A much easier way.  Leave the tube ends in place, cut off the bellows part completely and discard, make your repairs, install a suitable sized piece of split loom so that it hooks up with the ends of the tube that is still there.  This way you can get in to make repairs anytime, EASILY !

On 2011-01-25, at 9:27 PM, David Beierl wrote:

> Volks, if you have to get inside that rubber tube between cab and door you can unseat it at both ends and scrunch it up to get the access you need.  *Far* superior to slitting it.  But when you run your new wire, for heaven's sake do what I did not, and pass a fishing line along with the wire; because re-seating the tube end inside the door is an absolute bugger.   I finally succeeded by compressing it very hard with electrical tape, shoving it into the hole and then pulling the tape off from inside, then easing it back so the lip engaged the hole in the sheet metal.
> 
> Before I remove that end again I'll try to pass a fishing wire, but I'm not extra hopeful.  Ten seconds worth of thought and a piece of string when I had the thing open would have saved a lot of trouble for next time.
> 
> Yours,
> David
> 

Cheers,    

Frank Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
'87 Westy & Lionel Trains (Collection for sale)
Frank Condelli & Associates - Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
Vanagon Stainless Steel Exhaust Systems
BusFusion a VW Camper camping event, Almonte, ON, June 09 ~ 12, 2011