Clutch Tube Repair-Meatball style, Daily driver needs a CT fix w/o welding Options

[wgwhitney2]

Help!
I had thought the clutch cable had gone when the pedal went to the floor board, but nooooo. Upon inspection, the weld on the rear of the clutch tube has let go! This is on my 1973 1.7L with 252,000 miles on her. I have read the two articles in the Lapuwali classic thread, and those levels of repair are just too involved for me at this time.

Anyone have a successful recipe to get the system working smoothly, if not correctly repaired? The car is in what I call a "ready to be restored" state. I have to drive it now as transport, so taking it off the road for an extended time is not an option. Removing gas tanks, dropping engines, blowing out fuel lines...nope.

I think the front and middle welds may be ok. The whole tube now flexes (rather than free floats) when I put the clutch pedal in, rubbing up against the shifter linkage.

What is this "u-bolt" repair method mentioned in the Classics thread? What type of u-bolt, and where and how are they installed? Would rigging up some fender washer+spacer tube+JBweld monstrosity to take the pressure off the rear tube work? I'm thinking transferring the pressure onto the firewall, and totally off the tube body like it is now.

So, hold your nose and suggest an ugly, but effective, fix I can do on my back, on the garage floor, in the cold, with oil and grease everywhere. I promise I will fix it right when I restore my baby to show room glory some of these days.

Bill

[Eric_Shea]

Sorry... I just HATE threads like this. People showing other people how to screw up a really cool car.

What would you do if your water heater exploded. JB weld it until you can fix it properly? Duct tape it back together? Cut holes in it with a cut-off wheel so you can stick a hose clamp on it? No. You'd find the time and the money to fix it right so you could have a hot shower tomorrow.

Without even calling Mark, we've already decided that would be "too much money". How much is your time worth people? How much will it cost to repair the damage caused by bastardizing what is very quickly becoming a classic Porsche icon?

Seriously? There's a professional basically "in your neighborhood" that is intimately familiar with your car and you're not willing to take on a couple hours of labor at $XX per hour to fix this properly?

Sorry... this isn't against the thread starter or anyone in specific herein. I'm just tired of seeing this stupid stuff not only being proposed but "recommended". Then, when you guys buy a tub or a car from someone, you gleefully post all of these pictures, totally "SHOCKED" at what the DAPO did.

Go through the attic, basement, garage. Find something to sell on eBay.

I'm willing to PayPal Mark $20.00 right now to help out. Merry Christmas or whatever it is you celebrate this time of year. Anybody else willing to send a couple bucks to save a 914 from being butchered?

[Spoke]

Sorry... I just HATE threads like this. People showing other people how to screw up a really cool car.

What would you do if your water heater exploded. JB weld it until you can fix it properly? Duct tape it back together? Cut holes in it with a cut-off wheel so you can stick a hose clamp on it? No. You'd find the time and the money to fix it right so you could have a hot shower tomorrow.

Without even calling Mark, we've already decided that would be "too much money". How much is your time worth people? How much will it cost to repair the damage caused by bastardizing what is very quickly becoming a classic Porsche icon?

Seriously? There's a professional basically "in your neighborhood" that is intimately familiar with your car and you're not willing to take on a couple hours of labor at $XX per hour to fix this properly?

Sorry... this isn't against the thread starter or anyone in specific herein. I'm just tired of seeing this stupid stuff not only being proposed but "recommended". Then, when you guys buy a tub or a car from someone, you gleefully post all of these pictures, totally "SHOCKED" at what the DAPO did.

Go through the attic, basement, garage. Find something to sell on eBay.

I'm willing to PayPal Mark $20.00 right now to help out. Merry Christmas or whatever it is you celebrate this time of year. Anybody else willing to send a couple bucks to save a 914 from being butchered?

You mention some interesting points that elicit a lot of feelings on both sides of the argument.

JB Weld for the water heater:
All situations and details need to be considered when doing any quick-fix.

If you had this choice: JB weld or turn the heater off until a new unit could be purchased. Bottom line is keep the unit in service until a permanent fix can be done.

Last year my neighbor experienced a pin hole rupture of a main water line. Husband was on a biz trip. A neighbor came over and used teflon tape to patch the hole. I came over 2 days later and cut out the ruptured pipe and soldered in new pipe. Choice was turn water off for days, call plumber for $$$, or use teflon tape until the husband came home or I fixed it correctly. I charged her nothing. Good or bad move with the teflon tape?

How much is my time worth?
Assuming you mean my off-work time (evenings, weekends); my time is worth $0. If I spend an hour doing the quick fix shown in my previous post using stuff around the house, I still have the same amount of $$ in my wallet; no more, no less. I could have spent that time watching TV or surfing the web. No gain, no loss.

Not willing to pay $$ per hour for correct fix and show stupid stuff:
Hell yeah! I didn't buy a 914 for $3K cause I wanted a perfect car. I did it cause I like the 914 and have 2 kids in college and can't afford a perfect 914 for $10-15K or to pay someone hundreds of dollars for a repair I can do for less. Maybe I can't fix it properly now but will fix it right in the future.

I have 6 cars to maintain and do most of the work myself to reduce overall repair costs. If someone doesn't have the spare cash to fix something correctly right now, then they need options to get through a situation at lower cost or to get the car back on the road.

Keep in mind we're talking about something non-safety related unlike brake components, suspension, or lights. Safety items should always be taken care of properly.

My clutch tube temporary repair cost me about $3 and kept the car on the road for 7 years. Now I own a welder and with the engine out, I was able to fix the other significant rust in the engine compartment. The firewall was rusted and ripped right up to the one fuel line. The fuel line needed to be removed to weld this properly.

Had I taken it to someone then to fix it correctly; first of all, it wasn't road worthy cause of the clutch tube. So I would have had to trailer or drag it to a shop. If I remove the engine first, then definitely trailer. Would have to rent a trailer; several hours for repair; remove/replace engine, fuel line. Even if it was 8 hr at $75/hr: $600. My $3 repair was exactly the ticket for me.

Each situation needs to be analyzed separately. Maybe welding a washer is ok for a clutch tube repair. The tunnel still needs to be opened to fix the front side. A washer would never had done well for my rusted mess.

The main reason why I never showed anyone the angle iron/clamp fix I did on my clutch tube until I removed it was because I knew I'd be roasted by those who say the only way to fix something is to fix it correctly like I would. Not everyone has the spare cash, local 914 shops or local friends, tools, or skills to do the correct fixes.

We should have tolerance to accept and acknowledge all kinds of fixes as long as they are done with safety in mind. When we lose the tolerance, we become elitist and move closer to the 911 gold chain club.