What are the jobs you hate to do on your 914? List them here and have other guys, hopefully, respond with their tricks to get it done more easily.


I'll start: I hate changing master cylinders because installing the supply lines in the top is a total bitch.


The only tip I have on this is to disconnect the lines from the bottom of the reservoir and pull them down a little to help out. Then push them back up as you put the MC in place. It still sucks.

Hell hole

solution = .5 lb of C4

...previously repaired with chicken wire and bondo

creative wiring corrections

You're up early.

Valve adjustment on my -6!

Though I haven't had to do it for a long time, the master cyinder replacement is a real pain as well.

Anything that isn't done within the warmth of a garage.

This includes the Renegade axles w/ the adapters. Cleaning all of the CV grease off of the adapters to put locktite on all of the bolts in 30* weather isn't fun.

Pushrod tube seals were so much easier to replace in my Bus since theres actually room on either side of the motor to properly clean everything before removal and reinstallation.

MC replacement is #1.

Any work on a stock car is a PITA for me after having worked on a race car.

air box under the front cowl. Need gas tank out to re: and re: ... control cables, gasket, screen, electrical plug connection, bending over the trunk; better to sit in the trunk....

Fuel line replacement through center

Valve adjustment on 6 cylinder

Fitting and FIXING fiberglass parts
(that certain few automotive places profess a "perfect reproduction")

Dealing with the left vs right rear light area of the body...dims are NOT
mirror image and the protruding left lens fitment caused a great deal bodywork
in a rather small area of the car. (I had to do a Geometric Dimensional
tolerance study of that area to find the stack-up problem).
Problem resulted in finding dimensional problems with the light assembly
hole in the rear panel from the factory, and the factory placement of the left
rear light assembly screw supports. All in the effort to get the left rear
lens to sit flush like the right side.

I'd like to bitch slap the shit out of the person who worked the left-side of the
car at the factory. He totally lacked attention to detail. You can see it on
the spotwelds of the interior body panels. My daughter could do a better job.
While she was helping me, she even said "whoever did that, sucks."

I've stripped one 914 down to the shell, rebuilt 3 trannies, 2 front end rebuilds, brake jobs, wheel bearings, one engine rebuild and one paint job in my garage. And the most challenging, pita, frustrating thing that I've encountered thus far is reattaching the springs on the glove box door. Seriously!
And there was one pesky distributor cap in Ouray.

Wet sanding#1
Master cylinder #2
Rear wheel bearings #3
Replacing windshields#4
Valve adjustment#5
Speedo cable replacement#6

I like wet sanding... Very relaxing..

Master Cylinder
Rear brake line replacement
Dash replacement
Rear caliper adjustment (with worn caliper adjustment screws)

Rear brake lines! I agree with that one. Easy to do if motor out but otherwise.

The worst one I ever did was a throttle cable replacement on a car with a slightly bent center tunnel tube. It took me 3 hours to figure out why the cable wouldn't go through and remedy the issue.

+1 for the fresh air box under the cowl; a really frustrating bit of work.

Andys

So I am about to do this. My airbox and fan do not work. So what are your suggestions? I am pulling my tank anyway, I smell gas a.d think I have a leak on the low pressure side, so while that is out,,,, .
The the fans does not turn on, there is always air passively coming thru the vent so the flaps do not shut? Also the contacts on the sliders don't touch when the lever is slid back and even if I push them down there is no fan blowing.

Please advise.

installing rear trunk torsion bars

Yup air box is a PITA too

Disconnect reservoir clamp and lower entire reservoir. Just a little easier.

Fresh Air Box & air controls

Rubber Rear Brake Lines

Dash Pad

Fixing accel or clutch cable tube in center tunnel

/6 valve adjust

Timing a six without a hole in the firewall and you've marked the flywheel

Rewire the dash lights

Replacing rear brake hard lines with the motor in!

For me it has to be solving recurrent idle jet clogging on my webers.

Jake gave me the tips that solved the problem: don't run gas with ethanol and replace cheap air filters with good ones. My old air filters were shedding bits of rubber and cotton that would clog my idle jets every couple weeks. Arghh!

John

1. Fresh air box. Who the hell designed this mess?

2. Anything electrical. All you ever seem to do is move the problem.

Wiring issues due to old crash repairs and previous owner 'fixes'....heck I hate it so much I've given up for a couple years on the front end wiring on my car.

What's a good air filter? Wish I could find non-ethonal gas....impossible near a big city.

in no particular order

Rubber Rear Brake Lines

CVs (a messy PITA)

heat exhanger installs

Master cylinder tops the list.

I'm going to 2nd/3rd/4th/5th whatever number I am, on the fresh air box/ventilation controls. I hate that thing with the cables, and goofy gasket, and getting it all together with the way goofy clips for the cables. I'll take swapping CV's any day over pulling that fresh air/ventilation controls.

I agree most with MC hoses, electrical issues caused by stupid people

for brake lines use a 11mm crow foot AKA line wrench. I have the line wrench head that attaches to my 3/8 ratchet with a 6" extension. it makes those rear brake hoses easy to deal with.

I am using filstar foam filters from cbperfformance.

I am lucky because there is a small oil company in town that supplies no ethanol fuel to a couple of gas stations and marinas. Search on line and you may find one near you.

John

Anything that I need to do Over and over to get right. Holding parts together while I start a bolt or screw and do it 20 times and still can't get it right. Threading a bolt on the bench with out difficulty and then having it want to crosses thread when on the car

Rear trailing arm bushing change out is also a bitch.

Having to go inside to Pee I need a urinal in the closet

Even though I have not encountered all the possible hard tasks of these cars, I agree with Scotty - the rear trunk torsion bars.

I replaced the plastic wheels with brass and got both sides on the first time. Then I took one side off, don't even remember why, but now can't even come close to getting it back on. It barely holds up with one working but it works.

Even thought of going to the pneumatic shock type and eliminating them altogether.

Next worst is the master cylinder....very hard to get to.

Dave

Great! and I need to replace my master cylinder. Or maybe I'll just buy a car that's already been done.

Shooting brake cleaner down the tube helps.

Anything rusted that resembles welding.

The main castle nut on the rear hubs.

The dash.

The airbox.

Rusted bolts under the rocker panels.

3M butyl seal replacement on the rear window with a roll bar by yourself.

Good beer and a hockey game.

Anything rusted or broken in the center tunnel.

And lastly, the biggest 914 job I hate is buying parts from expensive sources (you all know who they are) when you absolutely need the part right away.

Funny... I always hated trying to put in a battery without removing the engine lid.

I've changed a few master cylinders, and don't recall having much of a problem with the reservoir lines. I think I undid the reservoir clamp to give myself more room, then used a little o-ring assembly grease to get the hoses in the rubber grommets of the new MC.

1) Anything in the pedal or lower dash area in a car with a rollcage
2) Fan belt on a -6 with the engine in the car
3) Airbox and vent controls: I ripped all that stuff out of my car, which was a beotch but now I'll never have to fool with it again

My "tip."
Replacing the trunk hinge wheel made me weep until I realized that lifting the torsion bar is a multi-step process.
Beginning with a fully released bar:
1. I lifted it with a small diameter, deep socket on a straight handle.
2. hooked the bar below its first turn with the hook of a cut-out crescent wrench handle and used the wrench as a lever to moved the bar upward in an arc from back to front.
3. Continue moving the bar toward the trunk hinge until it's necessary to pass it back to the socket driver, then lay the bar underneath the hinge-wheel axel where it rests.
4. Slip the wheel onto the axel and manhandled the bar downward enough to clear the wheel, then allow it to come back up to rest on the "rim" where it belongs.

The point is that the other excellent forum threads (with good pictures) on the subject were not specific about the process in step 3 where the hold on the bar must be exchanged from the modified crescent wrench back to the deep socket (in order to clear the sheet metal bracket that holds part of the engine hatch grill).

Easier to do than to describe.

Good luck.

Anything that involves removing the heat exchangers. I swear every time I turn one of those nuts, on or off, I lose a stud! EVERY TIME! Fuching exhaust studs! grrrrrr..r..r..r.rr....