Accelerator pedal is hyper-sensitive

Anyone run into this problem? From a dead stop, my engine accelerates without using the accelerator pedal in 1st gear. The accleration is scary fast. I am having better luck starting in 2nd gear. The linkage on my Weber 44's seems perfect. No problems in 3rd, 4th or reverse and I have made sure that the accelerator cable has a small amount of slack. I am going to replace the spring and roller on the accelerator pedal assembly. Could the problem be in the carbs?

John,
Thats really spooky. Do the engine RPMs increase when you shift to first or are they always high? For a simple check though, take a look and see if you have lots of dirt etc around the pedals. In my old VW days I used to have the problem of the accelerator pedal sticking after tracking debris from muddy shoes etc. into the car.
Troy

I thought that FIRST and REVERSE were the same gear. So if it doesn't rev-up in reverse then you got something here. The accelerator pedal goes into a tube under the carpet. have you tried spraying lube in there? Also it comes out the back at the engine. Anything there in the way?

I sometimes get a bunch up of the floor mat under the pedal that I kind of lean down and pull back a half inch.

But then again, only in first huh? Sheesh.........

A few weeks ago I had a bowden tube problem with my clutch cable. As I let out the clutch the tranny and motor would twist causing the clutch to disengage resulting in a shudder. 2nd, 3rd, 4th and reverse were fine.

I wonder if some how the accelerator cable is caught up on something and as the tranny twists the accelerator cable is pulled. Then the engine revs up causing more twist which causes more acceleration.

Just a theory.

Jerome

not saying this is your issue but if you have something loose (i've seen this in a front engined car) ie: trans/motor mount etc. the motor can move(torque) causing the pull
on the linkage or other item that is not moving "with" the engine.

after rereading your post it's not the above, you didn't say whether your rpms are coming up by themselves with no gear selection? if so, vacuum leak?

John,

This is clearly one of those unsolvible "Ghost in the Machine" sort of things, OR you're not being clear enough . . .

You get in your car, turn the key, start the engine, and EXACTLY what happens next . . . IN DETAIL! More info = problem gone.

Here we go.
Car is a dead stop. Motor running in neutral. Engage clutch and shift into 1st gear. All is normal. Slowly release clutch with zero force on the accelerator and the RPM's jump like I have the accelerator to the floor (but I don't). Push in clutch and RPM's go back to idle.

If I shift into 2nd gear, the car will lurch when I take my foot off the accelerator. It feels like I am flooring the gas and then letting off the gas completely. The accelerator feels extremely sensitive.

The lurching feeling is less in 3rd and 4th gears.

I noticed that a rubber bushing is cracked near where the transmission meets the shift rod. I will be able to see things better when I get it up on jack stands.

Boy I would love to hear this one....I am stumped...speechless.... well, stumped anyway. Still sounds mechanical....have you checked the pedal cluster? Make sure that the clutch and brake do not interfere with the GAS pedal in any way. No cracked cluster? My Ghia was cracked. We fixed it... :)

If it is the rubber bushing that is located where the transaxle nose cone mounts in the frame, that is probably the problem. If that bushing is cracked, the transaxle nose cone will lift upwards from the torque of the engine and tranny engaged, adding length to your accelerator cable. Once the transaxle is not under torque (clutch engaged) the transaxle nosecone will set back down and release the tension from the accelerator cable. It sounds like the transaxle is pivoting on the 2 rear mounts. If you don't replace the front bushing, the rear bushing will go soon

That really sounds like the pedal cluster.
ed

I think Jim may have nailed it.

One way to test his theory would be to disconnect the accelerator cable and see if it still happens.

Quickest and easiest way to check it would be to have someone stand behind the car as you put it in gear and let the clutch out in first gear. If the exhaust tips go down without the rear of the body squatting, then that's the problem. Basically, if the gap between the exhaust tips and the lower rear body does not increase, then the problem is something else.
Either that or open the engine compartment and try to rock the motor backwards by pulling on the top of the fan shroud and see if it tilts backwards.
The reason I think that this is your problem is that I had this happen on a 1968 bug in Germany a while back. Good luck.

i flip flopped back to my origial answer. if there is that much play you should be able to grap the fan shroud or other part of the engine, exhaust? and rock it to check,
nose to tail not side to side

One other thought. Since these little suckers use both a shortened clutch AND throttle cable . . . and man makes mistakes in his endeavors, maybe the clutch cable or throw out arm are fouling the throttle cable when you depress the pedal. Check under the car, above the trans on the driver's side (pull the driver's side rear wheel to do it) to see if anything's getting caught.

Of course you'll need the "extra person" from your tool bag to depress the clutch pedal while you're looking at the whole thing. I got the deluxe version that came a lot of patience and a few "extras" . . .

I got under the car yesterday and found that the bowden tube had come out of the mounting in the trans. The tube seems too small and does not have the bend or dip that should be there. Loosened the clutch cable and re-aligned the bowden tube. Now the car shudders when releasing the clutch in first gear. I am going to replace the bowden tube and the cracked rubber trans bushing.

When you say the tube is too small, do you mean too short? If so you should be able to make some C shaped shims out of 1/2" lock washers to make the tube have the proper amount of bend. Thats what solved my problem.

Jerome

The bowden tube had worked it way out of the trans support and cracked. I think this crack caused the clutch cable to fray. I will replace the bowden tube and clutch cable.

Replaced bowden tube and clutch cable. Problem is better but I can feel the tranny move when I accelerate or decelerate. I will replace the tranny mounts next. I just wish I did not have to remove the engine to replace the rear mounts.