Update on 10/11/09: I ditched the old motor with a new one. So all the posts to page 4 I believe are for the old motor. I do have some issues that relate to the new motor on Page 5.... Thanks.


OK... first thing the fuel system and harness were removed because the previous owner wanted to convert it to a duel carb set-up. So I put the FI back in. I bought a fresh battery, oil, filters and replaced the all the fuel lines plus vacuum lines.

Now I want to try to start the darn thing and all I get is a "click" noise from the starter... so i jack the left side leaving the right side on the ground and put it in 5th gear. I turn the tire front the back a few times in either direction. I try to start it agian... "click". So I do the opposite side, but this time on the right i can't move the tire at all... well it will move 2-3", but thats it. Brakes are free btw. I have seen on the www that "Miricle Oil" down the plug holes will free up the pistons if they are siezed. I just dont understand that I can rotate one side and not the other. Thanks for your help...

Update: Found Water in the Oil - Lots! What to do? Rebuild? Lube the hell out of it? More Mystery oil?

if you can get a socket and breaker bar onto the flywheel you can turn th engine by hand to make sure it is not seized. the marvel mystery oil is also a good idea if it's been stting a long while.
is the clicking a single "click" or a rattling fast "click, click, click..........."?
if it is a single it could be not getting enough power. If it's keeps clicking I would say it could be the starter solenoid.
Try cleaning all the electrical connections real good.
Also if it's the solenoid acting up, sometimes if you have somebody turn the key until it clicks, and at the same time take a hammer under the car and whack the starter it will jar the solenoid enought to get it to engage the flywheel and will start cranking over.

don't know about the question re: why one wheel will turn and the other will not.

Good luck.
Don

The car came with an extra starter... i replaced is with the extra one and it does the same thing. one "click" keep in mind "New Battery" maybe the Mystery Oil would be a good place to start? Thanks for the input...

Cleaning and re-attaching the ground is always a good idea.

Rear wheel bearings may require replacement front sitting in one spot. Had the same issue once...

I can tell the resistance is internal not from the wheel area. Does anyone know why I can move the left side and not the right?

Check your grounds. The 914 is notorious for letting corrosion get into the ground connections.

Eric

Ok, on the subject of rotating the left side, but not the right...

Sorry, but can you clarify a few things.
1. Does the right wheel turn (opposite direction) when the rear is jacked up, the car is in gear and the left wheel is turned by hand?
2. When you say it turns 2-3", does it turn freely then hit a stop, or is it rubbing/tough to turn at all.
3. Is there oil in the transmission?

If it turns freely for 3" then stops, you have a differential or similar gearbox problem (most likely) although I have seen it where a CV joint was binding and keeping the side from turning.

Have you tried to push in on the clutch pedal when you get the "click"? Just seeing if possibly the transmission is bound.

Let's dive deeper into this issue as it can only be so many possible issues for the right side bind.

Your getting allot of great tips put your trucks on and dive in deeper.

It is not unusual for a new battery to not have a Full Charge

Grounds.

Check grounds . Try a different (known good) battery. 1 click (for me) has always been the sign of a dead battery.

When you had the tire up in the air and the car in 5th, were you able to turn the engine a complete revolution by hand? Or just a little either way (which could just be taking up driveline slack until it bound.)

Zach

Thank you all... I havent tried both wheels off the ground to see if i can rotate the right with the left free. When I get home I will remove the grounds and make sure I rough-up the connections so they are fresh metal to metal. I tried jumping from my Expedition with the same "click"...

As far as the play on the right side... the bind seems like its intermal (Motor/Tranny?) it moves free to a point (2-3") and just stops. If I really crank on it, the motor shakes. If the car is in neutral it will move freely.

When I rotate the tire on the left with the right down it will go through complete strokes in 5th gear forward or backward and i can feel the resistance of the strokes - no problem.

Thank You...

Don't miss the ground strap just above the transmission

I've got something that stumped me for a bit. The brand new wheels I bought that supposedly made to fit a narrow body 914 came with new lugs. Turns out that the front lugs were great, the back ones were too long I had just adjusted the shift linkage and thought I had screwed it up. Nope...Lug bolts hit the rotor shiels and only allowed about 10-15 degrees of rotation on the wheel.

I have also had a brand new dead battery. A battery that wouldn't jump. And a loose ground strap before. All 3 caused the 1 click on the starter problem.

Good luck.

Check and clean that tranny ground and also make sure that new battery really is fully charged.

It will turn in neutral...

Ok, good info, so that pretty much starts the problem hunt at the differential.

When it turns in neutral, does the other side turn in an opposite direction (if both wheels are off the ground? If so, the spider gears are probably good and we then move down the path.

Does the motor turn over if you try to push start it - sounds siezed to me.

Pull the tranny out.
See if you can turn the motor with a socket using one of the flywheel bolts...

Then decide which part to fix...tranny or motor.

Rich

A couple good ideas here.

Mike is hinting at a limited slip diff problem I think...

Then, with both tires on the ground and the transaxle in 4th or 5th gear, can you turn the engine over when you push the car?

If it pushes, start with the basics and check all the connections, starter and battery voltage.

If you can't turn the engine over by pushing the car then be sure to try to turn the eengine over with the crank nut before you assume the engine is siezed. You could have an internal issue with the transaxle.

This is great... thank you all. OK so I get home with some mystery oil and put it in. Next I try both wheels off the ground... put it in 5th and both sides rotate with the same amount of resistance. (One wheel turning the opposite direction) If I have to do the push start, I might have to do some work to the front calipers to free them up a little better. Arrg... When i put the FI back in all I have for ref. is my 75 L-jet... this one is a d-jet. I used some pics that I found on the www and my Handy-Dandy-Haynes Book, but I am not 100% sure I got everything right.

Does anyone out there have a diagram for the vacuum and fuel routes. This one doesnt have the EGR stuff. The fuel pump was off as well and i couldn't figure out which clear line that goes back to the tank was the feed or return. I just know enough here to be dangerous... UPDATE: The car has been sitting for 20 years...

did you pull the right rear wheel and check the condition of the brakes?

The brakes are free... only when in gear (4th-5th) and the left rear is on the ground the right side is siezed.

Thanks...

Ok, that sounds correct to me.

if the one wheel is on the ground and the transmission is in 5th (or any gear) you will be attempting to turn over the engine when turning the wheel/tire.

This should be the same for all 5 plus reverse gears, is it not?

Given the click of the starter, the inability to turn the motor over using 5th gear and a wheel on the ground, I'd say the motor is seized.

Pull it and see what you find. I doubt the Marvel Mystery oil will do enough for you to start this puppy.

Honestly, I think you have enough ambiguities in the condition of things to warrent a drivetrain pull and inspection of engine and transmission.

BTW, what is the transmission code (found on the bottom lateral rib of the gear box (starts with 901).

Thanks and pulling the motor/trans is a good thing. You can learn as well as find out what is wrong at the same time.

I'm thinking the clutch disc could be stuck onto the flywheel or If the intakes were left open by the previous owner, water and corrosion got inside and froze the cylinders.

The car was under a car cover and the ports were plugged with rags... you are most likely right. When I pulled the spark plugs the looked like they had 2 miles on them... I almost put them back in. I have pulled the tranny on my '75 a few times, but never the motor. Sounds like I will be spending some time on my back this weekend.

I will check that out the tranny number when I get home... Thanks.

You should be able to turn the engine over by hand with the tranny in neutral. It's easier with the spark plugs out cuz it won't be able to have compression.
Would try that to make sure the engine isn't siezed before chasing the starter / electrical problem.
Good luck.
DT

Had a problem once with a bad connection on the sender unit in the driver's seat. It's supposed to make sure there is weight on the seat when the ignition is on. Man that was a nightmare trying to track down.
Cant remember now if the starter was cranking over and not firing , or if it was just killing the started on the first click?
-DT

Found evidence of water in the oil... I removed the screen and a gush of clear fluid came out. What now? Will the motor need a rebuld?

Well, you say it's been sitting 20 years and found water in the engine. I'd take the engine apart if it was me.

water gets in for lots of reasons.
Is it alot of water, or just a little moisture?

Rich

a "gush" sounds like alot

It was clear, but smelled a little like gas, not real strong, and a bit slimmy ... more like power stearing fluid, but water clear. I would say about 1/2 to a whole quart.

can you rotate the motor?

Here is my test.
If you put the car in neutral and reach in and grab the front fan, with your bare hands...no tools allowed.
If you can turn the motor by using the fan and you dont need a tool and you dont cut your fingers (its all by touch for me) then it will run.

How well it runs depends upon alot more...but if you dont have to pull so hard that you cut your fingers on the fan blades...and it turns a full stroke...it will start and run.

If the motor sat , it may have rusted the rings to the cylinders and that will answer your question....

Rich

Not by hand

I added a bit more detail to what I mean "by hand"

The next test it to jack up one rear wheel..leave the other one on the ground. Put the carn in fifth gear.
Rotate the rear wheel in reverse (this spins the motor the correct direction)
Can you do that? you have ALOT more leverage now using the tranny in fifth
Rich

Hey Rich...thank you for your time. I can rotate the left with the right down, but with the left down and I try to rotate the right... I can't... just an inch or so in either direction.

I'll try this when I get home... I will have my wife post the results if all I have left are stubs.

Engine finally broke loose today... now I can address everything else.

I got it crainking It was the grounds... I replaced it with all new connections. Now I think the fuel pump is out. I tested it right off the battery... no buzzzzz. I will check the classifieds and see if I can find someone that wants to part with one,

A little PB Blaster into the fuel pump can sometimes free them up. Pull the hoses off and douse it and let it sit a few days.

If the fuel pump was seized, would it be reliable once freed up? I would think that the rust/corrosion/whatever seized the pump would mark the pump as questionable.

Zach

Sometimes it's varnish left over form dehydrated gas that locks the pump. If the pump breaks free with the PB blaster, the additives in the gas will help dissove the varnish.

However, once it breaks free, don't run it dry or you will have a trashed pump.

I use the lawn mower gas can and recirculate gas from the can into the pump and dump it back into the can. Running it that way will help dissolve the crud. Then I pour the the gallon of gas in the can through a car gas filter to remove crap before I use it in the mower.

Thanks for the advice... I will try it. It can't hurt at this point right.

OK I got the pump working Now Im not getting spark. Remember this baby has been sitting for 20 years with the fuel system removed. The harness I put on seems like it belongs on a newer 914. The car came with two and one was torn into, so I used the one that was in-tacked. There is a lead off the grounding portion of the harness that ends in a injector type plug. The 1971 1.7 D-jet I don't think has a cold start valve.

So maybe I should just start fresh with a FI I know works. Do you think 1.8 L-jet would work on a 1.7?

go to this site for FI diagnosis tips, its helped me out MANY times: http://members.rennlist.org/pbanders/

and this one has diagrams of the harnesses from different engines and which plugs do what: http://members.rennlist.com/914_wiring_harnesses/ (the links are about 2/3's the way down the page)

Thanks Jeff and Brad

Thanks.. that was very helpful... I think the ignition (key/column) isn't working. The relay under the dash isn't clicking like my '75 does. I think it's just turning the starter and not activating the coil. Im not getting any juice there. Sorry, i'm not a mechanic so you might catch me saying stuff like "thingy-ma-bob" and what-cha-ma-call-it" I most likly messed it up. I was trying to get the door and the ignition to match (key wise) and i think I pulled the cylinder too far and pulled and damaged that thin laminated copper strip? My Bad... So I need a cheap fix... any ideas?