On the way to our first car show since the pandemic our '75 914 crapped out in the middle of an intersection. First time on a flat bed, at least the driver was a great guy.

It seems as though a "shear pin" has broken?? Engine starts great, clutch appears to be working fine, I can feel it going into gear, but what I release the clutch a nasty grinding sound is uttered. I got her home and on the lift and a similar sound can be heard when spinning the passengers side rear wheel, drivers side wheel spins free silently.

Looks as though I will be pulling the engine/trans this weekend to explore.

Any input will be appreciated

My money is on the clutch assembly. Since you are pulling it's easily done at that time. It should be pretty obvious when you pull it.

I don't think he needs to go that deep. Pull the 1/2 shaft on that side. Sounds like a CV joint failure. Had something similar happen a few years ago and Mark Henry rescued me. In my case there was no noises, just no drive. Stub axle came undone from the CV joint. Noises says CV joint.

CV joints was my first thought, but on observation all looks good from underneath. Wheels spin, axels spin.

Nailed it, I got underneath earlier and sure enough the inner CV had failed. After removing and dis assembling I found the cage was cracked in three places.

Yay! Love success stories!!!!

Thanks, now I just need to determine what of the other items I should repair while I am in there. Oil leaks, shifter bushings, .... when does it stop?

And I would do all the CV's, replace or clean, inspect and repack. Thats great.

Good call, I have cleaned and repacked a few, I found the balls need just need a bit of oil when assembling. I am curious as to how a cage got cracked? Probably 50 years of wear and tear and minimal maintenance.

could have been due to a previous shock. like a sideways shock. happens sometimes to fwd cars or you hear about it with the off roader guys completely blowing up cv joints. creates a stress fracture that progresses. whatever initially caused it was probably back in time. then you dropped the clutch when you did and the fracture reached critical failure point.

Well, I would suggest inspecting the other three joints while you are at it.

Funny, I had just come off the freeway cruising at 80 about 20 minutes prior. Pulling away slowly from a stop sign - POP. The cracks had probably been there for a while.

The car came to me about a month ago, reasonably rust free, original Cali car with most of the original paint worn off, down to the primer. 1.8 with a carb conversion, runs good, looks a 50 years old 914.

Good! a lot easier fix than a clutch! When mine fell apart I had just come off the 407 (4 lane divided toll road for thos not familiar with Toronto). Pulled up to the stop sign at the end of the ramp, pulled out , got about 20 feet and it stopped driving. Coasted down the hill and road a wrecker to Mark's.

When does it stop? Never. There's always something, usually accompanied by 'while you're in there...'

Must be part of the addiction. I have a pronounced oil leak in the oil cooler area. Thinking of pulling it and pressure testing it. HE's and both axels on the bench, but trying to not get too deep. Winter is coming and our Northeast season will be ending soon

If there's a puddle of oil on top of the filter, chances are there is a prob with the cooler seals or a seal. Less profanity if you pull the engine out for a cooler service. 'While you're in there...'.

As time allows this week I will probably drop the engine and pressure test the cooler. I suppose it's possible it's the seals, and do them in place, but my gut tells me to pull it apart and check things out. Good thing is: this reasonably rust free 1975 1.8 example has been running great, but I am slightly fearful of what I may find as I open things up.

Good thing I am pulling the eng/trans. I found an axle nut with less than 100 ft/lbs, none of the CV bolts had shnorr washers, one of the axel bolts required a vise grip, ...

My guess is the oil leak is the front seal or O ring

Was able to remove the engine hunting down an oil leak. Found the front seal loose in the engine case, came out very easily. Fit on the ID (hub) appears ok, but fit on the OD (engine case) is loose as a goose. I have not measured the seal as removed OD to a new seal OD.