So...

... the throttle body. For kicks I pulled mine out (from an early 1.7 liter) so I could clean out the TPS. I cleaned the TPS, but I'm underwhelmed with the throttle body itself. The revolving plate jiggles, to my mind, far too much. It's sloppy and wiggly and slappy. Also, I can't find an intake gasket anywhere.

I'm guessing replacements are unavailable. Does anyone overhaul these? Or are there how-to tricks on making them nice again? I have a bucket of throttle bodies for my BMWs, and I'm making comparisons. Maybe I shouldn't.

Last, what about the gasket? It's cone-shaped and impossible to cut from gasket material. What have others used here?

Thanks for reading.

Good questions... I would think that the sloppy shaft is an issue. It would leak air and effect idle. There is someone making the 2 liter intake gasket but I do not recall hearing of anyone making the 1.7. Good luck...

the gasket is a piece of cone shaped rubber. Try the Cap'n, or HPH for a used one.

HPH?

High Performance House in Redwood City CA. http://www.highperformancehouse.com . Rich at HPH has at least ten of everything for a 914... Except for body panels, where I think there are a few he may only have two or three of--in some colors.

George at AA more than likely has used ones too.


Mike Cooley ("Cooltimes" here on the board) re-bushed a few throttle bodies back when. He used a lathe, I think, to bore the throttle shaft holes oversize, and then installed (pressed??) bushings in. I think the wear was almost entirely in the throttle body, not the shaft. Hopefully he will see this thread and chime in about what he did.

IIRC, after he got rid of his lathe, he tried again with a drill press and was not happy with the results. So it likely requires the lathe or a mill to do the job well.

--DD

The gaskets are NLA. Used ones can be made to mostly work by adding some sealant.

George at AA said he was working on producing new ones. But I have no idea when that's supposed to become available.