I figured maybe my experience can benefit others....my 75 1.8 was dripping oil from somewhere, so much so when I’d go to my local car show, they’d send me to the smoking section...so, I accumulated a few choice manuals, including my trusty John Muir Volkswagens for idiots book. I watched Ian Karr’s you Tube video a 1/2 dozen times, along with a few others found on the web, and also was fortunate enough to pick up a gently used Quick Jack lift. Knowing my first engine drop could be difficult I took my time, downloading the check list from Pelican I cleaned the engine bay, accumulated a bunch of boxes and bought some thick plastic bags for parts, funny...all the suggestions were the same, whether it was from 1971 (John Muir) or off of a you tube video...be prepared is crucial! and I was...I marked everything clearly, As it became clear my prep work was done, I double checked my list of items, and set off to lower the engine...I removed the rear valance, it took five minutes really, and was a good decision. I shot the tranny and cross member mounts with WD40 the night before...and in the morning set out to drop the engine. The two tranny bolts loosened fairly easy, the drivers side front bolts was a breeze...(that should have been a warning!) then went to loosen the passengers side...and it would not budge! Trying to get a wrench up the in the channel was close to impossible however, I used a deep well socket, I wanna say, it was a 14/15mm? Regardless I managed to get it on and then with my ratchet was able to hold it while I used a breaker bar below, and....snapped the nut! Lol...well I thought, at least it’s off! I forgot to mention I bought a Tangerine engine plate and was supporting the engine while doing this...so now, all I had to do was to lower the engine, right? Well lo and behold....the bolt was rusted/fused so badly that as I lowered the floor jack, the one mount held and damn near twisted the front cross mount! Holy crap! In amazement I double checked to ensure that when the bolt snapped , it had snapped clean and it had, all that was in the post was the bolt body...so I soaked it again, and took a small lump hammer, and pounded the snot out of it! Nuthin! Ok, time to heat it up....covered my break lines with a heat shield, grabbed my Mapp gas and heated it, pounded it again, nuthin?!....ok, now I’m pissed....I tried drilling up into it to loosen the death grip! Nuthin! I walked away, sometimes that’s my best tool....time, clear my head, keep my Irish temper from getting the best of me....then life gets in the way! work...(������) , July 4th and now two weeks later, my floor jack is holding the engine! (Good jack) and a decide to use heat again, before I do, I think, ya know maybe after all I’ve done and the time that’s passed, she’ll just drop down? ....lol. Nope. Still hanging on! I even let the pressure sit for a moment and used the lump hammer it whack it! Still nuthin? Soooooo, heated it up till it was cherry red, and bam! It let go, whew! The only thing I forgot to remove was the heat pipe thin cable, going to the lever in between the seats, it actually tilited the motor as I was lowering it! At that point I reached in with dykes and cut it...and TADA! It s out.
That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it! Now, if I can only remember where all these damn parts go!...ok, so what’s my point....(I get that a lot) my point is, I loved just about every minute of this, it’s my nature and hopefully to the other first timers out there or those who would be apprehensive....get the right tools, put aside the time, and enjoy this process....now that I’ve popped my cherry, I’ll do it again a lot quicker. Thanks again to the 914 community I’ve meet a few of you and more have helped me here...probably more than you know. And another crucial element to this story is my supportive and curious wife....she looks at me sometimes and says...”this is fun for you?” Lol.
And now, possibly I’ve helped someone with my trials. Happy wrenching!
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Congrats!

What can be learned from this experience?

Congratulations. It sounds like you were well prepared and ready to tackle the job. Glad it came out with only a minor issue/ Your wife looks like she likes the car - that's half the battle right there.

Amen...

In the future, skip the Water Displacement #40 and go with products like Aerokroil or PBblaster and time.

Hey! Thanks for sharing your story!
I am a few weeks ahead on the same project with my 1.7. Same deal, leaks like a champ and I needed to replace the shelf and battery metal.
The right tools, the right resources (the folks here) and time and patience, it is actually great fun! Glad to be a part of the community of weirdos who argue with early 70s fuel injection and live in the darkened dismal place we call the hell hole

PB is AMAZING! Used it for years and it has (almost) always worked...sometimes the bolts snap, lol!

You're right about the prep work and having a plan, but it's an attitude too. When things seem to get really frustrating, walk the hell away and come back later. And I fully agree, the second time around should be a piece of cake. Or at least a cookie.

Hi, good luck...it’s a great experience and glad I didn’t “farm” it out like I had considered, Hope to see pics soon! All the best.
Terry

Now it’ll be a lot easier the next time

There’s lots of “while you are there” stuff you can do easily and inexpensively while the engine is out. Send injectors to mr injector for restoration. New shift bushings, new vacuum hoses, clean engine, trans and engine compartment and new trans fluid. Check all cables, etc.

Powder coating the tins also goes a long way to freshening things up.