - sorry...)

If there are two, would the trunk flatten out if I removed the torsion spring that pressured the broken side?

[RustyWa]

Two...

Yes. That's the first thing I did when my pivot broke, removed one. At least it looked better from the outside. Over the 3 months or so that I left it like that, with one torsion bar, the bar that was attached is not as "springy" anymore.

[Scott S]

Well, here's what I did (after I ordered two new pivots from Pelican...)

As I posted above, only one side of the pivot came loose. I used "Porsche tool #1" (big a$$ pry bar) and pried the pivot back down (had kid brother hold it there). I took my dremel and drilled two holes through the pivot and the inner firewall and used two pretty healthy sized sheet metal screws to secure it. It is holding fine for now and being that my engine compartment was black, touch ups were a snap. No one at the show noticed a thing!

FYI - the "Martini" 914 was a hit at the show. I was asked at least 10 times if it was a "factory car" - pretty funny....

-s