Dr. 914,
Staying within the theme:
You know what. I think we all need your tip book or at least I KNOW I do.
How about a Dr. 914's 700 Tips group buy?
How much including postage if I send you a personal check?
I had one earlier but since moving into a much smaller home and no storage space, I can't find it or anything else.

Mike

Hi mike I am sure that there is a group buy of autographed copies that mr Robbins may offer.

You make a very good point and the obvious solution to all of us who have their headS on straight, however, a couple of laps a time is about all that I can handle (sad to say) unless I change rides. Maybe if I could drive one with a flare around the track for 15 laps and then change to one with say, more purr to the engine, or brighter headlights, I could get reenthused and add that extra length needed to complete the session in the right amount of time.
As ee cummings began: she was brand...

In reality, I too would be

Very very close enough. The early headlight motors had a problem with their braking ground. As one knows the only way to have an electric motor stop on a dime and not over ride itself is to have the motor shorted for an instant to work against itself. Low voltage or corrosion especially effected these early motors causing the pickup to overrun the stopping point and continue to run on the other side of the pick up plate. This problem was rectified in 1972

Here is an easy one: My top is squeeking in the rear, and the top latches are loose, and I am too cheap to afford a new 250.00 rear top seal. Please what is an easy solution to tighten up the roof?

vinyl tubing (think fish tank) over the little pegs that the hooks latch onto.

Or better yet, buy a Sammy replacement seal for ~$40

very close but an easier solution

Well, depending upon how you read the question...

To stop the squeak, apply glycerin to the rubber (hard rubber) stops on the rear roof where it latches to the targa bar...

If its how do I tighten the roof,,,
You either shim the latch with tubing, adjust the latch, or get a new rear roof gasket.

Simple is the first one.

Rich

close enough. If one looks at the rubber snubber on the roof, you will see that the holes in it are slotted. Simply loosening the allen bolts and sliding it inward, tightens the top and allows the latches to pull the top down harder.

Another easy one:
I started my 914 1.7 this morning (it was pretty cold this morning) and backed down the driveway and was about to take off when I noticed the green oil pressure light coming on. Of course not being a woman I immediately shut it down and then noticed a long stream of oil all the way down the driveway. Figuring that I probably have a leaking valve cover and I could just take it to the shop to get an easy fix I pour a quart of oil into the car check it and then have to add another two! I start the car again and the oil just squirts out like a sucide victim with a cut wrist. Looks like it is coming out at the pass side front of the engine. Well, I guess I have really done something wrong now! Please help!



I was just kidding about the woman comment, for any of you girls reading this!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hi mike I am sure that there is a group buy of autographed copies that mr Robbins may offer.
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blew out an oil galley plug.

oil cooler seal

Your "hit and run" girlfriend was offended by another one of your bad female driver comments and wiggled under your 1.7 in the dark of the night and stole your oil filter.

gally plug has gotta be right- for that kinda gushing.

oil pressure sender ????

A midget, a rabbit and a spaceman walk into a bar....

cold weather means thick oil.
Thick oil means high oil pressure.

Oil galley plug, relief valve, oil cooler, oil pump, oil filter...

Your story needs more explanation...
I would ask the customer a few more questions....like where specifically is it leaking....sorry passenger side leaves to many possibles, including all the ones I have listed, and push rod tubes, valve cover gasket...etc.

Rich

They leak in so many places.

Passenger side front.... Front... hmmm...

First look at:

Oil Pump
Oil Filter
Oil cooler
Oil Pressure switch (top side above cooler and filter)

Then start looking elsewhere if those are not leaking profusely.

just my $0.02

If my own car (the old 1.8 I used to have) is any example, it's an oil gallery plug. Found the plug in the oil puddle, even!!

--DD

First I would check the filter then the preasure sensor(these two are easy) last the

cooler seals. Welded my oil galley holes shut(no leak).

Dead on! these galley plugs over the years have expanded and contracted as the case has done the same finally working themselves loose. On a cold morning with slow moving heavy oil is the time they usually finally blow out.
Darn, I guess now I will have to remove the engine!

you beat me to it! no galley plugs blowing out for you!

dead on my darling

Galley plug you got it. That is the ONLY thing that would cause that kind of a sudden and mortal leak!
I am trying to keep this to the level of 914 quirks. things that are odd to the car and have happened over and over again many times.

nope!

dead on !

Nope Perry. That kind of a leak even if both leak do not cause the kind of mortal leak that I am speaking of.

That is what happened. I did not want to tell the guys though sort of makes me look like a sheep. I am glad though that she did it. Too many women these days put up with a man's abuse and it never ceases to amaze me that the battered women's shelters are full of black eyed women lamenting: "But I LOVE him!" Sick.

I blew two oil coolers in my '72 super beetle with a 2.1L engine. In that case I was young, dumb and ... oh never mind. I used oil that was too heavy and the cold weather did it in.

My 1974 914 has suddenly developed a strange problem that is annoying the heck out of me: I am driving along minding my own business when suddenly out the of the blue my wipers swipe one time and then park. I never know when it is going to happen and I know that my wipers are turned off. What in the world could be the problem?

There is a short in the wiper switch on the steering column.

Close but no short mike.

Dr, to quote from the bible (pg. 91, #669):

"If the wipers occasionally swipe once on their own, the left lower grounding screw is loose on the wiper/turn signal switch assembly, which is locateed under the steering wheel. Only cars equipped with intermittent wipers have this problem."

How about tips not included in the book (700+) !!

Dead on!!!!!

I believe the whole deal here is to be on our honor and not use the book. This

is for us to see what we have learned and retained or what we can asertain

from the facts and troubleshoot like we have for years. And for the others

to develope there trouble shooting skills and knowledge base. In short, fun

for all.

I agree.............I just want to learn even more (701 +).

I cheated and read the book (MUST have book for us all).

I was so proud of myself! I installed my own rear bumper top seal! Two weeks later though I turned on the headlights and saw smoking in the engine compartment! When I looked I saw that the trunk light wiring had melted!!!! What happened now??

I love my 914 but it is really becoming unreliable!

This just happened to me although no smoke.

Reversed licience plate wire, same circuit as rear trunk light, shorted to ground. Diagram in the Haynes manual.

dead on! You are good!

An easy one: Now all of a sudden My 2.0 stopped running on the right rear and the left front cylinders! I know that the ignition system is good. What happened?

one side of trigger points went bad or broken wire to the trigger points at the distributor

Excellent!!!!!

Now the hood release handle pulls without releasing the hood! I have tried everything including removing the screw in the handle base! how am I going to get into the front trunk compartment without cutting a hole in my hood? (why did they have to put the gas cap under the hood anyway??)

The release cable snapped, remove the front bumper to acces the latching mechanism

On pre 75 cars remove the front bumper bolts to gain acess to the front latch through a hole in the sheetmetal in the center behind the bumper. BTDT

Very good. There is a hole dead center in the front panel with a rubber plug in it. Simply remove the plug insert a screw driver and move to one side and the lid will "pop"!

My clutch cable broke the other day and the shop seemed to do a good job, but now what seems to happen is that everytime I press in the clutch pedal the engine revs. Very strange!