Fuel Tank and Master Cylinder Leaks--HELP!!, DIY or Mechanic Job for newbie?? Options

[2pointOH]

Hey all--

Smelling fuel and noticing fluid leaks under the 914 and had a mechanic inspect. Said I need to repair/recondition my fuel tank and my master cylinder is leaking fluid.

Regarding the tank--would it be better to have him repair this (send away and a 3-4 week project--don't know price yet), replce with NOS if available or try to recondition on my own??

Not sure on the Master Cylinder leaks--safe to drive or could my brakes fail at any time??

Also said 3 of my 4 wheels (custome Forgeline alloys) are bent and need fixed/reconditioned and then need to balance/align before repairing brakes--expected costs? Recomendations?

Thanks--John

[jsteele22]

QUOTE (dmenche914 @ Oct 5 2005, 07:01 PM)

Gas tank may or may not be bad, you need to raise the car, remove the two small, and two large bolts, ans drop the coverplate. This will expose the hoses and bottom of the tank.

This may depend on the year. On my 1976 2.0 L, when I remove that plate from beneath the car, all I see is steering and brake stuff. The access to the fuel pump and filter is double top secret. In case your car is like mine, here's what to do. In the front trunk there is a fairly vertical panel behind the spare tire well. Pull the carpet up from the drivers side bottom of this panel to reveal an inoccuous looking black panel held on by screws. Undo the screws and the exposed two bolts (that hold the pump to the panel) and remove. Pull the fuel pump and filter out (I dare you not to think about intestines...) and you'll be able to check out some of the fuel lines (and replace the filter while you're at it). One of my hoses was so brittle that just flexing it caused it to start leaking pretty heavily. DO make sure you're in a safe outdoor place before you start.


Master cylinder is fairly straightforward, but if you haven't done it before, you should know that bleeding the brakes afterwards (a neccesity) can be a real PITA. It's possible with just a small piece of tubing and a helper, but I'd strongly recommend that you buy (or borrow from a 914 club member) a pressure brake bleeder by Motive Products. Just pump it up and bleeding is simple to do, even alone. And on a 914, for some reason, you've got to bleed the brakes several (many ?) times until the braking response gets back to its normal, still kinda spongy feel.