Why is everyone concerned about reliability?

sasquatch · 01-05-2003, 08:36 PM

Reading this forum for a while now and I see constant posts about questionable reliability with the 914. The last was in reguards to towing one behind a motorhome. Something like " I would not trust the 914 that far away from home". I am wondering what is breeding these feelings. I realize that if you have a severly modified motor, that this can be true. But, for our stock, or near stock 914s, reliability should not be an issue. Now granted, I have only owned mine for a couple of months now, but I have been a mechanic and VW/Porsche nut since, hell, since I knew what they were, and have never had issues with any car I properly maintained. I even took my 67 Type 3 squareback from here in Boise, to southern CA, accross through Arizona, New Mexico, northern TX, up through Colorado Wyoming and Montana, then back down to Boise. That was close to 5,000 miles in one trip, and other than two oil changes, I had no mechanical problems whatsoever.

The 914 should even be better than my TIII since it has a better motor. (My TIII had a TI based motor in it).

Just curious.

Bleyseng · Bleyseng's Garage

The problems is that these cars are 25- 30 years old. Most of them haven't been properly maintained so they do break down. Parts are hard to come by if you are in the middle of nowhere. Look for parts at the local small town FLAPS, not available. Other than that they are great cars! Just add oil and gas. 600 miles round trip is the longest I have driven in mine so far. California is next.....
Geoff

Bruce Allert · 01-05-2003, 09:53 PM

I can't trust mine because almost every time I take it out something breaks, misses, shorts, shudders, vibrates or just plain quits working! I get one thing fixed and another problem takes it's place. It could be that way 'cause I'm doing the work on it, ya think? (and it's a hit & miss thing w/me).
I've been told by Doctors that Medicine isn't an exact science. I feel that way about my 914!

But I'm still having fun w/it and learning about cars too

bruce

derek_sf · 01-06-2003, 12:02 AM

I bought my '73 2.0 in seattle sight unseen and drove it non-stop back to SF, CA. I then drove it 70 miles a day 5 days a week in bay area traffic. my commute also included 42 traffic lights one way. I did this for 1.5 years. I drove the car through el nino everyday for its' first SF winter. I never had any problems at all.

Huey1092 · 01-06-2003, 01:26 AM

If properly maintained, the 914 is like the Energizer bunny. I drove mine from Kansas City to Las Vegas, straight through in 22 hours after it set in the garage in KC for 7 months. All it needed was the battery charged, oil & gas. Reliability was never a question, but then again, neither is regular maintenance.

hardflex · 01-06-2003, 05:05 AM

I used to use my 72 as a daily driver, racking up 20k a year easy. It left me stranded on the highway one time due to a coil that quit. There were a couple of close calls otherwise but I was always able to make it home. We took the 76 to Indianapolis (about 20 hrs driving) and it was flawless except for the headlight high beam's going out (faulty relay).

I think the more you drive them, the more you can relax and enjoy them. But always have some tools handy, just in case.

Kenny Powell · 01-06-2003, 07:52 AM

Sasquatch, I've owned 7 914's in the last 10 years and I can tell you that the one's that were not maintained the 914 Poltergeist jumped from part to part item to item But, the one's that were properly maintained were very reliable, however you always find that one that looks like s#%t that just runs and runs and seems like nothing ever goes wrong with it? I can't explain why?

jackmech · 01-06-2003, 08:08 AM

This is what gets me pissed off. When people say they want a new car because it's reliable. But in reality, if you threw $13,000 or more at a 914 (and had some idea what you were doing.

) you'd have a car that would be just as reliable at any new car you would be getting for that price. Fully blueprinted engine, redone wiring harnesses. With that kind of money you could afford to replace everything down to the last relay and bolt. New cars more reliable... HAH!

Curvie Roadlover · 01-06-2003, 08:29 AM

Here is a link to a very old thread that addresses this issue. It was like my second post ever, almost 2 years ago.
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?threadid=1440

sasquatch · 01-06-2003, 08:54 AM

Thanks guys. I failed to recognize that most of the posts to this BBS are centered around failures. You do not see the multitudes of people that are just reading the board with no problems.

I am going to still try and keep my 914 pristine and not drive her as much as I would like. I just rolled over 99xxx miles and I am not looking forward to rolling it over 100k. But then again, it is just a car.

cshogen · 01-06-2003, 08:55 AM

I think these cars are pretty amazing, especially if some think they are reliable by today's standards. Remember the expectation of reliability was much lower back in the '70's, and cars were not expected to last nearly as long.

The whole thing about how the car has been maintained is dead-on. If the PO's took care of the car it's great, if not, it's a PITA, at least for a while. Mine has been great and the only times I've had minor issues were a result of my attempts to "fine tune" the L-Jet.

BCinSC · 01-06-2003, 09:26 AM

Well, I bought a 73 1.7L sight unseen in LA and drove it as-is 3500 miles cross-country to Boston with nary a hiccup (warm stall was biggest issue, but always restarted). After giving her OEM suspension a lift, a nice Momo wheel, and a few other niceties, I then drove home to SC, again no problems. She gave me lots of pleasure all summer and only issue now is cold temps have caused a minor fuel leak, soon to be rectified. I've learned a lot from her (and from very helpful owners on Rennlist) and though frustrated at times, I'm glad to own her.

Bleyseng · Bleyseng's Garage

ChrisH,
I agree that was true for American cars not with Porsche's. They sold cars on their rep of "German Engineering" and race wins. Porsches were perceived as better built and made to last longer than USA cars. That's why they cost more than American cars.
Boy, in the 70's,if a American that made it to 100k without falling apart that was a good car.
My 76 is very reliable but does have some PO problems that I am slowly fixing one by one. This is important: When I fix a problem, I try to fix it right, new parts or the best available.
Geoff

Zeke · 05:19 PM

Sasquatch (Jay), once again, the consensus here seems to be very correct. The 914 initially was not a bad car in many respcets, It has it's weak spots in rust issues (no pun) and electrical. Many unqualified mechanics have had thier turn at one time or another on most of the cars. I don't think too many of the second and third owners took them to a dealer for maintenance. (Let's not get started about what kind of mechanics were at the dealers at the time. We can only speculate.)

Therefore, a lot of hack jobs were performed that didn't last the way they should. (I am not saying here that if a mechanic didn't work at a dealer, he was a hack.) IMO, the car with the original FI relies on a way too complex system of vacuum hoses and sending units to control fuel mixture. It took someone who knew these systems to keep them right. If everyone that hasn't so far changed every hose on the car and checked over every electrical connection and ground, would do so, the car would be more reliable.

Having the engine vulnarable to moisture is another fault. Again, IMHO, if the engine never got wet, even during washing, much less left out parked in the rain, the car would be more reliable.

As far as chassis is concerned, the car is staight foward like its cousin, the aircooled VW. It is simple and strong. Probably the worst car I have owned/worked on in this catagory is an MG TD. Wood floor boards and buldheads, the worst shocks (dampers) that have ever been designed and the frame somewhat underbuilt. So, by comparison to some cars, the 914 is bulletproof (for definiton, see other thread).

AaronM · 01-06-2003, 07:26 PM

Mine's been OK so far, even the failures have not been too severe to be able to limp home from. The only recurring problem is that my car tends to leave a thin trail of motor oil wherever I go. It's less than a quart per 1,000 miles but it still makes the 914 useless as a getaway car: "Yes sargent, we tracked the trail of 10w40 Mobil 1 and we've got him holed up in a motel in Kalamazoo."

Just a couple more years and I'll have a place to really tear the car down though. I'm going to pull every bloody thing apart and get the car to a point where I know exactly what's been done with the car. If I end up with a really good job I might have to send the engine out to someone like Jake Raby. Ah well, that's far into the future right now. Bloody college.

Aaron

Zeke · 01-06-2003, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AaronM
Mine's been OK so far, even the failures have not been too severe to be able to limp home from. The only recurring problem is that my car tends to leave a thin trail of motor oil wherever I go. It's less than a quart per 1,000 miles ...........

Aaron

Most 914 oil leaks are hard to fix with the engine in the car. But, you can check your valve cover gaskets and your push rod tubes and if they are the source, it is easily fixed from under the car.