Hi,
I am about to purchuse my first 914. I have not gained all the knowledge I need yet, but will do so with time. I now have a super beetle with a 1915cc in it. but its not what i want, i LOVE the 914 in every way. Anyhow, here is my issue..

I went to look at the car I'm buying and these were the some issues I need to ask you "pros" about..

There were NO rust in the usual spots, some surface rust at the back trunk and some small rust parts at the front trunk. Nothing major at all which I was surprised about.

BUT, the battery wasnt charging, although a new alternator was installed. it hasnt been driven for 2 months and im thinking it could be that. Also there were a smal oil leak from the front of the engine (towards the fornt wheel) Also a small ping noise from the engine while it was running. But the car had no sign of it being in an accident.
So he will replace the battery and then i'll drive it home happy???? I will let my mechanic go over it though and see what I really need to do wih it.

But I would like to hear some opinions about it and see if anyone might have an idea of whats going on with the car..

Thanks to those that take their time and tries to help me!!

Cristopher Benitah

Looks like a nice car!!!
My advice: Don't sweat the small stuff. DO look again for rust.
Use a flashlight to inspect the area just forward of the battery tray for RUST.
Use a wooden stick to poke & probe that area. It's not called the "hell hole"
for nuttin'.
Congrats & Good Luck!

QUOTE (cbenitah @ Aug 22 2005, 03:16 PM)

BUT, the battery wasnt charging, although a new alternator was installed. it hasnt been driven for 2 months and im thinking it could be that. Also there were a smal oil leak from the front of the engine (towards the fornt wheel) Also a small ping noise from the engine while it was running. But the car had no sign of it being in an accident. So he will replace the battery and then i'll drive it home happy???? I will let my mechanic go over it though and see what I really need to do wih it. But I would like to hear some opinions about it and see if anyone might have an idea of whats going on with the car.. Thanks to those that take their time and tries to help me!! Cristopher Benitah

Did the alt light go out on the combo guage? If it did, the battery could be dead/shorted and not taking a charge. Get a Volt/Ohm meter and measure across the terminals with the engine running...should be about 14 volts. If it doesn't have the volts, then either the alt is shot, the relay board bad or the volt reg is bad.

Just some ideas.

As far as the ping noise in the engine...could be the fan hitting the front sheet metal or the alt doing the same or the heater assembly banging against something underneath or I really don't know.

Oil leak could be front seal, pressure sender, oil cooler seals, oil pump gasket, etc., If near the REAR wheel it could be pushrod tube seals (sorry, no engine near the front wheels and if that's where the leak is, check the MC or caliper)

Later & welcome to the insanity Chris...........

PS...there are pleanty of non-club members of this non-club in San Diego to help you..hopefully they will chime in after they put their whine and cheese down.

Hi,
I did look at that area WITH a flash light NO RUST... weird I know. but nothing more than some dirt. I did go over the car very throughly since i know they are rust bombs...

So not worry about the engine/battery/ etc etc?

The best advice is to ask for someone here to go do a pre-purchase inspection with you.

the charging issue could be a simple corroded connection, or voltage regulator (not part of the alternator in this case)

If you are there with someone who has a history with these cars, you will get a better feeling before you make your decision.

Good luck.

Rich

The light never went out on the combo gauge. Which we couldnt figure out..

Not an oil leak NEAR the front wheels just at the part aming towars the front wheels.so front of the engine?




Didnt really understand this last part, thanks!
Cris

PS...there are pleanty of non-club members of this non-club in San Diego to help you..hopefully they will chime in after they put their whine and cheese down.

Thanks,
that is why I made the deal to take it to my mechanic. He has worked with porsche/vw for several years, and also owned a couple of 914's in the past.. So I hope he can straigten it out, I just wondered if it was a bad buy etc etc

Thanks for all help! Give me a year and then ill be the one helping newbies

QUOTE (cbenitah @ Aug 22 2005, 03:51 PM)

Hi, I did look at that area WITH a flash light NO RUST... weird I know. but nothing more than some dirt. I did go over the car very throughly since i know they are rust bombs... So not worry about the engine/battery/ etc etc?

The other important place to check for rust is under the rocker panels. Though they are riveted on the top, you can unscrew them from the bottom and peel them away from the body enough for an inspection. Take a good look at the jack points and the part of the long behind the jack point.

QUOTE (cbenitah @ Aug 22 2005, 03:56 PM)

Didnt really understand this last part, thanks! Cris PS...there are pleanty of non-club members of this non-club in San Diego to help you..hopefully they will chime in after they put their whine and cheese down.

Ask Sir Andy, the resident Kraut....he'll splain it to ya!

Oil leak...in order of most likely...

Oil cooler seals...
Front main seal
Oil pump gasket.

You will be taking the motor out to do any of these...along with the fromt blower housing,,,so, do them all (while your there)

Also do the rear main seal and the push rod tube seals...

Valve cover gaskets get replaced on a regular basis..so not a big deal.

Alternator not charging...

If the new battery is put in and it is still not charging, there is a relay box in the engine compartment , right behind the driver, mounted on the rear inner fender...

In this box, you will see a 2*3 inch silver thing plugged into the relay board...this is the voltage regulator...if I remember correctly it is the largest thing there...

This could just be loose and corroded, or it could be bad...
Easy to get another one used to verify...

one screw and it unplugs

Oh, the tapping could just be the valves are not adjusted correctly...but even when they are you will hear some tapping...its normal.

Good luck.

Rich

I did look at the rockers and underneath the car, no sign of any rust, although i didnt remove them..
the jack points area was fine no rust there either.. is this unusuall that the car hasnt more rust?

I am amazed how many replys i have got so far! Thanks guys, i will print them all out and have them as a "help guide".

Cris

I think it's critical to look behind the rockers. It should be part of a PPI on any 914 IMO. It's the hardest rust spot to see and it's probably one of the most expensive to repair.

No one mentioned this.. yay
Check for rust under the seats under the carpets and see how the floor pans are. See if it's crackly under there or not..

judging from the turn signals, the car can't seem to decide if it want's to be a euro-spec or us-spec car ...

looks nice so far.
there are plenty of so-cal members in your area that probably wouldn't mind helping you out by looking over the car ...
Andy

QUOTE (SLITS @ Aug 22 2005, 04:01 PM)

QUOTE (cbenitah @ Aug 22 2005, 03:56 PM) Didnt really understand this last part, thanks! Cris PS...there are pleanty of non-club members of this non-club in San Diego to help you..hopefully they will chime in after they put their whine and cheese down. Ask Sir Andy, the resident Kraut....he'll splain it to ya!

Andy... you gots some 'splainin to do....

no seriously what's he mean?

If the seller will let you peel back the carpet a bit have a look where the crossbrace (runs under the front of the seats) joins the rockers. Also remember that there is about a quarter inch of ashphalt like stuff on top the floor and undercoating below. They can hide many sins. Pick away at any cracks

QUOTE (Hammy @ Aug 22 2005, 04:45 PM)

QUOTE (SLITS @ Aug 22 2005, 04:01 PM) QUOTE (cbenitah @ Aug 22 2005, 03:56 PM) Didnt really understand this last part, thanks! Cris PS...there are pleanty of non-club members of this non-club in San Diego to help you..hopefully they will chime in after they put their whine and cheese down. Ask Sir Andy, the resident Kraut....he'll splain it to ya! Andy... you gots some 'splainin to do.... no seriously what's he mean?

I doubt the Admins will go thru it again, so here goes................

914world.com is a website inhabited by somewhat like minded individuals in their sickness/passion for a paticular automobile.

However, there are no dues, no governing board, no by-laws, no-rules, no consitution, president, etc., that set the agenda for any events, gatherings, etc...it is up to individuals or groups of individuals to put stuff together. We are strictly on our own with the exception of some help in graphics and whatnot.

So therefore we are a non-club with non-members...............it's more of a joke than anything else. Just a stab at the non-members in SD.

Slits is an asshole...ya know!

Aaaaaaah. Makes sense. You vedy funny my friend.

Just check extra hard for rust issues. They have a way of hiding or being hidden.

Thanks guys!

Here is the thing, I am trading my 1915cc engine and my car towards his car + some cash from his side...

I need to know if the car is in ok running condition before i do the trade, i would like to bring my mechanic, but he wont come with me he he ... sine i have to go to Huntington Beach (im in san diego)

Would anyone be up for a trip friday? I really have no ide on this one.. since im planning to put a 911 3.0L in it (with time) i wont have those money until the summer, so i would like to KNOW if there is a possibility to drive it until then.. if you guys know what i mean? I expect some issues i need to fix i just dont want it to brake down 2 days after the buy.

Thanks for all help so far!