1974 Thing Throttle Sticks

[kse67t]

Hi All; Well I've had my baby home for 3 days and the throttle is sticking Hubby says it is the Accelerator Cable....any advice out there??

[Semper_Dad]

Need to know what set up you have first. Stock?, dual carb?

There's a guide tube that goes through the fan shroud. Is it there?
_________________
74 VW Thing - Walküre
78 GMC Motorhome - Valhalla
"Patina" my ass, that's rust
Recovering Split Bus Addict
World 181 Registry Map: http://www.zeemaps.com/394427 Gitm registared boys!
Officially, there are only 99 181s in the world

[kse67t]

I haven't started looking yet.....hubby wants me to buy a set of Bentley Manuals first.

[Semper_Dad]

[kse67t]

This is what we are looking at: http://www.bentleypublishers.com/volkswagen/repair...ebahn.html

[Wildthings]

I would recommend a paper manual as you can carry it wherever you go and write notes in it and such. Mine are stuff full of added drawing, parts printouts, and such.

If you are new to VW you might also buy John Muir's Idiot Book (How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive 19 Ed: A Manual of Step-by-Step Procedures for the Compleat Idiot ). It can help the novice become more comfortable working on and driving these vehicles.

Find out what carb you are running. Aftermarket progressive centermount carbs are known for having throttle problems and since you are dealing with non stock parts the solution isn't going to be in the service manual. The throttles on many dual carb setups aren't all that well done either. A PO's mods (mechanical or electrical lacking) are typically going to be found lacking.

[Semper_Dad]

I've seen that before but never have come across anybody who's actually purchased it. Let us know how it works out.

For the most part, the 181 is just a Beetle in battle dress. The only major difference is the body components and this is pretty much self explanatory. There are some minor differences and spec but nothing that can't be picked up through other resources. Good luck!

My "Resource Library" consists of;
Bentley Type 1 Manual - purchased from CIP for $35
Parts Manual - Downloaded for free from Samba
Electrical Schematics and Diagrams - Downloaded for free from Samba
Rocky Mountain Thing Owner's Club CD - Bought mine years ago, think I paid $15. More or less o potpourri of anything 181
Thing Owners Manual - given to me by fellow Thinger (Thanks again DougD)
CD version of Thing Service Manual - This is the one The Thing Shop sells for $75 but can be had on Ebay for less than half that amount. The Thing Shop's version does include some additional documents and a binder though.
_________________
74 VW Thing - Walküre
78 GMC Motorhome - Valhalla
"Patina" my ass, that's rust
Recovering Split Bus Addict
World 181 Registry Map: http://www.zeemaps.com/394427 Gitm registared boys!
Officially, there are only 99 181s in the world

[kubelmann]

[quote="Semper_Dad"]

Rocky Mountain Thing Owner's Club CD - Bought mine years ago, think I paid $15. More or less o potpourri of anything 181

If anyone is interested in our RoMTOC Thing Data CD. It is the best single source of information on the Thing. Check it out at :

http://romtoc.com/romtoc-thing-data-cd.html

K-mann

[Semper_Dad]

Oh, and of course I forgot to mention the best resource of all. Everybody here in the 181 Forum!
_________________
74 VW Thing - Walküre
78 GMC Motorhome - Valhalla
"Patina" my ass, that's rust
Recovering Split Bus Addict
World 181 Registry Map: http://www.zeemaps.com/394427 Gitm registared boys!
Officially, there are only 99 181s in the world

[kse67t]

Thanks all!!! A coworker of hubby's gave the the Idiot Guide....been pouring over it. Will look for the other resources listed here! Once we identify the carb type, I'll post it.

[Semper_Dad]

I find Muir's Idiot book more useful for it's humor more than it's content. It's very "dis-arming" when it comes to dealing with "technical anxiety". Still nice to have on the shelf though.
_________________
74 VW Thing - Walküre
78 GMC Motorhome - Valhalla
"Patina" my ass, that's rust
Recovering Split Bus Addict
World 181 Registry Map: http://www.zeemaps.com/394427 Gitm registared boys!
Officially, there are only 99 181s in the world

[kubelmann]

Look on the side of the fuel bowl and you will see the carb model marked there

[kse67t]

@Semper-Dad: Yep, the tube is there in the fan shrod.

@kubelmann: It's the one you posted the pic of! Thank you!! Made it easy to identify!

[Semper_Dad]

Well, as far as your sticking accellerator goes;

I'd disconnect the cable at the carb. Have someone pull on the cable while giving the pedal a couple of depressions. Should be operate smoothly without any hesitations or stopping indicating kinks or bends in the cable. Someone needs to be pulling on the cable because the carb has the return spring.

If that checks out then manually operate the throttle valve with the cable disconnected. The return spring should be strong enough to return it to the fully closed position.

There's also a protective cable sleeve where the cable comes out of the tunnel and back of the fan shroud. That part is sometimes missing. Without it, the cable snags on the outlet.
_________________
74 VW Thing - Walküre
78 GMC Motorhome - Valhalla
"Patina" my ass, that's rust
Recovering Split Bus Addict
World 181 Registry Map: http://www.zeemaps.com/394427 Gitm registared boys!
Officially, there are only 99 181s in the world

[guppysoup]

I had this problem on a Bug after switching from generator to alternator. The throttle arm would hang up on the alternator body. A little grinding and it was good to go. Might be something to look out for.
_________________
1973 Thing/Safari
1984 GMC Suburban 1500 4x4 6.2 diesel
1985 Bug/Bocho class 11
1995 Chevy Suburban 2500 4x4 6.5 diesel
2003 Jetta TDI

[[email protected]]

Just spray it down with some gumout

I could be sticking at the pedal spray that down too
_________________
Michael Basso
http://www.thingparts.com
New and Used VW Thing Parts Free advice
CALL 518 630 0173

[kse67t]

Everything looks pretty much stock....but I'm new to this....right now it's 102 so way to hot to be messing with it!

[kse67t]

Haven't checked any further into this, but took George (the name we've settled on at the moment) and didn't have any problems. So...it stuck a couple times when we brought him down from Grass Valley (about an hour drive or so). Drove it to and from work on Friday with no problem (about a 35 mile round trip). Drove it to Subway that evening and it stuck a little. Hubby drove it the next night and it stuck real bad. Drove it tonight....no problems.....

[kubelmann]

Ah ha the ever popular automotive "intermittent" problem.

Last winter when my son's 93 Subaru developed a stuck open throttle in cold weather, we simply cleaned and then lubed every connector, articulation point and cable that went from the throttle body to the gas pedal. It eliminated the cause of the problem without determining what exactly caused the problem.

[kse67t]

Yep....that's the point we are at....hubby says he hates when cars fix themselves....