The engine compartment hinge on my buddies' 914 broke off a long time ago, and I am finally able to get around to fixing it. Is there an easy solution to fix this? Welding is almost out of the question since the two halves of the hinge barely match up; like there's metal missing. Just hoping you guys could lay all of my options out.

Ryan

You need to post this question in the 914club garage.

moving.....to garage

Need a picture to help us see what you are talking about. Post a pic=get an answer.

Fabrication and welding are basically the options. You could take a grinder and remove the bits of the hinge that are still attached to the firewall, then fit a similar bit off a parts car. However, just fabricating up a bit and welding it on would be the easiest thing. It's not a complex part.

if it came completely off the body you're in luck. you don't have to remove the carcass. you need to take the rear deck off , take the spring off the roller(hinge in the up position- slide a 10(?) mm deepwell socket w/an extention over the end of the spring and lever it down and off to the side with the extension), and remove the hinge on the bad side. pretty simple. the old pivot should leave witness marks so you know where to place the new one. there is a center bolt that retains the hinge arm on the pivot. you will get a new bolt when you buy a replacement pivot. al blose is coming by tomorrow and we'll be doing a few things on his car you might find of interest. stop by if you're interested. i'm sending you a pm. jwest engineering sells the part your buddy needs. look in the "resources, parts, and products".

kevin

Kevin,
I believe you are talking about the deck lid, not the engine lid hinge. It would be great if JWest designed an L bracket replacement that bolts or rivets to the firewall...welding near the engine gets risky and not everyone has the equipment.

QUOTE (Neo914 @ Apr 2 2005, 01:52 AM)

welding near the engine gets risky

Also it's good to protect your back window from welding spatter.

QUOTE

welding near the engine gets risky and not everyone has the equipment

Well "Duhhhhhhh" Felix. This is exactly why he needs to go out and purchase four jackstands. Remove the engine and tranny. Check behind the backpad for rust on the floor. Remove the interior. Pull the peeling sail panels off. Remove the bumpers and check for rust there. Call Jake and get on the list. Pull the wheels. Pull the suspension. Send the suspension off for powdercoating. Get new bushings. New shocks are now in order. that powdercoated suspension looks so good you can't bolt it on that car. Fix all the rust spots. Ohhhhhhhhh... don't forget to weld the engine lid hinge. Bare metal repaint. Call Morph for some nifty interior pieces. Do a five-lug conversion. I know someone who can get you some brakes. Rennshifter (get on the list for that now as well...) Bolt it back together and enjoy your retirement.

But I digress. Welding is just about your only option. Luckly, you're two 10mm bolts away from getting the lid off which is something you can do in the parking lot of a good welding shop. Have someone that knows what they're doing with a MIG (the welder, not the jet) fix'er up. You should be back on the road in 30 minutes. Make sure they lay a welding blanket over the engine.

QUOTE (Eric_Shea @ Apr 2 2005, 07:22 AM)

QUOTE welding near the engine gets risky and not everyone has the equipment Well "Duhhhhhhh" Felix. This is exactly why he needs to go out and purchase four jackstands. Remove the engine and tranny. Check behind the backpad for rust on the floor. Remove the interior. Pull the peeling sail panels off. Remove the bumpers and check for rust there. Call Jake and get on the list. Pull the wheels. Pull the suspension. Send the suspension off for powdercoating. Get new bushings. New shocks are now in order. that powdercoated suspension looks so good you can't bolt it on that car. Fix all the rust spots. Ohhhhhhhhh... don't forget to weld the engine lid hinge. Bare metal repaint. Call Morph for some nifty interior pieces. Do a five-lug conversion. I know someone who can get you some brakes. Rennshifter (get on the list for that now as well...) Bolt it back together and enjoy your retirement. But I digress. Welding is just about your only option. Luckly, you're two 10mm bolts away from getting the lid off which is something you can do in the parking lot of a good welding shop. Have someone that knows what they're doing with a MIG (the welder, not the jet) fix'er up. You should be back on the road in 30 minutes. Make sure they lay a welding blanket over the engine.

when can ya come over?

I just like JWest deck hinge fix/improvement. I also believe this hinge breaks on many cars so why fix a weak design...

The engine lid hinge is weak, as is the trunk lid hinge. James did come up with a nice fix for the trunk lid, but the engine lid hinge is still "unfixed". Making up a stronger part wouldn't be all that difficult. Part of the problem is the weight of the engine cover with the rain tray. A lighter cover with no rain tray (or a better design) would actually be a better solution than reinforcing the hinge. A simple Al frame with fiberglass or CF bits and Al mesh instead of steel.

Hmmm....

My engine lid hinge is also broken (passenger side, it always seems to be the passenger side), so maybe I need to start fabricating...

QUOTE (Eric_Shea @ Apr 2 2005, 09:22 AM)

QUOTE welding near the engine gets risky and not everyone has the equipment Well "Duhhhhhhh" Felix. This is exactly why he needs to go out and purchase four jackstands. Remove the engine and tranny. Check behind the backpad for rust on the floor. Remove the interior. Pull the peeling sail panels off. Remove the bumpers and check for rust there. Call Jake and get on the list. Pull the wheels. Pull the suspension. Send the suspension off for powdercoating. Get new bushings. New shocks are now in order. that powdercoated suspension looks so good you can't bolt it on that car. Fix all the rust spots. Ohhhhhhhhh... don't forget to weld the engine lid hinge. Bare metal repaint. Call Morph for some nifty interior pieces. Do a five-lug conversion. I know someone who can get you some brakes. Rennshifter (get on the list for that now as well...) Bolt it back together and enjoy your retirement. But I digress. Welding is just about your only option. Luckly, you're two 10mm bolts away from getting the lid off which is something you can do in the parking lot of a good welding shop. Have someone that knows what they're doing with a MIG (the welder, not the jet) fix'er up. You should be back on the road in 30 minutes. Make sure they lay a welding blanket over the engine.

dirk wright.....?

QUOTE

dirk wright.....?

Naa, I only had a paragraph there

Felix... I tought he was talking bout the engine lid

i'm a fool. tell your friend not to just pull the ENGINE COVER knob and let the cover shoot up. he should put his right hand on top to ease it up. not doing so will break the other side. i hope at least that helps.

Mine is also broken on the passenger side.
I am quite surprised that nobody did come out with a kit to repair those.

can one see the broken areas when the engine lid is off?

QUOTE (bd1308 @ May 2 2005, 06:50 PM)

can one see the broken areas when the engine lid is off?

yes........

even with the lid on you can tell if it's starting to break or tear the sheetmetal by lifting up the lid and looking.......

I've had the passenger side rear deck hinge failure and the engine cover hinge failure both sides. Ya gotta take off the back pad to weld up the engine hinges, but it wasn't as scary as I thought- didn't get real hot around the rear window or create a volcano of sparks. The engine cover does have to be removed (one 10mm i think bolt on each side removed from the bottom), but once it is off, you can see if the hinges are breaking away. Also, the engine is really accessable when the engine cover is off, so you ...

QUOTE

Also, the engine is really accessable when the engine cover is off

making it a quick release/removeable lid would be nice at times huh???

It SO accessible, in fact, that I'm considering making up a new cover once I get my 914 back in the garage. Lighter weight, and it will only lift off entirely, not hinge. I'll probably just use hood pins or the like.

Let me tempt you with AA's part for this

AA's link

I've seen the shock kits for the hoods (camp914 if I remember right), would it not be possible to put a shock on the engine lid to slow it when it comes up? Isn't that what the cracking and breaking is all about, from people pulling on the cable and letting the thing fly up?