[Vwdiesel] 91 Ecodiesel -20F Sticking Accelerator DANGER!

[Will Taygan]

It's been -10F for highs and -20F for lows.  I park outside.

My wife's 91 Jetta ecodiesel has stuck on full acceleration 5-6 times
over the past couple of days.  I pulled over one time and the IP
accelerator lever was stuck in the full speed ahead position.

I can't find anything hanging up on the pedal or on the cable.

It's got dual springs under the stock ecodiesel pump.  The lower one
doesn't really move and the upper one seems fine.  The only change in
resistance is the last 1/8" where the spring compresses against itself
and pops out little (springs touching.), it seems to hang up a little
here - or at least hit a little bump and continue.

It seems to happen relatively soon after starting up from cold being
parked outside at -15F to -20F.  And only on the highway when we keep it
in full speed mode for more than a few seconds.

I'm thinking something's freezing it in place.

I don't know if there's anything internal to the pump that could cause
this, but my primary suspect is the spring itself freezing in place??

Anyone ever have this problem?  Solution?

I've parked in a 60F garage overnight, but there's still icicles, so
I've bumped the heat to 70F and am letting it dry out another 12 hours.

I shot the springs with some spray synthetic lube when cold, but it
still got stuck. I'm thinking of hitting it with some WD-40 to get the
water out.

The other idea is to turn the top rpm screw down 1/8" so it's below the
spot where the spring is touching.  I'd rather not do this, but it might
be a work-around.

Thanks,

Will in Alaska.