Hey, has anyone restored the compressed shape of a 914 thermostat? The one I have has expanded and does not appear to have any leaks.

I have removed the solder on the threaded end which revealed a ball bearing. I removed the ball bearing and tested for leaks by compressing the unit and plugging the hole. It kept the semi-compressed shape for several hours and when I removed the plug, air rushed in and it expanded again.

Is there a way to restore it to its completely compressed shape at idle so-to-speak?

Not really.

Awesome powder coating makes brand new and correct ones for our car. A few years back I sent them an original one of my 914 they "restored". I believe they reused the ends of mine and replaced the center bellows and whatever gas is inside. It was almost the same cost as one of their new thermostats.

I have not restored one. I think Hot VWs did an article on it years ago that you might find in their archives.

But, it looked tedious, so I've collected working ones from any junkyard motors over the years, including VW buses.

https://www.awesomepowdercoat.com/

I am probably in the minority here, but my recent (2 years ago) 2056 build I did not have a working t stat and thought I would try things out and see how it goes.

Well, it works great without the t stat. Warms up very quickly

so far as repairing the original, not sure if it's possible. AFAIK it is a sealed unit

The originals can be repaired if the bellows does not have hairline cracks. But after 50+ years, good luck with that. The "magic" fluid used in the thermostats is simply denatured rubbing alcohol. I remember finding an article somewhere on how to fix them on either the 914World.com, PelicanParts.com, or on the Samba.com websites. You will need some good soldiering skills to do it properly. I found it easier to just buy a new thermostat from AwesomePowdercoat.com.

Yes, I found those restore/repair instructions as well. I am going to try to fix it before I order a new one.

And if you do use them, please check them to make sure they work. Having the flaps stay closed could potentially ruin your engine.

So with the flaps connected, use a heat gun to warm up the thermostat and make sure the flaps open up fully.

I see a few parts for 914s, but I don’t see a thermostat.

https://www.awesomepowdercoat.com/type-iv-p...hermostat-parts

https://www.awesomepowdercoat.com/porsche-thermostats

I went through the procedure on www.ratwell.com/technical/Thermostats.html and it worked perfectly.