I just don't understand. It seems like very few mechanics understand these engines.

First engine I had in my car. I took it to a reputable shop who claimed to specialize in import vehicles, including German cars.

That mechanic ended up burning up the engine. Lost 3 grand to that guy.

Took the same engine to a simple domestic car place and they had it running the best it's ever run but claimed the engine would not last long because of previous mechanic.
Sure enough, enough gave up months later.


I have another 1.7 in the car now and took it down to a different, but very reputable Porsche/BMW/Jag shop that's been in business for years.
These guys couldn't even figure out if the engine had hydraulic lifters (it does, but they found out only after I insisted it did).

Now they're telling me it's got low compression on one side and they're having trouble with a lifter. They're saying they'd have to drop the engine to get to the lifters.

I'm not positive, I don't know much about these engines, but from I've read that's total BS.

I'm just about ready to give up, store the 914 at my mom's, and save for a Raby kit and have it assembled by someone I KNOW knows these engines.

Buy Andy's $500 good running 1.7 from the classifieds.

I would. I'm interested but how do I know what's going to happen with it?
My situation right now is that my parents need me mobile.
They'd kill me if I bought another engine and then it gives up on me.

Or, scrap the 35+ year old technology and install a Subaru engine

-Tony

Take your negative 4 comments to here

DONE

-Tony

RUN AWAY RUN AWAY!
Cripes, the lifters are EASY to get out.
1. Flip down bailing wire, remove valve covers
2. Unbolt rocker assembly in there (4 bolts each side)
3. Push PR tubes toward head, unseat 'em from block
4. Stick in finger, slide out lifter.


Find an old school VW place. They will know what to do.

Stop giving mechanics money! Take it home and drive it. The lifter noise goes away pretty quick and then it's just fine. No choke, so let it warmup for 5 minuites before driving.

I doubt it has zero compression once the valves are adjusted right for hydraulics. If it does, they screwed it up with their "solid lifter" shenanegans. I drove that engine around quite a bit and it was definitely running on all 4.

Call me pessimistic but I would say that taking a 914 to a shop that does not specialize in 914's (914's, not just porsches, or vw's or whatever) is asking for trouble. I would NEVER take my car in to a shop that I didn't see other 914's at.
That includes alignment, etc. I wouldn't even trust a non-914 shop to put my car on a lift (in case it got Elise'd, or maybe I should say Qarl'd?)

Many of us here including myself got 914s to get the hell away from these nonmechanical clowns!! Your best bet is to get together with some club brothers and learn to work on your own car. Like Jake Raby has siad,"Doing it yourself is priceless and you learn something everytime you do it."

Get some tools and have fun with it!

Tolls are good, you can always use the money. I would also get some tools and a

manual, everything you have mentioned is quite easy to handle yourself.

I was thinking Tollhouse cookies, also good at taking your mindoff your car

but the $$$ from a toll booth could help with your problem as well

Yeah, I doubt it too. I know the engine was fine when I got it from you. Started right up and idled smooth.
But now after all this, I'm in mental turmoil.

We're picking it up tomorrow and bringing it home.



I trusted this shop because I went in there to talk to them and they seemed reputable. I asked them if they did work on 914's and they said they did and talked about the Webers and stuff.
Guess I learn things the hard way.

Stop taking it to import shops.. they specialize in taking your money...

You need to take it to a vw shop. OR better yet, do it yourself.

Are you sure its not just the valves needing adjustment?

I wish I was young and had time to spend a day and look at it.. but then again, its been years since I touched a T4... and I gave up on mine (lol)

I'm not really sure what it is. First they adjusted the valves to solid specs and when I insisted they were hydros they adjusted them to hyd. specs. I'm not sure when they did the compression tests.

Do you know of any VW shops?

Thanjou for tolling me my prolum.

Don't panic. I just went through a compression test
hydro cam/ compression post
If you look you will see that #! cylinder was lowest
I went back and continued to adjust and test and it just got lower and lower (down to ZERO at one point when I had the intake just a little too far open aparently).
I gave up and went to get a beer.
A little later I was reading here about batteries and it reminded me to hook up trickle charger
The next AM I tried it again and there was a 30 PSI increase! up to 120 psi.
It didn't seem to spin MUCH faster, but I guess with some overlap of those valve opening it never built pressure.

I bet these guys could put a new XYZ in a new BMW or whatever, but this is Wright bros stuff. It is imperical knowledge achieved through experience, Which is what makes Jake Raby such a mastermind for the T-IV engine.

I've got a few threads out there on hydraulic cams. Use the search hydraulic+cam and hydro+cam. The certainly don't set like solid lifters, and it is really hard to be confident that they are set right. I just mess with 'em way too much, but since I pulled pushrod tubes I really haven't got 'em quite right since. I think it is right now, but carbs are out, exhaust is off, etc. right now. So it will be unknown for a little longer if this really is the best setting yet- I think it will be but I am going to run a leak-down test while I have the chance.

I know a parade of guys will line up and tell us how a 914 is their daily driver but IMO a 914 shouldn't be one's daily driver - at least not if you need to rely on a car day in and day out to be at a job.

Sure, they are fun and all that but they are 30+ year old cars that weren't very reliable even when they were new. IMO, make the 914 your hobby and get something much newer to get you to work, school, whatever.

I used to drive an "old" car as a daily driver. It was my first fun car - a '77 BMW 320i. Unfortunately it was too old to be reliable. At least one weekend per month was devoted to keeping the car run. You name it, I replaced it on that car. That is just life with a old, high mileage car from the 70s.

Not many "Mechanics" have the abaility to work with the TIV enough to ever figure it out...

Those of us that understand it know nothing but it and don't touch anything else..

The best person to work on the engine is more than likely a local VW enthusiast that doesn't even own a shop. Shops generally hack these cars to hell and do more harm than good..

If their yard is filled with waterpumpers don't even bother inquiring within..

The BEST thing you could do is start learning about the mechanicals yourself. Otherwise this WILL continue. There are good places that specialize in Air cooled stuff but it doesn't sound like you can afford it. You'll beable to do 100x better work than the monkeys who have 'worked' on the car thus far.

Most of us have been through this stage. Hint; the next stage is buying parts off of ebay. Think LONG and HARD before doing that. It's a jungle....

One on mchenry.. bout mid way.. Small place, by the elk club..

Thats about all I know of.. Contact Scott Carlsburg... he's on this list, and he is not mechanically inclined.. but has a good running teener... Ask him were he gets his fixed at..

Scott(SGB), thanks for the info. I'll look into what you've pointed out when I get the car back.

Andrew, I was thinking the Parts House too. I have gotten some blank stares from there though when I mention 914's, but I'll ask some more.

Like I said.. Find a local VW club, attend some meetings and see if anyone wants to work on your car..

Most amateurs are better than professional shops these days!

I give this advice to many of my complete engine customers and engine kit purchasers and they have great results 99% of the time. The reason is because the enthusiast does the work because they love it and WANT to do it, to most shops a VW is like a foreign object that drains capital from them, so they don't give a damn about you or the car...

if youdon't have the time, tools, or experience to do it your self, seek help from an aircooled shop, oro friends. the 914 engien is close tot eh Bug motor, so a good Bug shop should be able to take care of you failing other options.

our cars are a bit unique, an possibly older than many of the mechanics. other than high end Porsches,(read expensive speciality repair shops for 911 cars) our 914's were just about the end of the line of aircooled vehicles. so expertese needs to be found,a nd it aint easy, standard generic shod or modern water cooled VW shops are probably not going to undersand the aircooled motor,a dn high end 911 shops,t hat do understand aircooled, will be too pricey, henc ethe Buggy shops. I encourage you to read up on you engine, and ask on this site, and other web sites, if you dont have the time or space to work on the enigne, then you neeed the money to have someone else that know them do it.

good luck!!!