gas pedal exceptionally stiff

[camshaftgsxr]

i thought it was normal but ragtope30 and someother guys have convinced me its too stiff and something is wrong.

where should i start looking, do the hinges on the pedal tend to bind/freeze up? or is the cable the likely culprit? the spring on the throttle body can be operated with one finger and the pedal doesnt stick.

[Jafxod]

IF it doesnt spring back quick aswell it could be your cable. IIRC they are rather inexpensive to replace.

[MR 325]

Indeed. A lot of times a stiff pedal is from an old cable.

[Ceeker]

highly unlikely the pedal because it is in the cockpit of the car. limited exposure to moisture -unlike the cable in the engine bay. As mentioned above most likely cable is binding.

[camshaftgsxr]

ok thanks ill check the cable, it springs back fine its just like there is a super heavy spring behind it, its like "stepping on a brick" from what ive been told

[CarsSuck]

dont bother looking. Just buy a new one and replace it. Its a bit of a pain to change it out. You need to move the sound deadening around from the hole on the inside of the firewall, then jam some vice grips in and grab the clip that holds the cable housing to the firewall, then push it in from the engine bay.

Mine felt exactly as you describe and it had two right angle kinks in it. You will LOVE how it feels with a fresh, slippery cable. I know it sounds silly, but it will seriously increase your driving pleasure. :D

[AT-JeffT]

Most satisfying repair I have done to my e30.

Its the cable. I also replaced the bushings that hold the petal to the floor as they were shot, but they didn't make a noticeable difference as the cable did.

[jclar]

Cable should be around $20 if I remember correctly. Contrary to what other people said I found it to be extremely easy to switch out, I think I did mine in about 10 minutes. The plastic clip that is held onto the firewall is old and likely pretty brittle, I used a flathead screwdriver and a hammer and hit it a few times and it broke, and that's probably the hardest part.