This is old news to those who have been around 914's for a while. But, for the newer owners this might be useful:

Decided today was a good day to fix 914 door latches. Two cars had inoperative passenger outside door latches and the drivers door on one of them was getting harder to open. I knew at that rate it wouldn't be long and I would be locked out of the car!

Did the normal research (thread searches, reviewed the procedures in the Porsche workshop manual, etc) and figured I knew what to do. The plan was to replace the plastic cam pieces (I had purchased four new ones a couple of months ago) and clean/degrease the latch assemblies.

The first door I tackled (inoperative outside latch on passenger door) had a broken cam as suspected. The cam was black. Isn't that a replacement unit? The latch mechanism inside the door was very grungy. Experimentation between purple power, simply green , gunk engine degreaser and brake cleaner showed that the best results were obtained by spraying the mechanism with gunk engine degreaser (gel) and letting it sit for 15-20 minutes. Rinse off and follow up with brake cleaner. YMMV. I sprayed the moving pieces with white lihium grease before reassembly. I cannot explain how nicely the door operates now. Just a slight pull on the door handle and the door pops open.

The second door was the "good" drivers door. The cam looks to be original (white plastic) and in perfect shape. The door mechanism was very dirty and operated sluggishly. A good cleaning and the door now pops open with a light pull.

The main purpose of this post is a warning on what was found on the other car. On that car the passenger door was not opening with the outside handle and it took a lot of effort to open the drivers door with the outside handle. On both doors, the cam had deformed from all the pressure exerted trying to activate the sticking latch mechanism. The picture below is the drivers door. The passenger door cam was deformed even further and would not push the latch. If I had waited much longer I would have been "locked" out of the car!

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Click to view attachment

I replaced the cams and after a thorough cleaning of the latch mechanisms (and new grease) the doors operate like new. This is a really simple project and I did four doors in about 3.5 hours. That was taking my time and doing other stuff while waiting for the degreaser to work.

So, if your door latches are sticking, don't put off this project. It's easy and very rewarding!



Click to view attachment

Cmon, truthfully... how long did you spend just staring at the mechanical assembly.....?

I replaced one set and have yet to do the hanger queen in the driveway.
However it has a bungee holding the door from fully closing or I will be "locked out".

;-)

Stu

I like to use diesel fuel. dunk them in and hit them with a toothbrush. It leaves a slight oil on all the internal parts and cheap.

I admit that the latch mechanism is a heckuva a piece of engineering! It was too humid outside to sit around too long

It really is a fast process and didn't require any special skills (if it had I would be screwed)

Good Info!

Gunk is the only thing I that I could find to cut the gunk.

Thanks for posting, Bill ... I need to perform this procedure on two cars as well

Where are the cams available new?

AA has replacement nylon cams.

Bronze cams were made at some point and I would like to have tried those. I couldn't find those.

Are they available through 914rubber.com too?

Don't know if this is it because there is no picture.

http://shop.914rubber.com/door-cam-actuator-914DCA.htm

Good info, I need to tackle this once my car is back in my garage. I'm sure all my old cars could use a latch/lock cleaning!

Yes,
I'll add the picture.
-Mark

I should do this on mine too. Used to have a lot of problems with the cams when I lived in the snow country; the cams seem to be less of a problem in warmer weather.

Mark,
The one I posted a picture of did not have a lot of strength in the "two legs". From a compression perspective (I guess compression is the right term) the "legs" will need to be pretty stiff or they will deform like the one I have shown in the picture. How stiff are the "legs" on the ones you sell?

Bronze may be overkill; however, at least you won't have many worries about the "legs" deforming under pressure. You may break the tabs off the door handle but your cam won't break!

Mark, I'm pretty sure I'm going to need at least TWO of them. I'll add them to my existing order list and get the payment off to you ASAP.

While you are at it.......



Might as well!

For me the formula is 50/50 Simple Green & HOT water.
Anything that I have to do outside or with gloves is a PITA

Stu

Wish I had a parts washer, what type of container do guys w/o parts washers use?

just a car wash bucket

Typically, an oil drain pan. For carbs, I bought some rectangular stainless steel serving containers from a chef supply store (the kind you see being used in cafeterias). Bought the lids too, to keep the solvents from evaporating.

Click to view attachment

Plastic is what the factory used, and will work ok as long as you don't deform it trying to put it on. that's what the notches are in the plastic.
-Mark

I worked on mine not long after buying the car, one of my first projects, and i found that the white plastic was broken but so was the tab that the bolt attaches to to hold it in place so i still need a new outer handle. I found the black nylon replacements to be very flimsy and deform rather easily.
A note to anyone doing this, if you don't clean the mechanism and lubricate it well, it will take too much force to open the latch and it will cause it to deform or bend .
ask me how i know! also the P.O. used too long of a screw on the inside when putting it in, and it went into the lock cylinder and ruined it, so this was why my key would not work! I found the proper screw down inside the door, so P.O. must have dropped it and just grabbed one that fit(but was too long)

so i still dont have 2 doors that work properly!, maybe this will inspire me do get it done! I should have done it when i took the old door panels out and replaced them!
now i get to take it all apart again!

thanks for the inspiration, bill!

That's a a great idea!! Diesel fuel would be great for cleaning distributor weights and springs

The cams are made of plastic to be the part that breaks first. Bronze ones will apply more force to all the other parts of the door handle parts possible leading to the tab with the stud breaking.
Bruce

What is the prefered grease on these door latch parts? White lithium?

I used that because it's what I have. I used an aerosol can with the straw to get the grease in all the tight places. Older threads mentioned using graphite and someone even used bearing grease then heated up the latch so the grease would flow to all the nooks and crannies.

thats a good idea - this thread reminded me that about 3-4 years ago i bought cleaned and reconditioned mechanisms from Chris B (SUNAB914)! but i will probably wait until i strip the doors down for paint to do all of that-

Hello there,
Are there any tips or tricks to getting the new cam on the door handle?

I have found the motorcycle chain lube works pretty well in places where you can't apply grease, with a flux brush.
Chain lube goes on wet, to get in between, but solidifies when it dries.

Greg W.

Note we made the cam with a cut out so that when the flap is lifted up you can slide it into place. Once assembled it will not come off.

Others have noted the nylon is soft and easily bendable. The part is intended to bend prior to placing stress on the flap. It is intended to operate with little friction, so if there is crud clean it and lubricate it. I prefer a dab of lithium grease. The release inside the door mechanism should not take much pressure to disengage. You may want to clean can lubricate it too. A little cleaning goes a long way here.

Just did my passenger door, the cam had been broke for a couple years. Now it works so good I'll have to do the DS door.
The hardest part was cleaning the latch assembly, the old grease mixed with dirt made it like cement.

Yes,
It is why these bend. Hopefully before the metal snaps

Ill never forget the day my girlfriend broke the the flap off my 914-6..I was 18...
40yrs ago.....crushed...

Both door locks on my car were so hard to turn that I was afraid the key would snap.
I just completely cleaned and lubed the handles and the latch mechanism and now they lock and unlock almost effortlessly.

It's really important to do that on all the latches, locks and cable pulls on our cars. The extra effort you need when they are gummed up is what bends and breaks the smaller parts.

What Mark said. Don't procrastinate.
I know taking the door panel off and taking out the latch
Is a PIA. But the personal satisfaction you get when you
can open the door with your pinky is priceless.

Looks like I've got an appointment with the frunk and the engine lid.
The frunk takes a TON of effort to get the cable latch to pop.
The engine lid isn't bad but as long as I am working on latches, I guess I'll get them all.

It's worth the time to pull the front latch release and cable from under the dash. Once it's all lubed up, it pops with just a light pull.You don't have to pull the cable on the engine lid, gravity will take care of distributing the lube.

years ago, aware of the problem with the broken door latch base, we had 2000 of gthem made heavily chromed and reinforced in the exact place where they break. Sold hundreds as the complete door latch was so expensive. THEN several came out with a cheap repro, killing the sales. HOWEVER, we still have many of the new repro bases for only 25 dollars as well of course the door latch cam, guaranteed for life and only 9.50
The point was well made that the door catching mechanism becomes dirty, sticky, and requires excessive effort to engage, resulting in excessive pressure on the flap and door latch base. And THEN there are the cars that sag closing the door gap!

Searching and found this thread (closest to what I'm looking for). I'm re-keying my door handles to match my ignition. Surprisingly, I still have a wafer kit with springs and wafers 1-5.

Everything's back together and works great. Before I put these back on the doors, I want to replace the small round gasket that goes around the lock cylinder.

Poked around 914Rubber and AA, can't find it.

Anybody have a part number or source?

Go to an ACE Hardware store and peruse their O-Ring selection

I'm pretty sure I got some from 914rubber but you might have to call. Not everything is on their site.

Here's a picture of them:

https://914rubber.com/aluminum-door-lock-cylinder-bushing-1

Thanks Brian, yes that is it. Yes the original was an inexpensive piece of nylon. The only problem is that over time it will get gummy and collect dirt. That’s why we machined these out of aluminum.

It’s what sets the height of the lock in the assembly.

Perfect, thanks!

After clicking the link, found this:

https://914rubber.com/door-handle-repair-kit

I have the gaskets, but this comes with the bushings and push thingies = sweet!

the very first aftermarket 914 part we ever made was the door latch cam. We also made the door latch base and the door latch flap, both reinforced where they always broke.

Yup, just ordered one of those from AA as well.

Not sure what I was thinking ... then it hit me - the rubber O-rings were on my old BMW's door locks

Yup, 914 locks are very specific.

Kinda excited about this re-key project. I have an MK1 switch column and was able to get the MK1 key to work in both door locks and rear trunk lock perfectly. Now I have the updated look and functions of 80's VW's with int-wippers and elect washers using the MK1 key.