repairs(throttle cable) and driving

[MMASON@ucrph1.ucr.edu]

Well thanks to the advice of everybody on the list I replaced my binding 
throttle cable this afternoon.  I will give a brief summary of this
procedure for posterity.  
Time (15 minutes if you have done it before, 45 if you haven't)
The car, 82 high milage scirocco
Manual shift (any one with an auto deserves whatever problems they have!)
1. On top of the motor, the trottle cable is held in place by a small metal
clip. Remove this clip and lift the rubber piece off of its nipple.
2. There are two 10mm nuts holding the cable to a bracket on top of the motor.
Remove the nut closer to the nipple and pull the cable off the motor.
3. locate where the cable enters the fire wall. It should be right next to 
the coil.  Stare intesely at this spot for a few seconds.
4. Open the door and look at your gas pedal, it should be lying on the floor.
On a 7?-81 there is carpet covering above the pedal that must be removed(
via clips) on the 82-? there are three plastic pieces(one or two of 
which you should have thrown away long ago as they make fuse/relay access 
difficult.  Remove these three panels(use a screw driver and a 8mm? socket.)
5. Now you should be able to see the upper end of the gas pedal.  Use 
a flashlight to contemplate it briefly.  Notice all the bogus wiring that the
previous owner did to your beloved car.  Attached to the upper end of the
gas pedal is the throttle cable.  Remove the metal hook from the end of the 
pedal assembly.  The hook fits through some sort of soft rubber gromet.
If this is rotted out(mine was) you will need to replace it.
6. Using a flashlight examine the area behind the upper pedal assembly.  You
should see a small amount of light coming through a hole in the firewall
where the cable enters.  The cable is held in place by another grommet.  The
only way I could get the old cable out was to destroy the old grommet.  Tear
off the inside portion of the grommet, and press on the (PINK!) plastic 
peice there.  The assembly should just fall out the other side....
7.  From the front of the car, consider how you will remove the cable the 
rest of the way.  For me it was easiest to unbolt the top bolt of the coil,
remove all connections to it, and rotate it 90 degrees, this provides good 
access to the firewall.  Wiggle the cable until it comes out of the hole.
Place old cable aside.
8. Push new grommet into hole in firewall.  This may take a bit.....
9. Thread new cable hook end through grommet and attach to accelerator 
assembly.  Secure new pink plastic guard into grommet.
10. Reattach upper end of cable to nipple and attach two 10 mm nuts.  These
control the tension on the cable.  Adjust tension so that at know pressure
the cable is not taut, and at maximum pedal depression, the cable is not
pressed against the stop (could stretch the cable again!) 
11. Reconnect the coil etc!  
12. Examine pedal feel etc, I noticed a HUGE improvement.
13. remove, clean and put away all tools etc... :-)
14. Go drive fast!

with regards to milage... On my 84 I typically got 32.
The 82 gets 30-35 depending on the type of driving (I try to keep it at 
77 in OC, and 82 here in the inland empire of california)

The reason your 84 gets milage like it does is that the 5th is not very long.
I put a longer 5th in mine and it made a big difference in economy and ride
noise when "cruising" :-)

One final note, I played with a 78 with a 16V 2.0 liter nicely setup motor
and a 85S tranny today...   There are several people in this area who 
regularly build these cars.  So if you are considering it, go for it!  


peace,
mmason
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