Did I screw it up?, Calling all carb and engine guys... again Options

[ThePaintedMan]

Hello all,
First of all, I want to preface this by saying I just read the post below from tornik regarding the constant rich condition he mentioned. When I go to pull the carbs apart, I'll definitely check for the hole in the gasket to see if its there.

Anyway, I've got a couple issues and need to bounce this off of your experienced and attentive minds. A couple months ago I got the car running again and have been driving it like crazy! I am commuting an hour and half to and from work and when my water-cooled vehicle started leaking coolant like a sieve, I had no choice. Probably not the best idea, but the 914 got me to and from work each day like a champ (until I had an engine fire, which is a story for another day!)

The good thing about this drive is it gave me a chance to troubleshoot some of the problems I have with the car. First, this an easy one. I adjusted the valves after replacing all the pushrod tube seals and as a first timer, I think I've got some learning to do. At first, I know I had them too loose because I had some real valve noise. I went back to do them a few days ago but think I might still have them wrong - at least I hope. I now have approx 60 PSI compression from all 4 cylinders, but when I first got the car several months ago it was around 120 on each. Is it true if they are too tight that your compression numbers will actually drop? Or is it possible I killed the rings/valves in just a month of driving?

My other issue is that I still cannot get the carbs synched. I finally got the linkage straightened out but it still runs awful. Usually I have problems in 4th and 5th gear transitioning from neutral throttle to about 1/3 way. It hesitates bad and seems like its not running on all 4. Adding throttle helps for a bit but even at full throttle its not quite right. It does idle well though.

I had just about run out of ideas till tonight. I tried the carb spray around all of the gaskets trick and had no results... until I sprayed the throttle shaft bushings. When I sprayed that area the car began to drop RPMS and idle poorly. Is it possible it could be leaking air from the bushings? I seem to remember this is a common problem with some carburetors. These are two Weber 40 IDFs from a 912 that I got on Ebay. I'm sure they have some miles on them, but as far as I can tell there is no play from the throttle shaft bushings/bearings. Still, does this sound like a reasonable cause for the issues I'm having? If so, does anyone know where to purchase replacement bushings/bearings and what part numbers I would need?


As always, thank you tremendously for your help!