Larger bumps in the road are resulting in the position of the wheel turning off of center, but the car ('74 1.8) continues to track straight at the new wheel position (left to right, not up and down, no wiggle, no vibration, no play). Is this something that could be fixed by the bushing/sleeve repair I have read several threads about, or is this a much bigger issue? Please excuse the naivety of the question if the answer is obvious.

If it were me, I wouldn't drive the car until/unless this is addressed and you know FOR SURE what's going on.

I had a '66 912 that did something that seemed similar. I climbed all over the steering coupler connections and found one of the bolts had loosened. This allowed the steering shaft to jump the splines one way or the other until the relief for the bolt twisted far enough that it contacted the bolt! Not good.

Hard to explain maybe but YOU DO NOT WANT TO MESS WITH LESS THAN 100% STEERING.

Am I overreacting? I don't think so.

That doesn't sound safe at all.

Sounds like your caster settings may not be correct.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing and glad to hear I'm not being paranoid. Will get this figured out before it goes anywhere.

I hope it's that simple. Will reply to this post once it's figured out for other forum members to reference down the road.

Stop driving the car now.

Elevate the front of car, turn steering wheel all the way in one direction. Have someone in car turn the steering wheel farther and look for and shafts to slip. Also look at the under dash steering shaft / u joint.

Have a look at the steering rack mounts, front suspension mount and upper strut mounts. I've had torsion bar suspended Ranger / Blazers wear out lower control arm bushings that, under hard braking, would leave the steering cocked because camber would change.

So,
Ball joints and tie rods are obvious,
Not so obvious
Upper strut mount bearing
Steering rack bushings
Steering rack pinion gear flat spot
Steering rod unjoints inside car under dash
Steering wheel bushing

If the struts are bad, they may stay at the last impression thus staying being a bit bump-steered until jolted again?

Thanks for all the feedback! I haven’t driven it since and don’t intend to. I looked around and didn’t see anything obvious, but I also have only had this car for a few weeks and it’s my first 914, so I have nothing to compare any of it to. Unfortunately I don’t have anything to jack the car up with yet so I can only see so much. Been meaning to buy a floor jack for years but this is the first time I’ve ever really needed one. The only vehicles I’ve really spent any time under have been BOF SUVs, so plenty of clearance. I’m going to bring it back to the place that did the PPI (post purchase inspection) via flatbed. It was going back there in a couple weeks for some other stuff anyway, so this will be one less time I need to arrange for a ride.

Consider sending it to Chris foley in Hartford Ct, he is a dedicated 914 shop.
Look up tangerine racing.

There is another shop in PA named aircooled racing (I think) who has been doing 914,s forever.

Take it to a 914 shop, not a generic shop.
You will be way better off in the long run.

Agreed and appreciate the info. I'm taking it to a porsche shop whose owner has owned and worked on many 914s, including race cars. Extremely fair and honest. Pretty confident going there.

Everything I mentioned wears out, gets stiff, and binds.
There are solutions for all of it here, parts are being made by different guys.
I think 914rubber makes the steering rack rebuild kit.
The rubber puck too.

The bushing at the steering wheel shaft is available at most normal vendors, so are turbo tie rods and ball joints.

The steering shaft joints seem to be the hard one to find, but ask here and people will steer you (see how I did that) towards the right vendor.

Welcome to the 914 community!
Ask here, you will get answers pretty fast, and typically in great detail.

Thank you very much for the feedback. My plan had always been to do the majority of the work on a 914 myself, but I can't find the time to do anything lately, and the last thing I want to do is rush a vital repair. The fact that I washed and waxed it before the weekend was a minor miracle. Plus, I want to drive this car as much as possible before the winter to figure out what else it needs so that I can address the things I think I'll be able to do myself over the winter.

I had it flat-bedded this morning and was able to drive it on, follow it, and drive it off myself, so that took some of the stress out of it.

Also, I've been in touch with Mark from 914rubber about options. Planning to order from him if the rack needs to be rebuilt/replaced.

The steering is fine but the right front control arm is broken, which is the source of the problem. The shop is searching for a control arm but I told them I would as well. Does anyone have any suggestions for where I can get one, new or used?

Post a WTB in the classifieds. And I wouldn't be surprised if you get direct replies on this thread from folks who have one.

The best news is that you found the problem before it bit you!

Safe travels,

Chris

Thank you for the suggestion. I just posted a WTB.

Just out of interest how do the control arm get broken ?

I,ve got one but I.m wondering the same.


Pay shipping and it.s your. Post a PET ro make sure we are talking about the same thing. Broken and worn ball joints yes...

Post a pic.

I'm not sure how it happened since I've been driving it lightly since I got it the beginning of the month. It passed inspections from two different people and I was told the break looks fresh...maybe it was barely hanging on from a previous pothole, etc.

Thank you very much for the offer! The shop supposedly has one lined up, but will definitely keep you in mind if it doesn't work out.

You mean the lower A arm when you say "control arm"? I know a guy in Allentown who might have one. He has a 914 and has a 356 restoration shop. I know he's got a lot of parts.

Yes, I assume we are talking about the same thing. The shop has one on the way, but I appreciate the information. If you don't mind, could you please share the name of his shop? If you'd prefer, please PM. Always interested in hearing about places like that which aren't too far away. A 356 is on the list for when that check from publisher's clearinghouse arrives.

After a long wait, I got my 914 back today. The right control arm was replaced, both pairs of bushings were replaced on each arm courtesy of Mark at 914Rubber (thank you!!!), the front was lowered, and an alignment was done. In addition to that, several other maintenance items were addressed that I had planned to have done around now. Some pics of the bushings are below. They are clearly top notch, and the shop was impressed by the quality of them.
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Made them just like stock, not sloppy like the URO ones. these will be available to the rest of you soon through a GB that will be coming up shortly.