What to do?

[ar_kid]

time out dude, sounds like the break will do you good. Just roll the car away and put it to the back your mind for now.

Mean while did you see the link to Newbury's type 4 manifolds on offer? Do they look the right size?
Do you want me to look out for a pair at VWNW? If so let me know what height you need.

[jh]

Thanks for that encouragement hot66.

1 6-pack of beer down and moody man is a little more chilled - Jeez I was pzzed but obviously I'm learning a lot and that is a huge part of what I wanted to do. Before the 912 anything remotely close to the engine was waay to scary for me to tackle. Now I'm a feckn expert in removing carbs and manifolds

Saw mention of "Short" manifolds somewhere so these are likely the yokes i need.


Miss driving my 912 though I have to say.

[Nige]

you must have bought/sent longer than standard fanifolds. The regular length ones should fit fine. The ones you must have acquired must be at least 2-3" longer than standard as there should be loads of space under the engine lid.

Don't worry though, it took me nearly three attempts to get the engine build right, that wasn't fun. I still have nightmares of removing that engine, must have been in and out 4 times, plus once by Simon (Corky)

Finally got the engine fitted 3 days before we had our first baby, he was due at the weekend but didn't arrive so I took my last chance and fitted the engine.

[jh]

Yep, ar_kid, those ones at Bernard Newbury's look to be the exact ones i need. Hope his offer is still going on in a few weeks - nobody at the house to take delivery for a while you see. And thanks a million for offering to look out for some - real cool of you. I'll order the right ones when I'm back.

Hey Nige, thanks for posting too. One of my major problems is that I don't know enough about anything to order the correct thing - didn't even know they come in different heights. I know that amateurs like me can probably annoy dealers with our makey-up words and descriptions so i always send a picture of the 'yoke' i need. I'll get the right ones n ow that I know a little more - bleedin postage has me robbed though.

About those longer ones - infact they fitted fine but the bonnet hinge on the right side cannot go down. Left side the hinge is fine though.


I don't know how you didn't go bananas with that engine rebuild scenario - I'd have lost thw will!


Still not certain where that ground lead used to be but the only option i see is to the actual carb itself!?!

[Nige]

ground lead, think I placed under one of the carb mounting nuts, anywhere on the engine really.

I'm still and always will be an amateur when it comes to cars

You'll get there, the linkages are also adjustable, but remember you'll need to balance the carbs again once you alter the length.

It can be a major pain in the butt, but you'll get there. The guy that initially set the carbs up for running in could tell what bank and which cylinder was running weak by just sniffing it, probably more to it than that, but he was well in his 50s and had been tinkering with MGs all his life. Problem is there ain't many of folk who have those skills anymore.

[jh]

Well folks, I'm back and just unpacked a couple of Bernards inlet manifolds (didn't get it cheap I'm afraid). One thing I just want to check before I go through all the off-again-on-again scenario again is...the quality of the manifolds don't seem to be great from the perspective of their finish - i.e. they are very rough both inside and out. Would you folks think that'd be a problem?

I cannot handle having this car off the road for much longer and have spent a small fortune on inlet manifolds and, mostly, delivery but I'd rather not put them on if you reckon the bumps and sticky-out bit would interfere badly with the running of the motor.

I attach 1 picture but is doesn't really give a good indication - where i drew the red circles are some fairly big sticky-out bits but there are lot more.

Thanks

[Nige]

shouldn't really affect the running at all for day to day driving, but we all strive for the best with our Porsches. For the sake of an hour or two polishing, grinding, sanding, either by hand or with a drill/dremel, its soft ali, I'd smooth it the best you can, doesn't need to be mirror finish, but get the worst off will help.

[jh]

I hear ya Nige and you speak wisely as ever.

[Nige]

'wise' I've just spat my Crunchy Nuts over the screen

[jh]

Well it took a long time to do such a small job but tonight 912e fired into life again and was pretty rocking on the road too. Expected it to be a dog what with all the messing about I've done with those carbs but was pleasantly surprised.

The last missing piece was a fuel line joiner(?) because I broke one removing the line from the carb and damn could I find one anywhere the right size in this town.

Thanks a million for all the help as usual.

Nige, those Crunchy Nuts'll rot your teeth but then the toothless wise always have more authority

[Nige]

good work my friend, that fuel T piece should be had from any car shop. It was just some 99p jobbie

[jh]

yeh-ah-kno but couldn't find the wee bugger in any motor factors in this whole blessed city. Got one from VWHeritage in the end.

Its truly great to be back on the road with the 912e.

[bazz55]

excellent, i love happy endings

[jh]

Well, i hate to bore you all but the saga continues. Noticed the car doing a lot of popping and sparking today and took a look - and to my utter dismay the inlet manifold that i had to completely replace is broken again. And in exactly the way it was first time around.

Now before you assume i'm an idiot i did not over-trighten. In fact i don't have suitable equipement so have been worried that i may not have tightened enough.

Anyway, took the other manifold out of its box to see what the f.. like. And you can see from the photo that this quality is crap. It has broken exactly along the fracture line that, looking now, is very plainly visible. These are truly crap quality so PLEASE be aware before purchasing - if you have the luxury of seeing before buying that is.

I have had a nightmare with this job so I'm pretty much at the giving up point - I really haven't put any mileage on this motor since I bought it - anybody know a GOOD, HONEST(ish) mechanic in the Dublin area that can sort my car out once and for all and not take the living pzz with cost?

Pictures:

Old and new(unused) inlet manifolds:


Close-up of the new (unused):



Finally just to re-iterate the problem:

[912uk]

ok so lets take a step back I have not read all the thread. So are you saying that you think the new manifold may have already had a casting crack init an it's broken again?

if not and it's just broken then we need to look back at the engine as a whole to see what's putting pressure on the engine, engine mounts or touching the body work when under load? etc

I would have thought the casting could be the problem as I have seen some of this china import casting stuff and it's shocking.. I could do better at home. Can you get the orginal one welded up. I did see a very usuful filler rod for ali welding at the car shows.. for just this sort of thing.. have alook in the back of PC magazine.. if this is the case of rewelding the new manifold this way you could weld in some extra support..

more details..